Signed, Sealed, Delivered - Better Coverage, Lower Cost - Obamacare

As we all know, Americans cherish good health. It is a very important aspect of our busy and challenging lives. For us healthcare decisions are very personal and often entail financial difficulty, but sadly, too many family members and friends are left with few or no choices: they must fend for themselves. Thanks to the Affordable Health Care Act or Obamacare, which builds on the notion that all Americans desire the security of having viable healthcare coverage, there is help. The good news – Obamacare is already working and the much talked about Heathtcare Marketplace and enrollment commences October 1, 2013. The open Marketplace allows individuals to shop for the most affordable coverage as well as provide a mechanism for those who previously were unable to get insurance for various reasons. For more information on Obamacare, the exchanges, facts and ways you can obtain coverage go to healthcare.gov.

Obamacare is already working – Here are a few of the facts!

1. Consumers have received $1.1 Billion in insurance rebates.

a. Insurance companies, which spend less than 80% of premium dollars on your healthcare must give you money back.

2. 3.1 Million young adults are now covered.

a. Children can stay on their parent’s insurance plan until age 26.

3. Senior have saved $6.1 Billion in prescription drug savings

a. Seniors who hit the gap in Medicare’s prescription drug coverage receive 50% discount. The gap will be completely covered by 2020.

4. Preventive care for 71 Million children and adults and 34 million Medicare beneficiaries.

a. Obamacare ensures no-cost preventive care services like vaccinations, mammograms, cancer screening, annual checkups, and blood pressure and cholesterol tests.

5. Pre-existing discrimination banned.

a. Insurance companies are banned from discriminating for pre-existing conditions for your children. Adult protection will take effect in 2014.

6. Eliminating Lifetime limits for 105 Million.

a. Insurance companies can no longer place an arbitrary lifetime cap on your coverage. So if you or a member of your family gets sick, particularly a long-term illness, the insurance company cannot impose a lifetime limit on you.

To learn more about Obamacare, Marketplaces, and available assistance. – Go to Healthcare.gov.

EDUCATION - AT THE BACK OF THE BUS

I recall our near panic attitude as we approached the countdown of 1999. Rightly so because of the myriad of valid technological concerns! However, did we really miss the big picture? I think so! I posit that what we saw at the end of the 20th century was the emerging of a new thrust – the shaping of a truly global economy! To demonstrate – the first decade of the 21st century brought an unthinkable dilemma, collapse of the financial markets and a phenomenon called social networking: a vast personal communication tool operating borderless. If my premise is on target that is the shaping of a truly global economy, then we in America are facing a major problem of unknown proportion. It’s called education.

Historically, education played a major factor in our success as a free country, yet we see most recently a purpose planned assault on education throughout America. Poorly paid teachers, overcrowded classrooms, diminished expectations, reduced budgets, unfit facilities, and the list goes on and on. Short-term thinking elected officials find cutting educational budgets easier than making the hard decisions to correct our financial situations.

Are you as perplexed as I am? If education is important to us as a free society, why has its priority diminished? Are we creating a country, which will not be able to compete with the rest of the global community? As an adjunct university instructor I am overly concerned with the inability of students to analyze, engage in critical thinking and even demonstrate basic knowledge.

Doctoral Candidate

Are you a doctoral candidate? Need a sounding board and suggestions? Contact me.

Yes, Ms. Smith

Yes, Ms. Smith – we must broaden our thinking!

Our world of complex relationships and diverse cultures forces us to go beyond our traditional pre-21st century thinking in regards to ethical behavior. Pre-21st century concern primarily was three-fold: social issues, products and services and environmental.

However, the post 21st century engenders other emerging ethical areas of concern: medical, supply chain management and technical.

The challenge is how, as individuals and societies will these emerging ethical concerns be embraced? Can we rely on the business community, which historically has focused more on profitability rather than doing what is right? Let us be clear - the business community has the charge to create wealth for its stockholders. That is their purpose. With this clear mission, then the business community must be challenged by society to do what is right.

Right in the conduct of business – product responsibility
Right in the treatment of stakeholders – social responsibility
Right in legal requirements – guided by values

Unethical Behavior? Gulf Spill

Much has been said along with a multitude of activity to minimize the effect of one of the worst environmental disasters in modern history – contamination of the Gulf. When considered, the gulf oil spill represents a careless attitude on the part of the business community. Careless from the standpoint – BP has violated a business truism –having a contingency plan.

What is amazing beyond lacking a valid contingency plan is the firm’s reaction to the devastation. It immediately had no problem in rewarding its stockholders or hiring a public relations organization to help mitigate perceptions while families and the habitat remain in chaos.

Ultimately, from my perspective, BP should be awarded a trophy for its greed over principle. The firm’s greed can be summed up as unethical business behavior violating environmental concerns as well as society. The question is – how should we, society react?

It appears unethical behavior in the business world has gone into overtime. Most recently, we see firms such as Toyota and BP putting profits ahead of the welfare of its customers. Sadly these firms have demonstrated practices that in the short-run enhance the pockets of the firm’s leadership while stakeholders will experience the long-run impact. The impact could be in the form of ecological and environmental damage, damaged and crippled economy, excessive governmental regulation - just to name a few.

I advocate, the stakeholders, are the American people. As stakeholders we have been remiss in our responsibility to reject unwarranted behavior.

What can we do? Let me hear from you.

Afganistan - Right Makes Might

The President’s speech to the nation regarding Afganistan and the way forward for that country, revealed that a termendous amount of thought coupled with heartfelt emotions went into the decision-making process. The paragraph below captures the essence of his speech.

"America -- we are passing through a time of great trial. And the message that we send in the midst of these storms must be clear: that our cause is just, our resolve unwavering. We will go forward with the confidence that right makes might, and with the commitment to forge an America that is safer, a world that is more secure, and a future that represents not the deepest of fears but the highest of hopes." President Barack Obama, West Point.

What was quite noticable was the phase ‘right makes might’. These words are very familiar to me and have significant meaning. Not only do I belive that doing what is right will always have a noteworthy impact but my desire is to live a life reflective of them. These words are so much part of me and rightly so, that they captured the essence of one of the books I have written “Right Makes Might” with a subtitle of Reviving Ethics to Improve Your Business.