HEALTH INSURANCE

History
Accident insurance was first offered in the United States by the Franklin Health Assurance Company of Massachusetts. This firm, founded in 1850, offered insurance against injuries arising from railroad and steamboat accidents. Sixty organizations were offering accident insurance in the US by 1866, but the industry consolidated rapidly soon thereafter. While there were earlier experiments, the origins of sickness coverage in the US effectively date from 1890. The first employer-sponsored group disability policy was issued in 1911.
Before the development of medical expense insurance, patients were expected to pay all other health care costs out of their own pockets, under what is known as the business model. During the middle to late 20th century, traditional disability insurance evolved into modern health insurance programs. Today, most comprehensive private health insurance programs cover the cost of routine, preventive, and emergency health care procedures, and also most prescription drugs, but this was not always the case.
Hospital and medical expense policies were introduced during the first half of the 20th century. During the 1920s, individual hospitals began offering services to individuals on a pre-paid basis, eventually leading to the development of organizations.The predecessors of today's(HMOs) originated in 1929, through the 1930s and on during World War II.
Public health care coverage
Public programs provide the primary source of coverage for most seniors and for low-income children and families who meet certain eligibility requirements. The primary public programs are Medicare, a federal social insurance program for seniors and certain disabled individuals; Medicaid, funded jointly by the federal government and states but administered at the state level, which covers certain very low income children and their families; and, also a federal-state partnership that serves certain children and families who do not qualify for Medicaid but who cannot afford private coverage. Other public programs include military health benefits provided through and the and benefits provided through the Some states have additional programs for low-income individuals.
Medicare
In the United States, Medicare is a federal social insurance program that provides health insurance to elderly workers and their dependents, individuals who become totally and permanently disabled, and end stage (ESRD) patients. Some health care economists (Uwe Reinhardt of and Stuart Butler among others) assert that the third-party payment feature of this program has had the of distorting the price of medical procedures. As a result, the Health Care Financing Administration has set up a list of procedures and corresponding prices under the Recent research has found that the health trends of previously uninsured adults, especially those with chronic health problems, improves once they enter the Medicare program.
Medicare Advantage
expand the health care options for Medicare beneficiaries. The option for Medicare Advantage plans is a result of the with the intent to better control the rapid growth in Medicare spending, as well as to provide Medicare beneficiaries more choices.
Medicare Part D (Prescription Drugs)
provides a private insurance option to allow Medicare beneficiaries to purchase subsidized coverage for the costs of It was enacted as part of to 2003 (MMA) and went into effect on January 1, 2006.
Medicail
Medicaid was instituted for the very poor in 1965. Despite its establishment, the percentage of US residents who lack any form of health insurance has increased since 1994. It has been reported that the number of physicians accepting Medicaid has decreased in recent years due to relatively high administrative costs and low reimbursements.Medicaid is a social welfare or program rather than a social insurance program.
State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)
The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is a joint state/federal program to provide health insurance to children in families who earn too much money to qualify for Medicaid, yet cannot afford to buy private insurance. The statutory authority for SCHIP is under title XXI o SCHIP programs are run by the individual states according to requirements set by the federal and may be structured as independent programs separate from Medicaid (separate child health programs), as expansions of their Medicaid programs (SCHIP Medicaid expansion programs), or combine these approaches (SCHIP combination programs). States receive enhanced federal funds for their SCHIP programs at a rate above the regular Medicaid match.
Military health benefits
Health benefits are provided to active duty service members, retired service members and their dependents by the Department of Defense Military Health System (MHS). The MHS consists of a direct care network of Military Treatment Facilities and a purchased care network known as Additionally, veterans may also be eligible for benefits through the
Indian health service
The (IHS) provides medical assistance to eligible American Indians at IHS facilities, and helps pay the cost of some services provided by non-IHS health care providers.
State risk pools
In 1976, some states began providing guaranteed-issuance risk pools, which enable individuals who are medically uninsurable through private health insurance to purchase a state-sponsored health insurance plan, usually at higher cost. Minnesota was the first to offer such a plan; 34 states now offer them. Plans vary greatly from state to state, both in their costs and benefits to consumers and in their methods of funding and operations. They serve a very small portion of the uninsurable market—about 182,000 people in the US as of 2004.In best cases, they allow people with pre-existing conditions such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease or other chronic illnesses to be able to switch jobs or seek self-employment without fear of being without health care benefits.However, the plans are expensive, with premiums that can be double the average policy, and the pools currently cover only 1 in 25 of the so-called "uninsurable" population.Efforts to pass a national pool have as yet been unsuccessful, but some federal tax money has been awarded to states to innovate and improve their plans.
Private health care coverage
Private health insurance may be purchased on a group basis (e.g., by a firm to cover its employees) or purchased by individual consumers. Most Americans with private health insurance receive it through an employer-sponsored program. According to the some 60% of Americans are covered through an employer, while about 9% purchase health insurance directly.
The US has a joint federal/state system for regulating insurance, with the federal government ceding primary responsibility to the states under the States regulate the content of health insurance policies and often require coverage of specific types of medical services or health care provider.State mandates generally do not apply to the health plans offered by large employers, due to the preemption clause
Employer-sponsored
Employer-sponsored health insurance is paid for by businesses on behalf of their employees as part of an package. Most private health coverage in the US is employment based. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, nearly 100% of large firms offer health insurance to their employees The employer typically makes a substantial contribution towards the cost of coverage. In 2008 the average employee contribution was 16% of the cost of single coverage and 27% of the cost of family coverage. These percentages have been stable since 1999. Health benefits provided by employers are also tax favored. Employee contributions can be made on a pre-tax basis if the employer offers the benefits through a section 125
Costs for employer-paid health insurance are rising rapidly: since 2001, premiums for family coverage have increased 78%, while wages have risen 19% and inflation has risen 17%, according to a 2007 study by Employer costs have risen significantly per hour worked, and vary significantly. In particular, average employer costs for health benefits vary by firm size and occupation. The cost per hour of health benefits is generally higher for workers in higher-wage occupations, but represent a smaller percentage of payroll.The percentage of total compensation devoted to health benefits has been rising since the 1960s.Average premiums, including both the employer and employee portions, were $4,704 for single coverage and $12,680 for family coverage in 2008 However, in a 2007 analysis, the Employee Benefit Research Institute concluded that the availability of employment-based health benefits for active workers in the US is stable. The "take-up rate," or percentage of eligible workers participating in employer-sponsored plans, is falling. The percentage of workers actually covered has fallen somewhat, but not sharply. EBRI interviewed employers for the study, and found that others might follow if a major employer discontinued health benefits. Public policy changes could also result in a reduction in employer support for employment-based health benefits.
Although much more likely to offer retiree health benefits than small firms, the percentage of large firms offering these benefits fell from 66% in 1988 to 34% in 2002.

PERSONAL COMPUTER

PERSONAL COMPUTER
Personal Computers, microcomputers were made possible by two technical innovations in the field of microelectronics: the integrated circuit, or IC, which was developed in 1959; and the microprocessor, which first appeared in 1971. The IC permitted the miniaturization of computer-memory circuits, and the microprocessor reduced the size of a computer's CPU to the size of a single silicon chip.
The invention of the microprocessor, a machine which combines the equivalent of thousands of transistors on a single, tiny silicon chip, was developed by Ted Hoff at Intel Corporation in the Santa Clara Valley south of San Francisco, California, an area that was destined to become known to the world as Silicon Valley because of the microprocessor and computer industry that grew up there. Because a CPU calculates, performs logical operations, contains operating instructions, and manages data flows, the potential existed for developing a separate system that could function as a complete microcomputer.
The first such desktop-size system specifically designed for personal use appeared in 1974; it was offered by Micro Instrumentation Telemetry Systems (MITS). The owners of the system were then encouraged by the editor of a popular technology magazine to create and sell a mail-order computer kit through the magazine. The computer, which was called Altair, retailed for slightly less than $400.
The demand for the microcomputer kit was immediate, unexpected, and totally overwhelming. Scores of small entrepreneurial companies responded to this demand by producing computers for the new market. The first major electronics firm to manufacture and sell personal computers, Tandy Corporation (Radio Shack), introduced its model in 1977. It quickly dominated the field, because of the combination of two attractive features: a keyboard and a cathode-ray display terminal (CRT). It was also popular because it could be programmed and the user was able to store information by means of cassette tape.
Soon after Tandy's new model was introduced, two engineer-programmers—Stephen Wozniak and Steven Jobs—started a new computer manufacturing company named Apple Computers.
In 1976, in what is now the Silicon Valley, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak created a homemade microprocessor computer board called Apple I. Working from Jobs’ parents’ garage, the two men began to manufacture and market the Apple I to local hobbyists and electronics enthusiasts. Early in 1977, Jobs and Wozniak founded Apple Computer, Inc., and in April of that year introduced the Apple II, the world’s first personal computer. Based on a board of their design, the Apple II, complete with keyboard and color graphics capability, retailed for $1290.
Some of the new features they introduced into their own microcomputers were expanded memory, inexpensive disk-drive programs and data storage, and color graphics. Apple Computers went on to become the fastest-growing company in U.S. business history. Its rapid growth inspired a large number of similar microcomputer manufacturers to enter the field. Before the end of the decade, the market for personal computers had become clearly defined.
In 1981, IBM introduced its own microcomputer model, the IBM PC. Although it did not make use of the most recent computer technology, the PC was a milestone in this burgeoning field. It proved that the microcomputer industry was more than a current fad, and that the microcomputer was in fact a necessary tool for the business community. The PC's use of a 16-bit microprocessor initiated the development of faster and more powerful micros, and its use of an operating system that was available to all other computer makers led to a de facto standardization of the industry.
In the mid-1980s, a number of other developments were especially important for the growth of microcomputers. One of these was the introduction of a powerful 32-bit computer capable of running advanced multi-user operating systems at high speeds. This has dulled the distinction between microcomputers and minicomputers, placing enough computing power on an office desktop to serve all small businesses and most medium-size businesses.
Another innovation was the introduction of simpler, "user-friendly" methods for controlling the operations of microcomputers. By substituting a graphical user interface (GUI) for the conventional operating system, computers such as the Apple Macintosh allow the user to select icons—graphic symbols of computer functions—from a display screen instead of requiring typed commands. Douglas Engelbart, invented an "X-Y Position Indicator for a Display System": the prototype of the computer "mouse" whose convenience has revolutionized personal computing. New voice-controlled systems are now available, and users may eventually be able to use the words and syntax of spoken language to operate their microcomputers.

FOREX TRADING

Unlike a stock market, where all participants have access to the same prices, the foreign exchange market is divided into levels of access. At the top is the inter-bank market, which is made up of the largest investment banking firms. Within the inter-bank market, spreads, which are the difference between the bid and ask prices, are razor sharp and usually unavailable, and not known to players outside the inner circle. The difference between the bid and ask prices widens (from 0-1 pip to 1-2 pips for some currencies such as the EUR). This is due to volume. If a trader can guarantee large numbers of transactions for large amounts, they can demand a smaller difference between the bid and ask price, which is referred to as a better spread. The levels of access that make up the foreign exchange market are determined by the size of the “line” (the amount of money with which they are trading). The top-tier inter-bank market accounts for 53% of all transactions. After that there are usually smaller investment banks, followed by large multi-national corporations (which need to hedge risk and pay employees in different countries), large hedge funds, and even some of the retail FX-metal market makers. According to Galati and Melvin, “Pension funds, insurance companies, mutual funds, and other institutional investors have played an increasingly important role in financial markets in general, and in FX markets in particular, since the early 2000s.” (2004) In addition, he notes, “Hedge funds have grown markedly over the 2001–2004 period in terms of both number and overall size” Central banks also participate in the foreign exchange market to align currencies to their economic needs.
Banks
The interbank market caters for both the majority of commercial turnover and large amounts of speculative trading every day. A large bank may trade billions of dollars daily. Some of this trading is undertaken on behalf of customers, but much is conducted by proprietary desks, trading for the bank's own account.
Until recently, foreign exchange brokers did large amounts of business, facilitating interbank trading and matching anonymous counterparts for small fees. Today, however, much of this business has moved on to more efficient electronic systems. The broker squawk box lets traders listen in on ongoing interbank trading and is heard in most but turnover is noticeably smaller than just a few years ago.
Commercial companies
An important part of this market comes from the financial activities of companies seeking foreign exchange to pay for goods or services. Commercial companies often trade fairly small amounts compared to those of banks or speculators, and their trades often have little short term impact on market rates. Nevertheless, trade flows are an important factor in the long-term direction of a currency's exchange rate. Some multinational companies can have an unpredictable impact when very large positions are covered due to exposures that are not widely known by other market participants. Central banks
National central banks play an important role in the foreign exchange markets. They try to control the, inflation, and/or interest rates and often have official or unofficial target rates for their currencies. They can use their often substantial foreign exchange reserves to stabilize the market. argued that the best stabilization strategy would be for central banks to buy when the exchange rate is too low, and to sell when the rate is too high—that is, to trade for a profit based on their more precise information. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of central bank "stabilizing speculation" is doubtful because central banks do not go bankrupt if they make large losses, like other traders would, and there is no convincing evidence that they do make a profit trading.
The mere expectation or rumor of central bank might be enough to stabilize a currency, but aggressive intervention might be used several times each year in countries with a currency regime. Central banks do not always achieve their objectives. The combined resources of the market can easily overwhelm any central bank Several scenarios of this nature were seen in the 1992–9 collapse, and in more recent times in Southeast Asia.