Small employers and health benefits: findings from the 2002 small employer health benefits survey

Overall, 19 percent of small employers offering health benefits made changes to their health plan between 2001 and 2002. Sixty-five percent increased deductibles and co-pays; 35 percent switched insurers; 30 percent increased the employee share of the premium; and 29 percent cut back on the scope of benefits. Twenty-six percent increased the scope of benefits offered. Nearly one-quarter of small employers offering health benefits think their firm would change coverage and 3 percent think it would drop coverage if the cost were to increase an additional 5 percent. Most small employers offer sound business reasons for offering health benefits to workers. Many report that it helps with employee recruitment and retention, and increases productivity. More than three-quarters report that offering health benefits is "the right thing to do." Most small employers that do offer health benefits report that it has a positive impact on various aspects of the business, such as recruitment, retention, employee attitude and performance, employee health status, and the overall success of the business. Most small employers that do not offer health benefits tend to think that not offering them has no negative impact on the above aspects of their business or the overall success of the business. However, those not offering benefits are more likely than those offering them to report that most of their employees are high-turnover and stay on the job only a few months. Small employers that offer health benefits tend to be distinctly different from those not offering them. Worker income in firms not offering health benefits tends to be considerably lower than in firms that do offer them. Employers not offering health benefits are more likely than those offering them to have a smaller proportion of full-time employees, and employers that do not offer health benefits have a larger proportion of females, workers under age 30, and minority employees. Of small employers that offer dependent coverage, more than 40 percent report that workers do not take coverage for their dependents because the dependents have coverage from somewhere else, but 35 percent report that employees decline dependent coverage because they cannot afford the premiums. Many small employers that do not offer health benefits are potential purchasers. Eleven percent are either extremely or very likely to start offering health benefits in the next two years, and 22 percent are somewhat likely to start offering health benefits.     

Cultural perspectives of death,grief, and bereavement

The cultural makeup of the United States continues to change rapidly, and as minority groups continue to grow, these groups' beliefs and customs must be taken into account when examining death, grief, and bereavement. This article discusses the beliefs, customs, and rituals of Latino, African American, Navajo, Jewish, and Hindu groups to raise awareness of the differences health care professionals may encounter among their grieving clients. Discussion of this small sample of minority groups in the United States is not intended to cover all of the degrees of acculturation within each group. Cultural groups are not homogeneous, and individual variation must always be considered in situations of death, grief, and bereavement. However, because the customs, rituals, and beliefs of the groups to which they belong affect individuals' experiences of death, grief, and bereavement, health care professionals need to be open to learning about them to better understand and help.     

Prevalence Rates of Youth Gambling Problems: Are the Current Rates Inflated?

While there is a general consensus in the literature that it is common for youth to gamble, considerable variability in the reported prevalence rates of youth problem gambling has been found. More recently, issues concerning the possible overestimation of these rates have been raised. Arguments underlying the proposition that problem gambling rates for youth are inflated are examined. It is acknowledged that more rigorous research is required, including the need for the development and refinement of current adolescent instruments and screening tools, agreement upon a gold standard criterion for adolescent problem gambling, and clarity of nomenclature issues. The advancement of scientific knowledge concerning the underlying risk factors associated with the onset and course of youth gambling involvement and the role of effective adolescent prevention and treatment programs will require these fundamental research questions to be addressed.     

The behavioural and welfare implications of housing demand under rationing

This study examines on United Kingdom budget data the sensitivity of policy and welfare conclusions to the introduction of quantity constraint on Housing demand within a utility consistent framework. The paper proposes a rationed demographic demand system, based on extension of the idea of virtual price, and presents evidence that such a model could prove useful in the precise estimation of equivalence scales on budget data with limited price variation. The demand parameter estimates and their welfare implications are quite sensitive to the introduction of rationed demand. Unlike in previous studies, the rationed demand system fails to reject linear preferences.I am grateful to Arie Kapteyn and an anonymous referee for helpful written comments on an earlier version. I also thank seminar participants at the Second Annual Congress of the European Society of Population Economics at the University of Mannheim, West Germany in June 1988, at the University of NSW and Melbourne in Australia, and Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand for useful discussions. I retain responsibility for all errors that remain.     

Family reunification

The author explores the problem of family reunification in the context of international migration. The focus is on international and national legislation, policies, and provisions concerning family reunification. The need for international cooperation to resolve the problems arising from international migration and the desire to reunite families is noted. (SUMMARY IN FRE AND SPA)     

Problems and possibilities of development work among tribals: a participatory evaluation of a voluntary agency in India

Mandal, a church-related non-governmental voluntary agency operating in north-west India's Nasik district since 1966 was evaluated for performance in promoting self-sustaining economic growth and socio- political awareness in its beneficiaries. The research design incorporated 2 questions, the extent to which Mandal had used the integrated approach, and the extent to which it promoted structural change in the village. 2 levels of analysis were used: random samples of 315 individuals (163 beneficiaries and 152 non-beneficiaries) and data from the takatu's office for 20 involved villages and 8 control villages. Quantitative data were sought by examining files and doing closed interviews, and qualitative data were collected by observation and open-ended interviews. The variables used in the analysis were educational level, class category, caste, agricultural investment, family net income, individual consciousness and social participation. It was concluded that on the individual level some positive impact was discernible in terms of family income and agricultural investment. At the village level no quantitative improvement was measurable, but the effect of Mandal was symbolic in that it sets an example for social change. The Mandal has acquired a health, non-partisan secular image for social action.     

The future of refugee flows and policies

"The number of forced migrants...is estimated today to exceed 40 million [worldwide]. The changed international climate of the 1990s...has shifted the focus from the asylum and resettlement countries to the countries of origin: there is today a greater willingness to intervene in other countries' affairs either to avert the creation of new flows of focused migrants or to assist internally displaced populations, and there is the expectation of large-scale voluntary returns of refugees in asylum. This article discusses these and other policy issues concerning forced migration in this new international environment."