ASSIGNMENT

You work as the manager of the human resource department of Schulz Enterprises in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  Top Management of Schulz Enterprises has asked you as the manager of HR to examine the health care costs of the firm.  Health care costs for Schulz Enterprises is currently rising at a rate of 14 percent per year.

 

Top Management has asked you to conduct a quantitative survey that can be used to analyze demographics of employees of the firm including the status of health of employees, current satisfaction with the health care plans, and attitudes about proposed cost saving measures the firm is considering adopting.  The firm currently offers three health care options for the organization.   Top Management would like to restrict health care options to just one plan – Community South Dakota PPO and one pharmacy – Sioux Falls Town Pharmacy.

 

However, many workers belong to the other two health care plans, Blue Cross/Blue Shield Traditional and Sioux Falls HMO.  Top Management is worried that if satisfaction is high in the two plans they are considering phasing out that they may lose part of the workforce due to turnover.

 

Further, many workers live outside metropolitan Sioux Falls and Top Management wants to investigate whether workers will leave Schulz Enterprises if they find restrictions on their health including pharmaceutical use too stringent under the Community South Dakota PPO.

 

Schulz Management is considering adopting a Health Reimbursement Account that would be funded by the employer and would allocate $1,000 each year in an employee’s health account and whose unused funds could be rolled over in the employee’s account.  This Health Reimbursement Account would serve as a replacement to the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Traditional Plan and Sioux Falls HMO plans and as an alternative to Community South Dakota PPO plan, which is the only current health plan the company is considering keeping.  Top Management wants you to investigate whether there is support among the workforce for instituting a Health Reimbursement Account.

 

Finally, Schulz Management is considering adopting programs to try and encourage healthy lifestyle behaviors by rewarding employees with reduced health care premium levels for adopting healthy lifestyles including refraining from smoking.  Top management is also considering adopting wellness programs to encourage adopting these healthy lifestyle behaviors.  Schulz Enterprises is not planning to offer financial incentives for participation in wellness programs it offers.  Top Management wants you to investigate whether there is support among the workforce for providing lower health care premiums for employee’s who practice healthy lifestyles and if there is interest in wellness programs the firm is considering adopting.

Questions for you to answer for this exercise: 

 

1. Are most of your respondents men or women? How many are men and how many are women?

 

1. Are most respondents 47 or over?

 

1. Do most employees reside in metropolitan Sioux Falls or Outside Sioux Falls including Iowa and Minnesota?

 

1. What is the largest category of health insurance plan chosen by employees?

 

1. What is the percentage of employees in the Blue Cross Blue Shield traditional plan?

 

1. What is the average level of satisfaction with the health care plans?

 

1. How supportive are respondents of replacing the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Traditional Plan and Sioux Falls HMO plans with the option to select either the Community South Dakota PPO plan or a new Health Reimbursement Account as your health care plan options?

 

1. What is the most frequently cited top reason why a person selected the health care plan they chose? What percentage of employees selected this reason as the top reason for their health care selection plan?
2. Is there a significant difference between men and women and their current level of satisfaction with their health plan?
3. Is there a significant difference between men and women in whether participants would be satisfied in using the Sioux Falls Town Pharmacy as the only pharmaceutical provider?

 

1. Is there a significant difference between those who smoke and do not smoke cigarettes and their general rating of overall health?  Do those who smoke or not smoke rate themselves as healthier?

 

1. Does current age, amount of time that a person felt stressed or general health predict the number of minutes a person exercises in a day? If there is a significant difference, does health rating, level of stress, or age predict number of minutes spent exercising?

 

 

1. Is there a significant difference in the location where respondents reside and satisfaction in whether the insured would be satisfied with having Sioux Falls Town Pharmacy as the sole pharmaceutical provider? If there is a significant difference, which residential group is different?  Are they more or less happy than other locations if Sioux Falls Town Pharmacy as the sole pharmaceutical provider?

 

1. The average satisfaction with health care plans in other companies is 4.00. Is there a significant difference between the standard level with the health care sample and this average of 4.00 found in all other companies?

 

1. What is the correlation between general health rating and level of mental stress?  Is it significant?  If it is significant, are people that rate their health as better significantly more stressed or not?
2. Is there a significant difference between residence and how one rates their health care for when they have been sick or injured? If there is a difference between residence and satisfaction with the plan when they are sick or injured, which residence group is different?  Is the residence group that is statistically different from the other residence groups more or less satisfied with their health plan when they are sick or injured?
3. Is there a significant difference between men and women and the minutes spent per day getting physical exercise? On average, which group gets more exercise each day?

 

1. Does general health rating predict your satisfaction with the Sioux Falls Town Pharmacy being the sole pharmaceutical provider? If so, are those who say they are healthier more or less likely to be satisfied if the Sioux Falls Town Pharmacy is the sole pharmaceutical provider?
2. Do any of the following four independent variables (general health rating, how often you feel stressed, amount of minutes you exercise each day, and how often you use the Sioux Falls Pharmacy) predict how you rate your health care plan for providing information about how to improve your health and well-being? Which variable(s) is significant?  Describe the relationship between the significant independent variable(s) and dependent variable.
3. Is there a significant difference between the health care plan is which a person is enrolled and their current level of satisfaction with the health care plan? If there a difference between plan enrollment and satisfaction with the plan, which group plan is different? Are participants that are significantly different in health care plans more or less satisfied with their plan than participants in other health plans?

 

1. Does tendency to exercise more often and reported level of health status predict whether or not respondents are more supportive of adding an employer funded Health Reimbursement Account as an employee health care option? If tendency to exercise more often and/or reported level of health status significantly predicts support for the addition of an employer funded Health Reimbursement Account as an employee health care option does tendency to exercise and/or level of health status positively or negatively predict support for this health care option?

 

1. Is there a significant difference between the health care plan is which a person is enrolled and their level of support for replacing the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Traditional Plan and Sioux Falls HMO plans with the option to select either the Community South Dakota PPO plan or a new Health Reimbursement Account as health care plan options? If there a difference between plan enrollment and support for replacing the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Traditional Plan and Sioux Falls HMO plans with the option to select either the Community South Dakota PPO plan or a new Health Reimbursement Account as health care plan options which group plan is different? Are participants that are significantly different in health care plans more or less satisfied with plans to replace the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Traditional Plan and Sioux Falls HMO plans with the option to select either the Community South Dakota PPO plan or a new Health Reimbursement Account as health care plan options?

 

1. Is there a significant difference between those who smoke and do not smoke cigarettes and their likelihood of participating in wellness programs that have no financial incentives provided to employees?

 

Overall Recommendations: