How the Proposed Health Care Bill Will Impact Florida Residents and Health Care Providers

The nation is abuzz with talk of the proposed healthcare bill, which may be signed into place in 2009 – and may be signed as soon as Christmas Eve. As it stands now, the proposed bill will cost the nation at least $871 billion and change the way Americans receive and pay for their healthcare. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the proposed national healthcare bill will ensure health insurance for an additional 31 million Americans while, simultaneously, cutting the federal deficit by a whopping $132 by 2019.According to the most current draft of the healthcare reform bill, every American will be required to buy health insurance. However, Medicaid programs will also be expanded to provide more healthcare coverage to the poor. Moderate income individuals will receive a federal subsidy to help them afford health insurance or health care.For Florida residents, this means that health insurance rolls in the state will increase by 2.4 million by 2019. Additionally, nearly one million Florida seniors will be blocked from the proposed budget cuts to the popular Medicare Advantage program. But that’s not all – health care providers and recipients will be affected by the proposed national health care bill in many more ways.The impact of the proposed health care bill on Florida residents and health care providersIn addition to the new mandate that all Florida residents will have to have health insurance or another form of health care coverage (such as federally subsidized coverage), many Florida residents can expect their healthcare expenses to increase in response to the passage of the health care bill.While the proposed cosmetic surgery tax was eliminated from the bill, there is a new ten percent tax on indoor tanning services. From this ten percent tax alone, the government expects to raise about $2.7 billion over the next decade. While the government stands to benefit from the increase revenue, tanning salons may be hard-pressed to maintain their businesses. “This is really going to be tough for these businesses – they’re already struggling,” said John Overstreet, executive director of the Indoor Tanning Association.Additionally, individuals making more than $200,000 per year and families making more than $250,000 will have to pay a 2.35 percent tax for Medicare. This figure represents a 0.9 percent tax increase for these high-earners.However, Florida Senator Bill Nelson was able to secure an amendment to the health care bill that would protect about 800,000 Medicare Advantage policy holders from cuts to Medicare Advantage plans. While existing Medicare Advantage participants will be grandfathered in, new Medicare beneficiaries will have to deal with the program cuts.The good news for many Florida residents is that Florida community health centers will receive an additional $10 billion in the most current version of the bill.Additionally, the proposed five percent tax on elective cosmetic procedures was also eliminated from the most current version of the health care bill. That’s good news for health care providers offering elective procedures said Dr. Kent V. Hasen, a board-certified area plastic surgeon. “In general, cosmetic surgeries are down 30 to 40 percent because of the recession. You tack that on and it will be the death knell for the practices.” That five percent tax would, however, have generated about $6 billion in taxes.The proposed health care bill has been hotly debated in the Senate since November and is expected to be signed into action as soon as Christmas Eve of this year. Once the bill is in place, Americans will want to reevaluate their current health insurance plans, as the bill proposes many changes to the health care and health insurance industries that will affect every American in some regard.When evaluating their health insurance plans and health care needs, many individuals will find it beneficial to speak with a qualified health insurance advisor for specific information about which health insurance plans suit their unique needs, budgets, and lifestyles – especially in light of the many changes that will soon take effect.

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Increase Dealership Sales – the Importance of Automotive Sales Training

How many times have you driven by a car dealership to find salespeople huddled or lined up by the showroom door like vultures waiting to pounce on the next customer?In today’s market, spending has significantly decreased, and dealerships must be more proactive in creating a maximized sales environment and managing sales activity if they want to sell more cars and generate profit.On top of this current problem affecting auto sales, in-store traffic is at an all time low, as many that need to purchase a vehicle do the majority of their research and kicking of the tires online to determine what they want and can afford, and then call the dealership, rather than browse the showroom like the good old days.The advent of the internet has changed how people shop for cars. Isn’t it time your sales training changed to adapt to get current with the times?Sales training in the auto industry typically used to just be for the sales team. The managers would send their crew to a seminar where they would learn about the latest and greatest tactics and techniques in showroom behavior. The salespeople would return to their dealerships all pumped up and ready to implement what they just learned. Then two weeks later, it is back to business as usual.

Why This Does Not WorkBottom Line: You need effective automotive sales management to have effective salespeople. Managers need automotive training as well as the auto sales staff.Most sales managers became sales managers because they had high success as a salesperson. That does not necessarily make them good at managing a staff, in the same way that the best player may not make the best coach.
Think of the auto sales manager as sales coach. A coach oversees performance and creates strategies based on a player’s ability to execute. The sales manager should oversee his or her staff in the same manner and get trained on how to manage effectively to increase automotive sales.Automotive management training ensures that the managers can comprehensively supervise the showroom and track the individual progress of his or her staff. They will train with the sales staff and should then learn how to set up an in-house continual training regimen.Salespeople may indeed learn valuable skills from seminars, but the main difference between training and learning is that training is the repeated application of learned skills. There is not a lot of opportunity for salespeople to repeatedly apply what they learn in the period of a single day, or even a week. Training is something you do, not something you did.Automotive BDC and Telephone TrainingCar dealers need to know how to handle inbound sales calls and talk potential customers into the showroom instead of out. While many salespeople do not want to talk about price, customers will inevitably bring it up, so it is crucial to be prepared and know how to handle the issue of price when it comes up.Furthermore, auto dealerships, and especially the sales staff, need to be informed about current programs. For example, the last hot topic of the auto industry was Cash for Clunkers. Salespeople should know, first off, whether their dealership is participating in a certain program. Then, they should know the exact requirements of the program, and what kind of rebates or incentives their dealership is offering. Once they are sufficiently educated, they need to practice explaining the ins and outs of the program, so that by the time they have a customer on the line or in the showroom, it feels like second nature to them.This is where telephone sales training comes into play. Although many auto salespeople feel at home in the showroom, they are ill at ease when it comes to handling the phones. There is great debate about the pros and cons of the automotive BDC or business development center. For many dealerships, the BDC staff is made up of telemarketers. On one hand, they have experience with handling inbound and outbound calls. On the other hand, they may know very little about the automotive industry. What if you could combine your auto sales staff with your BDC? With telephone sales training, you can.With effective telephone training, the auto sales staff will not only be able to handle inbound calls, but also follow up with unsold prospects, and call back sold customers to generate repeaters and referrals. Although there are many good training programs out there, one of the best, in my opinion, is FirePhone, which is part of Proactive Training Solution’s ADAPT VT virtual training program.One of the main elements of FirePhone is the virtual role-play, which allows salespeople to get ample practice with virtual callers before moving on to real callers. FirePhone also provides scripts for almost any situation, so that the sales staff always knows what to say. Whether your dealership uses FirePhone or another program, having a sales staff that is skilled on the phone will allow you to cut costs and save money that would otherwise be spent on an outside BDC.In SummaryAn ongoing automotive sales training program that incorporates both the showroom and the phone lines is what will keep your dealership efficient and productive during these tough economic times. Through much practice and sound management coaching, the auto sales staff will become more at ease with various situations, have more confidence with the potential customer, and close more sales transactions.

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Food, Nutrition & Health – The Connection Revealed

“Food, glorious food! Hot sausage and mustard!” So the urchins sang in the musical “Oliver!” Food certainly plays a major role in our lives. It can do far more than give us energy… it can help us feel good, it can enhance our social lives, it’s the centerpiece of many holidays and social traditions. It can be very pleasurable!Pleasurable yes! Healthy, not always. So what is the basic purpose of food and how does it affect our health?The basic purpose of food is to provide nutrients to the body so that it can function. Certain nutrients are necessary to combine with oxygen to create energy for physical activity and for all internal functions, including repairing and building cell tissue.But food and nutrition don’t always go “hand in hand.” And without nutrition, the body can’t function its best. Health and energy ultimately suffer.Definition of NutritionNutrition simply means something that nourishes. To nourish means “to feed or sustain with substances necessary to life and growth.” Not everything that is called “food” contains nourishment! And just because a product has a nutrition facts label, that is no guarantee that there’s any nutrition in it. That’s why “junk food” is called “junk” – because it has a lot of calories but no real nourishment – no nutritional value!Nutrition: Macronutrients and MicronutrientsThe nutrients that the body needs for energy and to provide the building material for cells, tissues, muscles, bones, hormones, etc. etc. (all physical structure and bodily processes) are broken into two categories: Macronutrients and micronutrients.Macronutrients are called “macro” (meaning “large”) because they form the largest percentage of the nutrients the body needs to function. The macronutrients are:
Carbohydrate
Fats (also called lipids)
Protein and
Water
Micronutrients are called “micro” (meaning “small”) because they are needed by the body in very small quantities. The micronutrients are:
Vitamins
Minerals
The body needs all of these nutrients in balanced quantities to achieve good physical health and to operate at its best.Food and nutritionBefore the advent of convenience and fast foods, food and nutrition wasn’t an issue. Food WAS nutritious! Interesting how there are now epidemics of diabetes, obesity and many other health problems since the nutritional quality of our food supply has deteriorated. Food processing to the degree that is found in fast foods and convenience foods not only robs food of most of its nutritional value, but the pesticides, preservatives and additives that can be found in processed food is toxic to the body.Food, nutrition and healthLearning the basic facts about the nutrition (or not) in food and how it contributes to health (or doesn’t) is probably the smartest thing someone could do to improve their health and energy. Believe me, there are truckloads of false data and myths about food and nutrition that keep people from enjoying better health and vitality.Food manufacturers with their slick marketing and advertising make matters worse! It appeals to our taste buds and emotions, but processed food eaten on a regular basis, as most Americans do at this point in time, takes a serious toll on health and energy.The person who said “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” was not kidding!

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