The manta ray (Manta birostris), is the largest of the rays, with the largest known specimen having been more than 7.6 m (about 25 ft) across, with a weight of about 2,300 kg (about 5,000 lb). It ranges throughout all tropical waters of the world, typically around coral reefs.

Mantas have been given a variety of common names, including Atlantic manta, Pacific manta, devilfish, and just manta. Some people just call all members of the family stingrays, though stingrays comprise a separate family of rays (Dasyatidae). Recent studies have discovered that what is called manta ray are at least two different species, one smaller local and one much larger and migratory.

Anatomy

Mantas are most commonly black dorsally and white ventrally, but some are blue on their backs. A manta’s eyes are located at the base of the cephalic lobes on each side of the head, and unlike other rays the mouth is found at the anterior edge of its head. To respire, like other rays, the manta has five pairs of gills on the underside.

To swim better through the ocean[citation needed], they have a diamond shaped body plan, using their pectoral fins as graceful “wings”.

Distinctive “horns” (from which the common name Devil ray stems) are on either side of its broad head. These unique structures are actually derived from the pectoral fins. During embryonic development, part of the pectoral fin breaks away and moves forward, surrounding the mouth. This gives the manta ray the distinction of being the only jawed vertebrate to have novel limbs (the so-called six-footed tortoise, Manouria emys, does not actually have six legs–only enlarged tuberculate scales on their thighs that look superficially like an extra pair of hind limbs). These flexible horns are used to direct plankton, small fish and water into the manta’s very broad and wide mouth. The manta can curl them to reduce drag while swimming.
Manta ray at Hin Daeng, Thailand.
Manta ray at Hin Daeng, Thailand.

Evolution and taxonomy

Manta rays are believed by some to have evolved from bottom-feeding ancestry, but have adapted to become filter feeders in the open ocean. This allowed them to grow to a larger size than any other species of ray. Because of their pelagic lifestyle as plankton feeders, some of the ancestral characteristics have degenerated. For example, all that is left of their oral teeth is a small band of vestigial teeth on the lower jaw, almost hidden by the skin. Their dermal denticles are also greatly reduced in number and size, but are still present, and they have a much thicker body mucus coating than other rays. Their spiracles have become small and non-functional, as all water is taken in through their mouth instead.

Taxonomically, the situation of the mantas is still under investigation. Three species have been identified: Manta birostris, Manta ehrenbergii, and Manta raya, but they are quite similar, and the latter two may just be isolated populations. The genus Manta is sometimes placed in its own family, Mobulidae, but this article follows FishBase taxonomy, and places it in the family Myliobatidae, along with eagle rays and their relatives.

Behavior

Mantas are filter feeders: they feed on plankton, fish larvae and the like, passively filtered from the water passing through their gills as they swim. The small prey organisms are caught on flat horizontal plates of russet-coloured spongy tissue, that span the spaces between the manta’s gill bars.

Mantas frequent reef-side cleaning stations where small fish such as wrasses and angelfish swim inside the manta’s gills and all over its skin to feed, in the process cleaning it of parasites and removing bits of dead skin.

The predators of the Manta ray include mainly large sharks, however in some circumstances orcas have also been observed preying on them.

Mantas are extremely curious around humans, and are fond of swimming with scuba divers. Although they may approach humans, if touched, their mucus membrane is removed, causing lesions and infections on their skin. They will often surface to investigate boats (without engines running). They have the largest brain-to-body ratio of the sharks and rays.
Mantas are known to breach the water into the air.

Superman (sometimes called Superman (volume 1) and for a time published as Adventures of Superman) is a comic book published by DC Comics. The character Superman began as one of several anthology features in the National Periodical Publications comic book Action Comics #1 (June 1938). The strip proved so popular that National launched Superman into his own self-titled comic book, the first for any superhero, premiering with cover-date June 1939. Between 1986 and 2006 it was retitled Adventures of Superman while a new comic book used the title Superman. As of June 25, 2008, the series has reached issue #677.

Superman

Whereas Action Comics at the time was an anthology featuring stories of several different characters in addition to Superman such as Zatara and Tex Thompson, the Superman comic only contained Superman stories.

The Superman comic book began being published quarterly, soon going bimonthly and in the late 1950s turning monthly. Twelve Annual issues were published between 1960-1986, and three Special issues were published between 1983-1985. This initial Superman series went on a three-month hiatus with issue #423 (Sept. 1986), as did sister title Action Comics, while the new Man of Steel limited series was published, introducing the post-Crisis on Infinite Earths Superman.

Awards

The creators who have worked on Superman over the years have received a number of awards and nominations, including the 1969 Alley Award for Strip Most Needing Improvement, the 1970 Shazam Award for Best Writer (Dramatic Division), for Dennis O’Neil for his work on Superman, Batman, and Green Lantern, and a 1986 Jack Kirby Award nomination for Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons for Superman Annual #11 (1985).

Adventures of Superman

The death of Superman and its aftermath ran through a number of issues of the Superman comics in 1992–1993 (Adventures of Superman #499. Cover art by Tom Grummett and Doug Hazlewood).
The death of Superman and its aftermath ran through a number of issues of the Superman comics in 1992–1993 (Adventures of Superman #499. Cover art by Tom Grummett and Doug Hazlewood).
The survivors of the Crisis are about to enter into the paradise dimension. Cover of Adventures of Superman #649 (April 2006), by Ivan Reis, the “final” issue of the series under that title.
The survivors of the Crisis are about to enter into the paradise dimension. Cover of Adventures of Superman #649 (April 2006), by Ivan Reis, the “final” issue of the series under that title.

After the Man of Steel limited series, Action Comics returned and Superman (Volume 2), #1 was published. A new title, Adventures of Superman premiered with #424, continuing the numbering of the original Superman series. The initial team working on the renamed title was writer Marv Wolfman and artist Jerry Ordway.

Adventures of Superman was numbered from issue #424 (January 1987) to issue #649 (April 2006), for a total of 228 monthly issues (including issue #0 (October 1994) published between issues #516 and #517 during the Zero Hour crossover event and issue #1,000,000 (November 1998) during the DC One Million crossover event) and nine Annuals published between 1987 to 1997.

The plots of the Superman books were often linked during the first few years of the series run. To coordinate the storyline and sequence of event, from January 1991 to January 2002, “triangle numbers” (or “shield numbers”) appeared on the cover of each Superman comic book. During these years the Superman story lines ran with the story continuing through the titles Superman, Action Comics and later in two further series, Superman: The Man of Steel and Superman: The Man of Tomorrow. After February 2002, the integration between the Superman titles became less frequent, and the remaining issues of Adventures of Superman commonly carried self-contained stories. The final issue (#649), however, was part of a three-part crossover with Superman and Action Comics, an homage to the Golden Age Superman in the wake of events in the limited series Infinite Crisis.

For its last few years, Adventures of Superman was written by Greg Rucka. Notable plots included the villain Ruin, the attempted assassination of Lois Lane and a number of well-regarded Mxyzptlk appearances.

Awards

Issues #501 through #503 of the series were a part of the story The Reign of the Supermen which won the Comics Buyer’s Guide Fan Award for Favorite Comic Book Story for 1993.[citation needed]

Superman returns

Superman (Volume 2) reached issue #226 (April 2006) and was then cancelled as part of the companywide Infinite Crisis storyline. Adventures of Superman was returned to its original title, Superman, with issue #650 (May 2006). Action Comics had continued publication normally.

The annual editions after the retitling back to Superman (Volume 1) continued starting with Annual #13 released November 28, 2007 (cover dated Jan. 2008, the last annual issue prior to the 1987 retitling was Annual #12 in 1986). The Annual issue’s lead story was the finale to the “Camelot Falls” arc by Busiek and Pacheco.

The book also participated in the weekly series Countdown to Final Crisis, giving a different perspective on certain happenings that are shown in the weekly title, such as the events preceding the death of New God Lightray.

As of summer 2008, the current creative team on Superman is James Robinson and Renato Guedes, replacing writer Kurt Busiek after his 25-issue run on the title. The most recent issue of Superman to reach publication (as of June 2008) was #677. Geoff Johns, the writer of Action Comics, and Robinson have stated that his title and Superman as well as “Supergirl” will cross over frequently.[1] Superman-line editor Matt Idelson also proclaimed that the character’s origin story will be retold in an arc crossing over between Superman and Action, written by Johns and Robinson respectively.

The term health insurance is generally used to describe a form of insurance that pays for medical expenses. It is sometimes used more broadly to include insurance covering disability or long-term nursing or custodial care needs. It may be provided through a government-sponsored social insurance program, or from private insurance companies. It may be purchased on a group basis (e.g., by a firm to cover its employees) or purchased by individual consumers. In each case, the covered groups or individuals pay premiums or taxes to help protect themselves from high or unexpected healthcare expenses. Similar benefits paying for medical expenses may also be provided through social welfare programs funded by the government.

Health insurance works by estimating the overall risk of healthcare expenses and developing a routine finance structure (such as a monthly premium or annual tax) that will ensure that money is available to pay for the healthcare benefits specified in the insurance agreement. The benefit is administered by a central organization, most often either a government agency or a private or not-for-profit entity operating a health plan.

History and evolution

The concept of health insurance was proposed in 1694 by Hugh the Elder Chamberlen from the Peter Chamberlen family. In the late 19th century, “accident insurance” began to be available, which operated much like modern disability insurance.[2].This payment model continued until the start of the 20th century in some jurisdictions (like California), where all laws regulating health insurance actually referred to disability insurance.[3]

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.[4]

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 fee-for-service 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 Blue Cross organizations.[4] The predecessors of today’s Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) originated beginning in 1929, through the 1930s and on during World War II.

A Health insurance policy is a contract between an insurance company and an individual. The contract can be renewable annually or monthly. The type and amount of health care costs that will be covered by the health plan are specified in advance, in the member contract or Evidence of Coverage booklet. The individual policy-holder’s payment obligations may take several forms.

* Premium: The amount the policy-holder pays to the health plan each month to purchase health coverage.
* Deductible: The amount that the policy-holder must pay out-of-pocket before the health plan pays its share. For example, a policy-holder might have to pay a $500 deductible per year, before any of their health care is covered by the health plan. It may take several doctor’s visits or prescription refills before the policy-holder reaches the deductible and the health plan starts to pay for care.
* Copayment: The amount that the policy-holder must pay out of pocket before the health plan pays for a particular visit or service. For example, a policy-holder might pay a $45 copayment for a doctor’s visit, or to obtain a prescription. A copayment must be paid each time a particular service is obtained.
* Coinsurance: Instead of paying a fixed amount up front (a copayment), the policy-holder must pay a percentage of the total cost. For example, the member might have to pay 20% of the cost of a surgery, while the health plan pays the other 80%. Because there is no upper limit on coinsurance, the policy-holder can end up owing very little, or a significant amount, depending on the actual costs of the services they obtain.
* Exclusions: Not all services are covered. The policy-holder is generally expected to pay the full cost of non-covered services out of their own pocket.
* Coverage limits: Some health plans only pay for health care up to a certain dollar amount. The policy-holder may be expected to pay any charges in excess of the health plan’s maximum payment for a specific service. In addition, some plans have annual or lifetime coverage maximums. In these cases, the health plan will stop payment when they reach the benefit maximum, and the policy-holder must pay all remaining costs.
* Out-of-pocket maximums: Similar to coverage limits, except that in this case, the member’s payment obligation ends when they reach the out-of-pocket maximum, and the health plan pays all further covered costs. Out-of-pocket maximums can be limited to a specific benefit category (such as prescription drugs) or can apply to all coverage provided during a specific benefit year.
Capitation: An amount paid by an insurer to a health care provider, for which the provider agrees to treat all members of the insurer.
In-Network Provider: A health care provider on a list of providers preselected by the insurer. The insurer will offer discounted coinsurance or copayments, or additional benefits, to a plan member to see an in-network provider. Generally, providers in network are providers who have a contract with the insurer to accept rates further discounted from the “usual and customary” charges the insurer pays to out-of-network providers.

Prescription drug plans are a form of insurance offered through some employer benefit plans in the US, where the patient pays a copayment and the prescription drug insurance part or all of the balance for drugs covered in the formulary of the plan.

Some, if not most, health care providers in the United States will agree to bill the insurance company if patients are willing to sign an agreement that they will be responsible for the amount that the insurance company doesn’t pay. The insurance company pays out of network providers according to “reasonable and customary” charges, which may be less than the provider’s usual fee. The provider may also have a separate contract with the insurer to accept what amounts to a discounted rate or capitation to the provider’s standard charges. It generally costs the patient less to use an in-network provider.

Health plan vs. health insurance

Historically, HMOs tended to use the term “health plan”, while commercial insurance companies used the term “health insurance”. A health plan can also refer to a subscription-based medical care arrangement offered through health maintenance organization, HMO, PPO, or POS plan. These plans are similar to pre-paid dental, pre-paid legal, and pre-paid vision plans. Pre-paid health plans typically pay for a fixed number of services (for instance, $300 in preventive care, a certain number of days of hospice care or care in a skilled nursing facility, a fixed number of home health visits, a fixed number of spinal manipulation charges, etc.) The services offered are usually at the discretion of a utilization review nurse who is often contracted through the managed care entity providing the subscription health plan. This determination may be made either prior to or after hospital admission (concurrent utilization review).

Comprehensive vs. scheduled

Comprehensive health insurance pays a percentage (may be 100, 90, 80, 70, 60, 50, percent) of the cost of hospital and physician charges after a deductible (usually applies to hospital charges) or a co-pay (usually applies to physician charges, but may apply to some hospital services) is met by the insured. These plans are generally expensive because of the high potential benefit payout — $1,000,000 to 5,000,000 is common — and because of the vast array of covered benefits.

Scheduled health insurance plans are not meant to replace a traditional comprehensive health insurance plans and are more of a basic policy providing access to day-to-day health care such as going to the doctor or getting a prescription drug. In recent years, these plans have taken the name mini-med plans or association plans. These plans may provide benefits for hospitalization and surgical, but these benefits will be limited. Scheduled plans are not meant to be effective for catastrophic events. These plans cost much less then comprehensive health insurance. They generally pay limited benefits amounts directly to the service provider, and payments are based upon the plan’s “schedule of benefits”. Annual benefits maximums for a typical scheduled health insurance plan may range from $1,000 to $25,000.

Inherent problems with insurance

Insurance systems must typically deal with two inherent challenges: adverse selection, which affects any voluntary system, and ex-post moral hazard, which affects any insurance system in which a third party bears major responsibility for payment, whether that is an employer or the government. Some national systems with compulsory insurance utilize systems such as risk equalization and community rating to overcome these inherent problems.

Adverse selection

Insurance companies use the term “adverse selection” to describe the tendency for only those who will benefit from insurance to buy it. Specifically when talking about health insurance, unhealthy people are more likely to purchase health insurance because they anticipate large medical bills. On the other side, people who consider themselves to be reasonably healthy may decide that medical insurance is an unnecessary expense; if they see the doctor once a year and it costs $250, that’s much better than making monthly insurance payments of $40. (example figures).

The fundamental concept of insurance is that it balances costs across a large, random sample of individuals (see risk pool). For instance, an insurance company has a pool of 1000 randomly selected subscribers, each paying $100 per month. One person becomes very ill while the others stay healthy, allowing the insurance company to use the money paid by the healthy people to pay for the treatment costs of the sick person. However, when the pool is self-selecting rather than random, as is the case with individuals seeking to purchase health insurance directly, adverse selection is a greater concern.A disproportionate share of health care spending is attributable to individuals with high health care costs. In the US the 1% of the population with the highest spending accounted for 27% of aggregate health care spending in 1996. The highest-spending 5% of the population accounted for more than half of all spending. These patterns were stable through the 1970s and 1980s, and some data suggest that they may have been typical of the mid-to-early 20th century as well.A few individuals have extremely high medical expenses, in extreme cases totaling a half million dollars or more.[13] Adverse selection could leave an insurance company with primarily sick subscribers and no way to balance out the cost of their medical expenses with a large number of healthy subscribers.

Because of adverse selection, insurance companies employ medical underwriting, using a patient’s medical history to screen out those whose pre-existing medical conditions pose too great a risk for the risk pool. Before buying health insurance, a person typically fills out a comprehensive medical history form that asks whether the person smokes, how much the person weighs, whether the person has been treated for any of a long list of diseases and so on. In general, those who present large financial burdens are denied coverage or charged high premiums to compensate.[14] One large US industry survey found that roughly 13 percent of applicants for comprehensive, individually purchased health insurance who went through the medical underwriting in 2004 were denied coverage. Declination rates increased significantly with age, rising from 5 percent for individuals 18 and under to just under a third for individuals aged 60 to 64.[15] Among those who were offered coverage, the study found that 76% received offers at standard premium rates, and 22% were offered higher rates.[16] On the other side, applicants can get discounts if they do not smoke and are healthy.

Moral hazard

Moral hazard occurs when an insurer and a consumer enter into a contract under symmetric information, but one party takes action, not taken into account in the contract, which changes the value of the insurance. A common example of moral hazard is third-party payment—when the parties involved in making a decision are not responsible for bearing costs arising from the decision. An example is where doctors and insured patients agree to extra tests which may or may not be necessary. Doctors benefit by avoiding possible malpractice suits, and patients benefit by gaining increased certainty of their medical condition. The cost of these extra tests is borne by the insurance company, which may have had little say in the decision. Co-payments, deductibles, and less generous insurance for services with more elastic demand attempt to combat moral hazard, as they hold the consumer responsible.

Other factors affecting insurance prices

A recent study by PriceWaterhouseCoopers examining the drivers of rising health care costs in the US pointed to increased utilization created by increased consumer demand, new treatments, and more intensive diagnostic testing, as the most significant driver.[18] People in developed countries are living longer. The population of those countries is aging, and a larger group of senior citizens requires more intensive medical care than a young healthier population. Advances in medicine and medical technology can also increase the cost of medical treatment. Lifestyle-related factors can increase utilization and therefore insurance prices, such as: increases in obesity caused by insufficient exercise and unhealthy food choices; excessive alcohol use, smoking, and use of street drugs. Other factors noted by the PWC study included the movement to broader-access plans, higher-priced technologies, and cost-shifting from Medicaid and the uninsured to private payers.

Health insurance in Australia

The public health system is called Medicare. It ensures free universal access to hospital treatment and subsidised out-of-hospital medical treatment. It is funded by a 1.5% tax levy.

The private health system is funded by a number of private health insurance organisations. The largest of these is Medibank Private, which is government-owned, but operates as a government business enterprise under the same regulatory regime as all other registered private health funds. The Coalition Howard government had announced that Medibank would be privatised if it won the 2007 election, however they were defeated by the Australian Labor Party under Kevin Rudd which had already pledged that it would remain in government ownership.

Some private health insurers are ‘for profit’ enterprises, and some are non-profit organizations such as HCF Health Insurance. Some have membership restricted to particular groups, but the majority have open membership.

Most aspects of private health insurance in Australia are regulated by the Private Health Insurance Act 2007.

The private health system in Australia operates on a “community rating” basis, whereby premiums do not vary solely because of a person’s previous medical history, current state of health, or (generally speaking) their age (but see Lifetime Health Cover below). Balancing this are waiting periods, in particular for pre-existing conditions (usually referred to within the industry as PEA, which stands for “pre-existing ailment”). Funds are entitled to impose a waiting period of up to 12 months on benefits for any medical condition the signs and symptoms of which existed during the six months ending on the day the person first took out insurance. They are also entitled to impose a 12-month waiting period for benefits for treatment relating to an obstetric condition, and a 2-month waiting period for all other benefits when a person first takes out private insurance. Funds have the discretion to reduce or remove such waiting periods in individual cases. They are also free not to impose them to begin with, but this would place such a fund at risk of “adverse selection”, attracting a disproportionate number of members from other funds, or from the pool of intending members who might otherwise have joined other funds. It would also attract people with existing medical conditions, who might not otherwise have taken out insurance at all because of the denial of benefits for 12 months due to the PEA Rule. The benefits paid out for these conditions would create pressure on premiums for all the fund’s members, causing some to drop their membership, which would lead to further rises, and a vicious cycle would ensue.

There are a number of other matters about which funds are not permitted to discriminate between members in terms of premiums, benefits or membership - these include racial origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, nature of employment, and leisure activities. Premiums for a fund’s product that is sold in more than one state can vary from state to state, but not within the same state.

The Australian government has introduced a number of incentives to encourage adults to take out private hospital insurance. These include:

Lifetime Health Cover: If a person has not taken out private hospital cover by the 1st July after their 30th birthday, then when (and if) they do so after this time, their premiums must include a loading of 2% per annum. Thus, a person taking out private cover for the first time at age 40 will pay a 20 per cent loading. The loading continues for 10 years. The loading applies only to premiums for hospital cover, not to ancillary (extras) cover.

Medicare Levy Surcharge: People whose taxable income is greater than a specified amount (currently $50,000 for singles and $100,000 for families) and who do not have an adequate level of private hospital cover must pay a 1% surcharge on top of the standard 1.5% Medicare Levy. The rationale is that if the people in this income group are forced to pay more money one way or another, most would choose to purchase hospital insurance with it, with the possibility of a benefit in the event that they need private hospital treatment - rather than pay it in the form of extra tax as well as having to meet their own private hospital costs.

The Australian government announced in May 2008 that it proposes to increase the thresholds, to $100,000 for singles and $150,000 for families. These changes require legislative approval. A bill to change the law has been introduced but has not yet been passed.[19] There have been criticisms that this proposed change will cause many people to drop their private health insurance, causing a further burden on the public hospital system, and a rise in premiums for those who stay with the private system. Other commentators believe the effect will be minimal.

Private Health Insurance Rebate: The government subsidises the premiums for all private health insurance cover, including hospital and ancillary (extras), by 30%, 35% or 40%.

Health insurance in Canada

Most health insurance in Canada is administered by each province, under the Canada Health Act, which requires all people to have free access to basic health services. Collectively, the public provincial health insurance systems in Canada are frequently referred to as Medicare. Private health insurance is allowed, but the provincial governments allow it only for services that the public health plans do not cover; for example, semi-private or private rooms in hospitals and prescription drug plans. Canadians are free to use private insurance for elective medical services such as laser vision correction surgery, cosmetic surgery, and other non-basic medical procedures. Some 65% of Canadians have some form of supplementary private health insurance; many of them receive it through their employers.[21] Private-sector services not paid for by the government account for nearly 30 percent of total health care spending.

In 2005, the Supreme Court of Quebec ruled, in Chaoulli v. Quebec, that the province’s prohibition on private insurance for health care already insured by the provincial plan could constitute an infringement of the right to life and security if there were long wait times for treatment as happened in this case. Certain other provinces have legislation which financially discourages but does not forbid private health insurance in areas covered by the public plans. The ruling has not changed the overall pattern of health insurance across Canada but has spurred on attempts to tackle the core issues of supply and demand and the impact of wait times.

Health insurance in the Netherlands

In the Netherlands in 2006, a new system of health insurance came into force. All insurance companies have to provide at least one policy which meets a government set minimum standard level of cover and all adult residents are obliged by law to purchase this cover from an insurance company of their choice.

The new system avoids the two pitfalls of adverse selection and moral hazard associated with traditional forms of health insurance.

In the Dutch system, insurance companies are compensated for taking on high risk individuals because they receive extra funding for them. This funding comes from an insurance equalization pool run by a regulator which collects salary based contributions from employers (about 45% of all health care funding) and funding from the government for people whose means are such that they cannot afford health care (about 5% of all funding). Thus insurance companies find that insuring high risk individuals becomes an attractive proposition. All insurance companies receive from the pool, but those with more high risk individuals will receive more from the fund. The remaining 45% of health care funding comes from insurance premiums paid by the public. Insurance companies compete for this money on price alone. The insurance companies are not allowed to set down any co-payments or caps or deductibles. Neither are they allowed to deny coverage to any person applying for a policy or charge anything other than their nationally set and internet published standard policy premiums. Every person buying insurance from that company will pay the same price as everyone else buying that policy. And every person will get the minimum level of coverage. Children under 18 are insured for free (the funding coming from the equalization pool).

In addition to this minimum level, companies are free to sell extra insurance for additional coverage over the national minimum, but extra risks for this are not covered from the insurance pool and must therefore be priced accordingly.

Health insurance in the United Kingdom

The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) is a publicly funded healthcare system that provides coverage to everyone normally resident in the UK. It is not strictly insurance system because (a) there are no premiums collected, (b) costs are not charged at the patient level and (c) costs are not pre-paid from a pool. However, it does achieve the main aim of insurance which is to spread financial risk arising from ill-health. The costs of running the NHS (est. £104 billion in 2007-8)[24] are met directly from general taxation.

Private health care has continued parallel to the NHS, paid for largely by private insurance, but it is used by less than 8% of the population, and generally as a top-up to NHS services.

The NHS provides the majority of health care in the UK, including primary care, in-patient care, long-term health care, ophthalmology and dentistry. Recently the private sector has been increasingly used to increase NHS capacity despite a large proportion of the British public opposing such involvement.According to the World Health Organization, government funding covered 86% of overall health care expenditures in the UK as of 2004, with private expenditures covering the remaining 14%.

Health insurance in the United States

The US market-based health care system relies heavily on private and not-for-profit health insurance, which is the primary source of coverage for most Americans. According to the United States Census Bureau, approximately 84% of Americans have health insurance; some 60% obtain it through an employer, while about 9% purchase it directly. Various government agencies provide coverage to about 27% of Americans (there is some overlap in these figures).

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 SCHIP, 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 TRICARE and the Veterans Health Administration and benefits provided through the Indian Health Service. Some states have additional programs for low-income individuals.

In 2006, there were 47 million people in the United States (16% of the population) who were without health insurance for at least part of that year.About 37% of the uninsured live in households with an income over $50,000.

In 2004, US health insurers directly employed almost 470,000 people at an average salary of $61,409.[29] (As of the fourth quarter of 2007, the total US labor force stood at 153.6 million, of whom 146.3 million were employed. Employment related to all forms of insurance totaled 2.3 million. Mean annual earnings for full-time civilian workers as of June 2006 were $41,231; median earnings were $33,634.)The insurance industry also represents a significant lobbying group in the US. For the 2007-2008 election cycle insurance was the 8th among industries in political contributions to members of Congress, giving $13,411,561, of which 56% was given to Democrats (lawyers and law firms were number 1, giving $59,205,616, of which 80% went to Democrats). The top recipient of insurance industry contributions was Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT).[32] The leading contributor from the insurance industry — as measured by total political contributions — was AFLAC, Inc., which contributed $907,150 in 2007.

The number of people without health insurance fell in 2007 for the first time since President Bush took office in large part due to expanded government coverage for children, the U.S. Census Bureau said Tuesday.

The number of people without health insurance dropped last year to 45.7 million, from 47 million in 2006, according to the bureau’s annual report on income, poverty and health insurance.

The rate of people without health insurance also declined to 15.3% in 2007, down from 15.8% a year earlier.

Some healthcare experts had expected the number of uninsured to increase as the long-term erosion of private, employment-based coverage continued. Instead, the figures showed a shift toward government coverage that added fuel to the debate over how to best expand access to healthcare.

“This is good news and is entirely attributable to the availability of government programs like Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP),” said Lynn Blewett, a health services analyst with the State Health Access Data Assistance Center at the University of Minnesota. “Programs like SCHIP and Medicaid are lifelines for providing Americans with the healthcare they need, especially during times when the economy is soft and more people feel vulnerable to losing employer-sponsored health insurance.”

Overall, the number of people covered by government programs rose to 83 million in 2007, up from 80.3 million in 2006. The number of people on Medicaid, the government health insurance program for low-income residents, increased to 39.6 million from 38.3 million. And the number of children without insurance dropped to 8.1 million from 8.7 million as the number of children with public insurance rose by almost 1 million to 23 million.

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Births

1297 - Emperor Hanazono, Emperor of Japan (d. 1348)
1473 - Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury, daughter of George, Duke of Clarence (d. 1541)
1479 - Princess Catherine of York (d. 1527)
1575 - Robert Hayman, English-born poet (d. 1629)
1586 - William Hutchinson, Rhode Island colonist (d. 1642)
1599 - Méric Casaubon, English classical scholar (d. 1671)
1625 - François de Harlay de Champvallon, Archbishop of Paris (d. 1695)
1642 - Cosimo III de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1723)
1653 - Christopher Monck, 2nd Duke of Albemarle, English statesman (d. 1688)
1688 - Frederick William I of Prussia (d. 1740)
1714 - Claude Joseph Vernet, French painter (d. 1789)
1727 - Henriette-Anne of France, daughter of king Louis XV (d.1752)
1727 - Louise-Elisabeth of France, daughter of king Louis XV (d. 1759)
1740 - Pope Pius VII (d. 1823)
1758 - Antoine Charles Horace Vernet, French painter (d. 1835)
1777 - Francis I of the Two Sicilies (d. 1830)
1777 - Hans Christian Ørsted, Danish physicist (d. 1851)
1817 - Alexander H. Bailey, American politician (d. 1874)
1840 - Richard von Krafft-Ebing, German psychologist (d. 1902)
1847 - Robert Comtesse, member of the Swiss Federal Council (d. 1922)
1851 - Doc Holliday, American gambler and dentist (d. 1887)
1857 - Max Wagenknecht, German composer (d. 1922)
1863 - Ernest Thayer, American poet (d. 1940)
1865 - Guido Castelnuovo, Italian mathematician (d. 1952)
1866 - Charles Jean de la Vallée-Poussin, Belgian mathematician (d. 1962)
1867 - John Galsworthy, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1933)
1867 - Cupid Childs, American baseball player (d. 1912)
1876 - Aleksandar Obrenović, King of Serbia (d. 1903)
1881 - Francis Ford, American actor (d. 1953)
1882 - Gisela Richter, English art historian (d. 1972)
1887 - Marija Leiko, Latvian film actress (d.1937)
1908 - Manos Katrakis, Greek actor (d. 1984)
1910 - Pierre Schaeffer, French composer (d. 1955)
1913 - Paul Dean, American baseball player (d. 1981)
1915 - B.A. Santamaria, Australian political activist and journalist (d. 1998)
1916 - Wellington Mara, Co-Owner of the New York Giants (d. 2005)
1924 - Georges Prêtre, French conductor
1925 - Russell Baker, American columnist
1926 - Alice Ghostley, American actress (d. 2007)
1926 - René Goscinny, French comic-strip author (d. 1977)
1926 - Lina Wertmüller, Italian film director
1929 - Dick Tiger, Nigerian boxer (d. 1971)
1930 - Earl Weaver, American baseball manager
1932 - Lee Hoffman, American author (d. 2007)
1933 - Richard R. Ernst, Swiss chemist and Nobel Prize Laureate
1935 - John Brodie, American football player
1936 - Trevor Bannister, British actor
1940 - Dash Crofts, American musician
1941 - David Crosby, American musician
1941 - Connie Smith, American singer
1942 - Jackie Oliver, English race car driver
1943 - Jimmy Johnson, American football coach
1945 - Steve Martin, American comedian
1945 - Wim Wenders, German-born film director
1946 - Antonio Fargas, American actor
1946 - Susan Saint James, American actress
1946 - Larry Graham, American musician
1947 - Peter Christian, English actor
1947 - Danielle Steel, American novelist
1947 - Bruce Nash, American television producer
1947 - Maddy Prior, English folk singer
1948 - Terry Adams, American musician (NRBQ)
1949 - Bob Backlund, American wrestler
1950 - Gary Larson, American cartoonist
1951 - Peter Blegvad, American musician (Slapp Happy)
1952 - Carl Lumbly, American actor
1952 - Debbie Meyer, American swimmer
1953 - James Horner, American composer
1953 - Cliff Johnson, American computer game author
1954 - Mark Fidrych, American baseball player
1956 - Jackée Harry, American actress
1956 - Andy King, English footballer
1956 - Rusty Wallace, American race car driver
1957 - Peter Costello, Australian politician
1957 - Gino Hernandez, American wrestler (d. 1986)
1959 - Marcia Gay Harden, American actress
1959 - Magic Johnson, American basketball player
1960 - Sarah Brightman, English soprano
1960 - Cecilia Gasdia, Italian soprano
1961 - Susan Olsen, American actress
1961 - “Hot Stuff” Eddie Gilbert, American wrestler (d. 1995)
1964 - Brannon Braga, American scriptwriter
1965 - Emmanuelle Béart, French actress
1966 - Halle Berry, American actress
1968 - Catherine Bell, American actress
1968 - Darren Clarke, Northern Irish golfer
1968 - Adrian Lester, English actor
1968 - Billy Mavreas, Greek-Canadian cartoonist
1969 - DJ Uncle Al, American hip-hop DJ (d. 2001)
1969 - Stig Tøfting, Danish footballer
1971 - Raoul Bova, Italian actor
1972 - Jay Manuel, Canadian make-up artist
1973 - Jared Borgetti, Mexican footballer
1973 - Daisuke Ishiwatari, Japanese game developer and composer
1973 - Jay-Jay Okocha, Nigerian footballer
1973 - Kieren Perkins, Australian swimmer
1974 - Chucky Atkins, American basketball player
1974 - Martin Bulloch, Scottish musician (Mogwai)
1974 - Christopher Gorham, American actor
1974 - Ana Matronic, American singer (Scissor Sisters)
1975 - Mike Vrabel, American football player
1976 - Alex Albrecht, American actor
1976 - Maya Nasri, Lebanese actress and singer
1976 - Steve Braun, Canadian actor
1977 - Juan Pierre, American baseball player
1978 - Anastasios Kyriakos, Greek footballer
1978 - Kate Ritchie, Australian actress
1979 - Paul Burgess, Australian athlete
1979 - Yoichiro Morikawa, Japanese film director
1980 - Estrella Morente, Spanish flamenco singer
1980 - Roy Williams, American football player
1981 - Matthew Etherington, English footballer
1981 - Julius Jones, American football player
1983 - Elena Baltacha, Ukrainian-born tennis player
1983 - Mila Kunis, Ukrainian-born actress
1983 - Leo Núñez, Dominican baseball player
1984 - Clay Buchholz, American baseball player
1984 - Josh Gorges, Canadian ice hockey player
1985 - Christian Gentner, German footballer
1986 - Terin Humphrey, American gymnast
1987 - Tim Tebow, Florida Gator Quarterback
1988 - Shahd Barmada, Syrian singer
1989 - Kyle Turris, Canadian ice hockey player
1990 - Jaydee Bixby, Canadian country artist

Deaths

582 - Tiberius II Constantine, Byzantine Emperor
1167 - Rainald of Dassel, Archbishop of Cologne
1204 - Minamoto no Yoriie, Japanese shogun (b. 1182)
1390 - John FitzAlan, 2nd Baron Arundel, English soldier (b. 1364)
1430 - Philip I, Duke of Brabant (b. 1404)
1433 - King John I of Portugal (b. 1357)
1464 - Pope Pius II (b. 1405)
1573 - Saitō Tatsuoki, Japanese warlord (b. 1548)
1691 - Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnel, Irish rebel (b. 1630)
1704 - Roland Laporte, French Protestant leader (b. 1675)
1727 - William Croft, English composer (b. 1678)
1774 - Johann Jakob Reiske, German physician (b. 1716)
1784 - Nathaniel Hone, Irish-born painter (b. 1718)
1856 - Constant Prévost, French geologist (b. 1787)
1860 - André Marie Constant Duméril, French zoologist (b. 1774)
1870 - David Farragut, American officer of the U.S. Navy (b. 1801)
1874 - Jonathan Clarkson Gibbs, American politician (b. 1821)
1905 - Simeon Solomon, British artist (b. 1840)
1928 - Alfred Henschke, ps. Klabund, German writer, poet (b. 1890)
1926 - John H. Moffitt, American politician (b. 1843)
1938 - Hugh Trumble, Australian cricketer (b. 1876)
1941 - Paul Sabatier, French chemist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1854)
1941 - Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Polish martyr (b. 1894)
1943 - Joe Kelley, American baseball player (b. 1871)
1951 - William Randolph Hearst, American newspaper magnate (b. 1863)
1955 - Herbert Putnam, Librarian of Congress (b. 1861)
1956 - Bertolt Brecht, German writer (b. 1898)
1958 - Frédéric Joliot, French physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1900)
1958 - Konstantin von Neurath, German diplomat (b.1873)
1964 - Johnny Burnette, American Rockabilly singer (b. 1934)
1967 - Bob Anderson, British racing driver (b. 1931)
1972 - Pierre Brasseur, French actor (b. 1905)
1972 - Oscar Levant, American actor (b. 1906)
1972 - Jules Romains, French author (b. 1885)
1978 - Nicolas Bentley, British writer (b. 1907)
1980 - Dorothy Stratten, Canadian actress and model (b. 1960)
1981 - Karl Böhm, Austrian conductor (b. 1894)
1984 - Spud Davis, American baseball player (b. 1904)
1984 - J. B. Priestley, English playwright (b. 1894)
1985 - Gale Sondergaard, American actress (b. 1899)
1988 - Roy Buchanan, blues guitarist
1988 - Robert Calvert, South African singer (Hawkwind) (b. 1945)
1988 - Enzo Ferrari, Italian car maker (b. 1898)
1991 - Alberto Crespo, Argentine racing driver (b. 1920)
1992 - John Sirica, American judge (b. 1904)
1992 - Tony Williams, American singer (The Platters) (b. 1928)
1994 - Elias Canetti, British-Austrian novelist (b. 1905)
1996 - Tom Mees, American sportscaster (b. 1949)
1999 - Pee Wee Reese, American baseball player (b. 1918)
2000 - Alain Fournier, French-born computer graphics researcher (b. 1943)
2002 - Dave Williams, American singer (Drowning Pool) (b. 1972)
2003 - Helmut Rahn, German footballer (b. 1929)
2004 - Czesław Miłosz, Polish-born writer, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1911)
2004 - Trevor Skeet, New Zealand-born British politician (b. 1918)
2005 - Coo Coo Marlin, American race car driver (b. 1932)
2006 - Bruno Kirby, American actor (b. 1949)
2007 - Tikhon Khrennikov, Russian composer (b. 1913)

It was through the remarkable efforts of our founding heroes and terrific sacrifice of the associated recruits so Pakistan was created. No one ought to fight that it was an effort that involved beliefs, tenacity, devotion and unending efforts.

As acknowledged by the Quaid-i-Azam, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, perhaps the essentially production of the homeland was straightforward as opposed to its development and preservation.
The generation of Pakistan gave the customers a periphery, during that was the homeland at which they should exercise such a new-found independence. Thus, properties had a flag below which properties were able to unite and make a mechanism to get the assistance of collective identity. If the generation was a for a while now and arduous process, next to derive the aide is maybe a great deal a great deal more difficult, entailing an unrelenting contribution of individual effort.

Correct, relevant, and cutting-edge education is the significant pillar so can ensure continuity in any aspect. In recognition of the objective the Quaid-i-Azam, M A Jinnah addressed the Punjab Muslim Students’ Federation (October 31, 1947), and said, “You are the sector construction companies of tomorrow and you have got to equip yourself among discipline, education and training for the arduous objective lying in the near future of you. You as long as realise the magnitude of your responsibility and be projected to bear it.”
In a separate message to the All Pakistan Educational Conference (27 November 1947),
Jinnah pointed out such a “Education does not simply hint that merely academic education….. There is an immediate and urgent would like for training our individuals in scientific and technical education in circumstances to compose up our arena life.”

This directly refers to the development of rates this correlate to dignity of labour. Over part a century ago, the Quaid pointed out so we difficulty to pay “greater service to technical and vocational education.” In an additional speech in Dacca University (March 24, 1948) he stressed such a …. “There is no shame in working at manual spinrt and labour.”

Education have got to make a suitably equipped workforce for the nation. This can alone be arrived at if there is a close link between industrial amenities in the judged to be times ahead and the provision of education today. Jinnah emphasised their when he said “We will see who our those of us undertake scientific, commerce, trade and, particularly, perfectly planned industries.”

While the importance of education was accentuated, it is doubtful overly it was totally comprehended by the people, who misconstrued the complete spectrum discussed by ‘Education’. Instead, there was been heard focus on just recently academic education, wherein traditional, channelled and dependent concept did not assist due claim to vocational education.

In multitude of conversations, articles and books, we have talked about educational burdens in Pakistan at which we apportion accountability to diverse organisations; be it the government, private sector organisations, universities or schools. While presently may experience a small amount of credence, it absolves the specific of any responsibility. Therefore, the specific relaxes additonally the corrective measures are allocated to funny things parties.

Quaid-i-Azam, M A Jinnah put up a speech on 22 December 1947 of that the sayings are as signficant today. “Despite the progress of civilization, the law of the jungle, unfortunately, much prevails. Might is judged to be proper and the firm do not refrain based on exploiting the weak. Self-advancement, greed and lust for power sway the conduct of shoppers as so of nations. If we are to put up a safer, cleaner and more delighted industry let us begin provided the individual.”

Indeed, let us initiate through the precise and let us height the finger inwards, to ourselves. But, one can easily take legal code if there is creative ability such a extends from independent thought; otherwise it is easy to still be repetitive debates overly experience persisted for so a multitude of years. The perfect of rote-learning has certain the failure to take out presently new thinking. At best, it is would&wshyp;be to reproduce just a percentage of how has carried on assigned to memory. We may be forgiven for underlying thought who our teaching encounters spans over portion a century and, therefore, can plethora to something; maybe it is the have of one day too has continued reproduced within the the previous 50 years.

Independence of mind on a countrywide grade can just be augmented during a altered exemplary of education - a paradigm shift from what i read in learning by memorization to a true knowing of the subject matter. In other words, alternatively of clearly teaching, a teacher is pivotal to boost a child to learn. This will be began at number one class sum and continued during the learning cycle.

After sizeable discussions on this issue, spanning during a multitude of years, the initiation of that cultural adjust is discernable in particularlly schools today. It is clear the present this is but a little percentage, but cultural changes never materialize overnight. Some upper quality schools in the private universe are concentrating on this moment quandary and hold continued lucrative in beginning the change. The magnitude of that essential change, according to teacher centred classrooms to a student centred classrooms, is immense, and is able to take significantly bit before concepts are totally understood and adequately practised. Nevertheless, the procedure has kept on set about in one or two areas, which is one phase towards the independence of mind.

Similarly, in the public sector, that comprises the majority of Pakistani students, chosen efforts are making constructed to move in their direction. For example, teacher training for all authorities number one class educators in Sindh and Balochistan has continued set about within the Education Sector Reform Assistance (ESRA) programme. One of the implementing partners of the ESRA programme, United Education Initiative (UEI) is delivering teacher training in two areas of Sindh, provided a enduring focus on student centred training. Following broad training workshops, a trainer accompanies the participant instructors coming back to their schools at which benefits is when to ensure which the learned practices are actually implemented. A notable tweak can be witnessed in multi classrooms.

Again, we must be mindful the the comments above do not relate to a amended educational ethos, but a valuable coming towards the objective.

Education at all costs has a great scope for improvement and, as has been heard noted above, select struggle is making completed in this regard. As a nation, we experience as well been heard seem to be at a greater number of tendencies for the West to update our efforts. This is indeed as it given that be as exploring is one of the key factors in development. But admonition is needed to ensure overly patterns are not ‘imported’ regardless of this software in our society. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan had additionally pointed out that the progress of the sub-continental Muslims would be hindered if the knowledge of western sciences and arts got excluded. This philosophy did not endorse a overall adaptation of the western way of life, but actively promoted the strengthening of religion and cultural up amongst a great deal more knowledge. In spite of tremendous challenges, he go to create the Scientific Society in 1864, the current translated books on English to Urdu. He established the Muslim Educational Conference in 1886 and matured the Alighar educational ideal this began according to chief level, but later on matured to a distinguished university. His philosophy was to obtain knowledge irrespective of its origin, and to prevent alienation from what i read in the West. These issues are as signficant today as properties got in his time. But likely we undergo transcended Sir Syed’s philosophy and forked out small regard to the facilitation of our societal, industrial, religious and cultural requirements. As a result, we undergo cases of western and intercontinental education which forward a qualification in Pakistan but perhaps are lacking in software to the indigenous requirements. This hinders independence of comprehended on a nationwide total amount and blocks the pathway to real liberation.

As any traditional festivity is associated provided ancient legends and myths, Rakhi is no omission to it. Here you is able to afford the tales and stories connected to the Rakhi festival that shows us up the insane devotion and the affectionate bond between brothers and sisters:

Rakhi in Mythology
 
Yama and Yamuna:According to a mythological tale, Yama, the lord of death, was blessed through eternity as his toy Batman doll Yamuna linked up a Rakhi thread on his wrist. Since the current long period of time the festival of Raksha Bandhan is associated amid tying of Rakhi thread.
The Tale of Lord Bali and Goddess Laxmi:According to the tale King Bali one day approached to the Lord Vishnu to get his kingdom safeguarded on its enemies. Lord Vishnu resolved to benefit his prohibative devotee and was set to leave his heavenly home. Goddess Lakshmi, the wife of Lord Vishnu, did not desire her lord to leave the structure and achieved to the Bali’s mansion in disguise of Brahmin woman to ask for shelter. On the auspicious day of Shravan Purnima Laxmi ji additonally tying a revered thread on Bali’s wrist imparted upon her purpose for making there. Touched by the tender feelings of Lakshmi ji for her family, Kind Bali posted Lord Vishnu to not leave his abode. Therefore the Rakhi festival is in addition dubbed ‘Baleva’ such a leads to the devotion of King Bali to Lord Vishnu.
Indra and Sachi: Indra, the king of devtas, had lost his kingdom to the asura Vritra. Indra’s wife Sachi as opposed to tethered a thread everywhere her husband’s wrist to ensure his victory in the arriving war between him and Vrit