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As the costs of health care continue to rise, employers will ask their employees to pay more for their benefits by the year 2 00

admin2011-03-01  34
问题    As the costs of health care continue to rise, employers will ask their employees to pay more for their benefits by the year 2 000. This forecast comes from a recent survey of 400 executives conducted by the group Insurance Division of Northwestern National Life Insurance Company ( NWNL).
   A similar NWNL survey in 1986 found that two-thirds of the employers were planning to add benefits. Now, two-thirds are planning to offer fewer choices. Factors cited as driving up the cost of health care include hospital and doctor fees, new medical technology, and malpractice suits. Employers also face the expensive prospect of providing health care for the growing number of retirees. Says the employee benefit director of a Boston communication company, "With people living longer, and being sicker when older, we could be paying a big sum of money for 30 to 40 years after they retire."
   Compulsory benefits are also likely to increase health-care costs to employers. A majority of the respondents predict that the federal government will demand benefits for all employees.  More than one fourth of the employers surveyed think it is very likely that the government will establish a national plan by the year 2000, and a similar number foresee regulation of doctor and hospital fees. However, a large majority doubt such measures are very likely to be effective in controlling health-care costs.
   Besides holding employees, responsible for a larger share of their benefit costs, more employers will offer flexible benefit plans with limited employer contributions. Health-education programs will grow in the workplace, as employers try to lessen the need for expensive medical care. Other employers intent on cutting costs will design their benefit plans to allow their employees fewer choices in when and how they get medical care.
   Although the survey results reflect uncertainty about the future, they also offer reason for optimism, says U. S. Senator David Durenberger of Minnesota, "People are starting to come to grips with the question of how we can more effectively provide quality health care that is affordable and accessible," he asserts, "We no longer can write blank checks."  
The phrase "come to grips with" in the last paragraph most probably means ______.
选项 A、to understand completely
B、to deal seriously with
C、to attack violently
D、to firmly get hold of
答案B
解析 考查词组的意义。在阅读理解中这种词义的辨析应该放在具体语句中来考虑。“People are starting to come to grips with the question”看出词组后接question，四个选项中能与question相搭配只有B选项“deal seriously with”。
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