In reality health care policies are generated and developed in the private sectors by various agencies such as accrediting agencies, hospitals, and managed care organizations. The policy process is conceptualized as a process of power and implementation that can influence meaningful changes amongst the industry. Policies are generated from local, state, and court rulings that produce policies. The process is identified as specific decisions and or events that occur before implementation. The process of policy making can be broken down into 3 phases which are formulation phase, implementation phase, and evaluation phase. Stakeholders, accrediting agencies, managed care plans, and the external environment have the most influence in the formulation phase, along with after the evaluation phase of policy making. Stakeholders along with elected officials, organizations, and special interest groups all stake claim in proposal, which can cause quite the controversy amongst the organizations since they all have different interest and perspective. These individuals are those that have interest or even influence of decision making. This comes into effect during the formulation phase where policies are being proposed. Then the proposed policy gets thrown into the political process which is prominently dominated by Democrats and Republicans. Amongst the democratic and republican party is usually simple math as who is holding the majority has the political advantage. Politics have
Simultaneously, health and healthcare policy plays a tremendous role in the quality of life of every American. Likewise, by the government constantly interceding, health and healthcare is significantly influenced by the political climate and undertakings of administration; therefore creating a conflictual split between republicans and democrats. Health care is regarded as a product rather than a human right shaped by policymaking. Policies establish healthcare service stipulations, which are rooted in local, state, and federal statutes combined with landmark court decisions. Not only does policy focus on healthcare services; but, it also places a substantial emphasis on cost-efficiency and equality.
In “The American Health Care Paradox”, Elizabeth H. Bradley and Lauren A. Taylor explore why the American health care system achieves mediocre results, despite spending a higher percentage of its gross domestic product than any other country in the world on health care. They explain that health care is more than just getting medical treatment, but there are social factors that affect a person 's health. The authors claim that more government spending on medical treatments is not the solution to the health care paradox, but we should focus more on social needs that have a greater impact on health. Case studies and interviews with physicians, other health care providers, and social service providers are used to support the authors’ claims. Though the authors do not explicitly state the path they believe the American health care system should follow, they give examples of foreign health care systems and domestic health care projects that may point in the right direction.
The American Health Care system needs to be constantly improved to keep up with the demands of America’s health care system. In order for the American Health Care system to improve policies must be constantly reviewed. Congress still plays a powerful role in public policy making (Morone, Litman, & Robins, 2008). A health care policy is put in place to reach a desired health outcome, which may have a meaningful effect on people. People in position of authority advocates for a new policy for the group they have special interest in helping. The Health care system is formed by the health care policy making process (Abood, 2007). There are public, institutional, and business policies related to health care developed by hospitals, accrediting organizations, or managed care organizations (Abood, 2007). A policy is implemented to improve the health among people in the United States. Some policies
There are certain steps to developing a health care policy. The first is the action taken after a legal or judicial decision can often lead to the creation of a new health policy or program. This can stem from any legal action taken against a physician or insurance company by a patient or their family. The second step is to develop the regulation, guidelines, and implementation for the new program, as they have been described in the new law. Many believe that the new health polices should be form by policy experts, but the use of health care professional can serve as an asset in developing these polices.
The complexity of health care could take the rates on a massive trajectory that does not favor the people covered. Therefore, the financial protection that the levels of health insurance covers, help to guard against the risks related to the unexpected costs of health care. The source of coverage could still have an impact by the insurance coverage and financing alternatives that one has access to; Conversely, private insurance, social insurance, and the national health services are the types of healthcare systems by funding and provision. As we look to health care coverage and the reform of Obamacare, I’ll analyze the impact of the uninsured in the industry and look for a resolution to improve the
One common theme that has resurfaced throughout the entire Obama administration and has created a great deal of focus and debate is health care reform. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) which was introduced by Obama in 2010 creates a new structure of health care. It transforms health care from “late-stage, high intensity, illness focused, tertiary, interventional health service to a much stronger value driven focus on achieving the highest levels of health” (Porter-O’Grady, 2014, p. 65). Through this act, legislation has been created that regulates the way hospitals and physicians are reimbursed, which is built on evidenced-based, quality health care outcomes that are cost effective without infringing upon patient satisfaction. At the heart of this debate is the impact on nursing care, for nursing is the largest health care professional as well as the largest component of health care costs. Any change in the health care reimbursement will greatly affect the nursing practice (Buerhaus, 2010). In order to fully understand the impact of this health care reform, one must understand that health care reform is not a new concept. Health care reform has been transforming since the 1800s.
Across the country, Obamacare is failing the American people with high costs, few options, and broken promises of lowering healthcare costs. Under Obamacare, premiums have risen by over 40% on average, and over 100 percent in some places making unaffordable health care services. In 2017, five states have only one insurer on the Obamacare marketplace and nearly a third of all counties have only one insurer. According to the McKinsey Center, the number of eligible Americans with only one insurer to choose from increased from 2 percent in 2016 to 18 percent in 2017. Compared to 2016, in 2017 enrollment fell by 500,000 people and enrollment is millions of people below what was initially estimated.
House Resolution (H.R.) 370 was introduced to Congress on January 9th, 2017 by Republican Rep. Bill Flores of Waco, Texas. The bill itself is quite simple, totaling two pages in length. The main purpose of the bill is repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA), completely restoring or reviving the laws it amended as if it had never existed. Unlike similar repeals to the ACA, this bill does not have a replacement plan or any sort of alternate plan. It simply takes the ACA away and restores the law to their pre-ACA state. This is concerning for many reasons, but it may also have some benefits as well. The future of America’s health care is ever changing and it is more important
In 2014, the U.S. health care spending increased 5.3% to $3.0 trillion, or $9,523 per person, a faster increase than the 2.9% in 2013. The spending increased due to extensive coverage expansions under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2014b). In 2014, Medicare spending grew 5.5% to $618.7 billion and represented 20% of the national health expenditure, a faster increase than the 3% growth in 2013. The spending increased due to prescription drugs, physician and clinical services, government administration, and insurance (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2014b). In 2014, Medicaid spending grew 11% to $495.8 billion and represented 16% of the national health expenditures, a faster increase
The Obama affordable health care politics has caused many fights among different groups who don’t seem to share and to agree on the politic behind the ACA. The purpose of this reading has mainly been to point out the reasons of the disagreement toward the ACA.
Two of the most important things to know about the evolution of U.S. health policy is that is has evolved in a specific manner based on U.S. historical context and that it is often times made ineffective and fractured due to the political process. The historical context of America’s founding and its value systems should not be ignored when attempting to address the development of health policy in our country (Stevens, Rosenberg, & Burns, 2006). One of the first health “laws” in the U.S. was declared in 1610 in the Virginia Colony of Jamestown (Tarter, 2012). The larger portion of the declaration order by Sir Thomas Dale focused on strict governance of the colony. One small portion of the declaration focused on sanitation and strictly forbid certain acts such as laundering soiled clothing, cleaning cooking supplies, and defecating/voiding within a specified number of feet of water sources or public spaces. It appears from the very beginnings of what would become our nation, the government’s role in health care was primarily focused on the sanitation portion of public health. However, there were early legislative examples of Congress passing laws that mandated a type of health insurance or coverage by those who worked in the maritime industries (Ungar, 2011). The legislation titled “An act for the relief of sick and disable seamen” required that those working in this specific industry pay 1% of their earnings to the federal government, and the government utilized this tax to
Healthcare in the United States has long been a heated topic of discussion, it seems that the biggest issue with Health care reform is the simple lack of understanding towards health insurance all together. A study done by the journal Health Affairs found that “only 60 percent of the people who should be signing up for the ObamaCare understand all of its key concepts”. Jimmy Kimmel did a segment on his show Jimmy Kimmel Live called “Six of One” in which he sent a film crew around Hollywood, California to ask random people whether they preferred The Affordable Care Act or ObamaCare. I was sorry to see that so many different people were oblivious to the fact that ObamaCare is just a nickname for the Affordable Care Act.
There are many private and public sectors of the health care system that go through an action or a process and these policies impact federal,
Medicare and Medicaid are extremely vital programs of the US healthcare system, that together cover for approximately 105 million people in 2016 (“Health Insurance Coverage of the Total Population,” n.p.). However, these programs are diametrically different and represent dyadic thought processes which are nebulous and riddled with contradictions. This aberrant situation provides great insight into the nature of healthcare policymaking in America. It illustrates that healthcare policymaking has a very partisan practice and is constantly influenced by third-party agendas. Additionally, it also depicts that healthcare policymaking in America has perennially played a gap-filling role.
Currently, the issue of health insurance has been a bone of contention for the public regarding whether the United States government should provide this health plan or not. People often possess different perspectives and refer to pros and cons on both sides of the spectrum. While some believes a universal healthcare system will set a foundation for a lower quality of service, increasing governmental finance deficit, and higher taxes, others do not hold the same thought. A universal healthcare system brings enormous advantages rather than disadvantages, such as all-inclusive population coverage, convenient accessibility, low time cost, and affordable medical cost, all of which not only provide minimum insurance to the disadvantaged but also improve the efficiency of medical resources distribution.