Chap 8-POL 211 (FALL 2019)
Chap
8
Healthcare
Health care policy can be viewed
narrowly to mean the design and implementation of the range of federal and
state programs that affect the provision of health care services, such as Medicaid
and Medicare.
The high cost of healthcare in the
United States will remain a challenge for the president and congress regardless
of which party is in control. The combination of the high cost of and unequal
access to quality health care has long been a major concern in public policy. Most
people rely on employer provided health care insurance, for which they pay a
portion of the cost or on government programs to meet essential health care
needs. Government policies influence not only access to and quality of health
services across the country, but also the place of development and approval of
new drugs and medical technologies and the extent of health research that could lead to new life savings
treatments.
No one doubt that the United States has
one of the finest health care systems in the world, such as the number of physicians
per capita, the number of state of the art hospitals and clinics and the number
of healthcare specialists and their expertise; however, despite the strengths,
patients and physicians alike frequently complain about the United States
health care system. Some of the major federal and state programs that deal
directly with health care services are Medicare, Medicaid and Veterans health
care.
Medicare which began in 1965, was
intended to help senior citizens defined as 65 years and older to meet basic
needs, however, it now includes people 65 with permanent disabilities and those
with diabetes or end stage renal disease. Medicaid, the second major program of
the US Health care policy system, also established in 1965, serves all citizens
once they reach age 65, regardless of income and it is therefore a health care
program for the poor and disabled. Veteran’s health care is designed to serve
the needs of US veterans by providing medical care, specialized care and other
medical and social services. All the benefits and health care policies adds to
the policy dispute of cost. The cost of providing health care services is
rising inexorably even if more slowly today than a few years ago. Managed care
a fixture of modern health care services and policies was proposed as one way
to contain rising health care cost that had soared under the old system of
unrestrained fee-for-service. If managed health care has not succeeded in restraining
the rise in health care costs, other strategies may emerge to reach that goal,
for example, passing on additional costs to health care consumers, setting up
personal health accounts, managing diseases more effectively and using
preventive measures for better health care.
Reference:
Kraft, M. E., & Furlong,
S. R. (2010), 6th ed. Public policy: Politics, analysis, and
alternatives. Washington, D.C: CQ Press
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