There is a dramatic change in the demands and needs of the health care system and debates arise whether the current health care system has become a market failure and whether government intervention is needed in order to address the current health care reform needs. At the onset, this author believes that the current health care system is not a complete failure, however, it is flawed that can be corrected through proper legislative reforms that will address the current needs of the health care system. The cost of health care services is rising, and this has a chilling effect on the ability of the people to access a health care service. There is no statutory mandate requiring employers to provide a health insurance benefit to their employees. It is a matter that depends upon the agreement between the employer and the employee. The same results in making the labor industry less flexible as noted by The Congress of the United States Congressional Budget Office (1992) where the availability of health insurance to employment is now a major consideration by workers when applying for a job. Owing to the high costs of medicine and health services, the accessibility of the health care system has become difficult, and the state fund is tremendously affected by the demands in health care costs. On one hand, giant pharmacies are enjoying unregulated costs for prescriptive medicines where the ballooning prices of their products are justified by the alleged research and development costs that the legislators fail to probe deeper into (Lobosky, 2012).
In view of these implications in terms of the costs and accessibility to quality health care, the government needs to intervene in order to pursue reforms that can address these needs in the health care industry. In the past years, the issue of health care reform has become a passive issue among legislators but it is only the recent years when the people take a stand that they have the right to a quality and accessible health care services. Political parties have their own proposals for health care reforms. The Democratic party proposes a reform system that will provide an affordable health care insurance coverage among all American families and individual citizen. Those paying for health care insurance more than the ceiling provided by the government will be entitled of receiving a tax incentive. The Republican’s positions on health care reforms, on the other hand, is focused on delivering control on health insurance over the hands of every individual and family and promote a culture of wellness and improved nutrition. The proposed health care reform also involves the treatment of chronic diseases and preventive health care services. The Republicans also want to drive a state regulated market for health insurance in a competitive environment so that the people will have better options and choices on low cost health insurance services. As observed by Gosselin (2008), the Republican’s proposal on health care reform is mainly focused on personal responsibility, private enterprise and a market mechanism in order to pursue a sound health care reform system.
From the view point of this author in consideration of the various political thrusts towards a sound health care reform system, it can be concluded that the main elements towards a successful health care reform is the responsibility of the government to provide for statutory health care reforms which the people also has an important role of cooperating in implementing as individual responsibilities in helping the state reduce the impact of the rising costs of health care services. The government should be able to allocate all the health care resources it has in proportion to the needs and demands of certain demographic groups of people in consideration of their socio-economic status and to expand further the implementation of preventive health care that can reduce the costs imposed for treating chronic diseases. It is also the state responsibility to monitor the rising costs for prescriptive medicines through price regulation and to foster a culture of health awareness and to implement preventive programs within the local community level in order to avoid the demands for costly health care services in treating more serious diseases.
References:
Gosselin, P. (2008). The Precarious Financial Lives of American Families. New York: Basic Books.
Lobosky, J.M. (2012). It’s Enough to Make You Sick: The Failure of American Health Care and a Prescription for the Cure. Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield Publisher.
The Congress of the United States Congressional Budget Office (1992). Economic Implications of Rising Health Care Costs. New York: Diane Publishing.
