Public Policy: Health Care Policy Issues
Health care policies refer to the decision, actions and plans that are done in order to achieve health care goals within a society. There are several different explicit health policies in order to achieve different things as it defines an idea for the future of the people. This in turn helps establish targets and points of reference for other short term and medium term goals. These policies outline the urgencies and the likely roles of different groups and department in the government and the private sector. It also builds consensus and helps inform the people about how the government will provide with their basic health needs (World Health Organization).
The health care reform in the United States has always been part of its history. There are policies and reforms that have been proposed, but most of them are rarely accomplished. In 2010, the breakthrough reform was passed through two federal statutes which were enacted in the same year. These were the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (H.R. 4872) and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) (Smith, Alexander, and Beech). Health care reform started with President Lyndon Johnson introduced Medicare, which covered hospital and general medical insurance for senior citizens and the money comes from the Federal employment tax over the working life of the person. Different health care policies and reform has been created since like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) that protects the health insurance coverage of the people and their families when they change or lose their jobs.
Despite the many different health care policies and reform, there are still problems revolving around these because of the increasing number of people that need health care insurance in the country. In 2016, more people are signing up under the Affordable Care Act faces the problems of higher premiums, fewer doctors and inadequate coverage. This then threatens the appeal of the program for many healthy people who really need it (Rubin). With the help of this policy, the number of uninsured people in the country decreased significantly. But then because of the growing number of people, the budget for the aid can also decrease if premiums will not increase as well.
One of the possible solutions to this problem is to reform the Medicare and Medicaid. Currently, both policies need serious change because, although they are popular, they become unsustainable in the long run when there is an increase in the number of people who will acquire the insurance. With that, the government can ask the help of private health groups as it can create more cost efficiency. Asking private companies to split the payment of the insurance premiums of their employees would solve the cost problems of Medicare. This should also be encouraged for Medicaid because modifying the payment process would be a huge help to reform the policies revolving around it.
Works Cited
Rubin, Jennifer. "Obamacare’s Problems Get Worse - The Washington Post." Washington Post. N.p., 19 Nov. 2015. Web. 8 May 2016.
Smith, Donna, David Alexander, and Eric Beech. "FACTBOX-US Healthcare Bill Would Provide Immediate Benefits." Reuters. N.p., 19 Mar. 2010. Web. 8 May 2016.
World Health Organization. "Health Policy." WHO | World Health Organization. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 May 2016.
