Discussion Question 1
Discussion Question 1
Foremost, health must be regarded as top priority in order for universal health coverage to have the structure and process needed for implementation. This has been achieved when member countries of the United Nations signed a resolution to employ a multisectoral approach to addressing the various determinants of health contributing to inequity (Ooms et al., 2014). Thus, in principle, the countries agreed to place health on top of their developmental agenda wherein health is recognized as significantly contributing to economic productivity. In applying this principle, countries must create programs for universal health coverage, ensure that such programs are sufficiently and sustainably funded, and strengthen the health care system to ensure that the increased demand for health care can be adequately met (Doherty, 2011). The latter pertains to human resources and infrastructure that are invaluable in health care delivery. Policies institutionalize the principle by identifying health goals, the agencies responsible for program implementation and their different roles as well as mechanisms of accountability. Policies also mandate who has access to health care and the range of services available to them.
Based on the WHO definition, the elements of such coverage include affordable preventive, promotive, curative, and rehabilitative care and equitable access (McKee et al., 2013). Health care in the United States differs from this concept in that access is dependent on the purchasing capacity of employers and consumers in a multi-payer marketplace operating on the basis of competition (Villa & Kane, 2013). Thus, although Medicaid coverage was recently expanded to accommodate more low-income individuals, 13.1% or 41 million individuals remain uninsured which underscores the issue of equitable access (Cohen & Martinez, 2014). In other countries, universal health coverage means a single-payer system wherein one agency manages the financing of health care delivered via public or private organizations with the goal of making health care affordable and accessible to all (Villa & Kane, 2013).
Health care providers play an important role in the development of universal health coverage. Health is a right that all citizens are entitled to and it is the ethical responsibility of health care providers to provide services to all who need it and not just to those who have the ability to pay (McKee et al., 2013; Porche, 2011). Part of fulfilling this responsibility is policy advocacy to promote laws and regulations that are in the best interests of patients. In the latest health care reform, health care providers through professional and advocacy organizations such as the American Medical Association, American Academy of Family Physicians, Physicians for a National Health Program, and the National Physicians Alliance have been visible and active in airing their perspectives and lobbying for political support. Continued advocacy will ensure policy improvements that will better the health care system towards greater access.
References
Cohen, R.A., & Martinez, M.E. (2014). Health insurance coverage: Early release of estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, January-March 2014. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/earlyrelease/insur201409.pdf
Doherty, R.B. (2011). Universal health care coverage in the United States: Is it “slip slidin’ away”? Annals of Internal Medicine, 154, 118-120. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-154-2- 201101180-00302.
McKee, M., Balabanova, D., Basu, S., Ricciardi, W., & Stuckler, D. (2013). Universal health coverage: A quest for all countries but under threat in some. Value in Health, 16(Suppl 1), S39-S45. doi: 10.1016/j.jval.2012.10.001.
Ooms, G., Marten, R., Waris, R., Hammonds, R., Mulumba, M., & Friedman, E.A. (2014). Great expectations for the World Health Organization: A Framework Convention on Global Health to achieve universal health coverage. Public Health, 128(2), 173-178. doi: 10.1016/j.puhe.2013.06.006.
Porche, D.J. (2011). Health policy: Application for nurses and other health care professionals. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Villa, S., & Kane, N. (2013). Assessing the impact of privatizing public hospitals in three American States: Implications for universal health coverage. Value in Health, 16(Suppl 1), S24-S33. doi: 10.1016/j.jval.2012.10.001.
