Every government has the responsibility to ensure that its citizens receive the best health care service. It is the primary goal of every government to provide the resources necessary to guarantee proper health services to the people. Through governmental organizations; the government plays critical roles in the delivery of healthcare services. It is critical to underline certain facts that underpin the operability of health on government policies. The government offers a plethora of services to the health care system (Bodenheimer & Pham, 2010). The government through its several agencies provides funding to the healthcare. Several organs of the government provide the necessary funding needed in the health system to aid various services that are pursued within the health sector. It is important that resources are made available to the health sector by the government either in financial terms or health equipment. As a funder government uses its organs such as the ministry to provide the funding.
The government has a promise to the people to provide better and quality health care. In this respect, it is important to note that governmental organizations are leading the front in the provision of healthcare. In all fairness, the history of health problems is deep rooted in the US. America battles numerous health related issues and thus needs the government’s indulgence into the health system by providing policies and laws that govern the operations of the health practitioners and the general practice of health provision to ensure that quality is guaranteed (Frenk et al., 2010). There are several cases of chronic diseases and healthcare issues that face American citizen.
The health issue in America is a very critical subject in both locally and internationally. Due to the continued demand for better healthcare services and the greater responsibility to provide better healthcare, American government through the Department of Health and Human Services is a core player in the health sector. The department runs and funds a series of programs aimed at promoting and enhancing the quality of healthcare in the states. It is crucial to highlight DHHS provides the policies that run the healthcare sector including the funding that every department in the health system receives for various services. It funds programs aimed at providing the research services to ensure that quality of health services is provided for improved healthcare. DHHS provides funds for several medical projects that are aimed at providing up to date drugs and information relating to certain diseases and health problems of concern (Collins & Hayes, 2010). Such research programs include cancer research programs to ensure that necessary drugs that can help treat cancer. There are also other research projects being funded by the DHHS that is all done to enhance the quality of healthcare. There are also health programs that the DHHs fund indirectly but targeting the service delivery to the people. It also oversees the implementation of several health-related programs that provides the health services to the civilian.
The department gets substantial budget allocation through the government funding to ensure that health expectations of American citizens are met promptly. It runs big health programs like Medicaid and Medicare. The two programs are the key providers of health insurance to the American public. The department hands multiplicity of health programs across the US. It also plays regulatory functions in the pharmaceutical sector by controlling the pharmaceutical and food products. Medicare is a health program funded by DHHS (Collins & Hayes, 2010). Its core responsibility as mandated by the health provision Act is to provide insurance services to the citizens and individuals considered eligible for social security services. It is a program that provides health insurance cover to aged individuals with eligibility status for insurance cover. The program tends to insure persons from the age of 60-years and above. The eligibility status can be acquired through disability or the prevalence of end-stage renal disease. There have been over forty million people who have benefited from the program, and the number continues to grow day by day. Additionally, the program receives funding in the neighborhood of one billion dollars to help provide service to the vulnerable in the society. DHHS also manages the Medicaid program. The program was created to help services those with health needs but are unable to afford it due to poverty as well as those with special needs for health care. In the view of the two programs, several Americans have benefited. It is a program that was meant to serve those who earned lowly incomes (Collins & Hayes, 2010). With the low income, many are not able to access the healthcare services despite the need for the service. Today, over 50-million people have benefited from the program. Children, disabled adults, and low-income earners form the larger group to have benefited from the program. Also parents with low earnings have had a fair share of benefits from the program. The program is often funded by two main bankrollers. The federal government and the national government both provide funding to the program. It ensures that resources are made available to ensure continuity of the program.
Veteran Health Administration
The Veterans are a considerate population within the US, and thus, there is the need for health care service that meets the set threshold. In fact, veterans form around 10% of the American population. The program has complicated eligibility requirements, but the care is provided to the old and those with a high need for chronic health address. Those with low-income population also stand to benefit from the program. They are offered the care services to help enhance their health status and guarantee them longevity. The program is run by the Veteran Health Organization that receives the funding for its operations from the federal government. The services supported by the health program under Veteran Health Administration are provided via regional health systems that work in coordination to through Veteran Integrated Service Network (Steinbrook, 2009). It has provided several ambulatory cares to those with veteran status in all the States of the US. The population served by the veteran administration is often characterized by surging rates of chronic diseases.
The department of defense works in handy with other government organizations to provide the health care services to the men in uniform through the DOD TRICARE program. The DOD TRICARE includes two key programs that are managed by the Department of Defense. The programs under this organization are aimed at providing healthcare to the military personnel and their families. It also offers the service to the retired military personnel, but only those were under the age of sixty-five years. Those who depend on them are equally covered by the program. The program is controlled through the Health Affairs offices that are part of the Assistant Secretary of Defense. It includes mainly the active-duty combatants (Steinbrook, 2009). The TRICARE is often located near military facilities and is controlled by the Department of Defense. The main reason it is placed in the neighborhood of military camps is to provide healthcare services to the army personnel.
Indian Health Service
It is an was an agency under the DHHS but is regarded as an organization that helps provide health services to the American Indian and Alaska Natives. It is the main healthcare provider to over 2 million red Indians and the natives of Alaska that are recognized by the state. The agency provides the health services to this population of people through the use of medical clinics across the US with more than 200 health centers operating to offer the services and serve the medical needs of the entire population of American Indians. The health of the American Indians is often affected by poverty and inadequate education. According to statistics, over 25% of Indians live within the parameters of poverty (Selinger, 2009). They are living below poverty lines. Regarding education, more than 30% of the population that is above the age of 25 still battles with low levels of education. In fact, the majority have not finished high school education.
National Cancer Institute and National Institute of Health
It is an organization that is aimed at limiting the disproportionate burden the society bears as a result of the prevalence of cancer. The primary task of the organization is to work with the other agencies and organizations to conduct researches on the cancer disparities and cancer training. It works in handy with CRCHD to help the society overcome the numerous cases of cancer disparities. It also works to minimize the burdens cancer imposes on the general population. The organization leads various research projects related to cancer and training for the population on how to limit the disparities shown in the population regarding cancer (Selinger, 2009). The National Institute of Health also works in handy with these research organizations to provide them with the necessary resource for various research projects. Several research projects on health related issues have been conducted specifically on cancer.
References
Bodenheimer, T., & Pham, H. H. (2010). Primary care: Current problems and proposed solutions. Health Affairs, 29(5), 799–805.
Frenk, J., Chen, L., Bhutta, Z. A., Cohen, J., Crisp, N., Evans, T., Zurayk, H. (2010). Health professionals for a new century: Transforming education to strengthen health systems in an interdependent world. The Lancet, 376(9756), 1923–1958.
Collins, P. A., & Hayes, M. V. (2010). The role of urban municipal governments in reducing health inequities: A meta-narrative mapping analysis. International Journal for Equity in Health, 9(1), 13.
Steinbrook, R. (2009). Health care and the American recovery and reinvestment act. New England Journal of Medicine, 360(11), 1057–1060.
Selinger, W. J. (2009). Oversight: Accountability in the American recovery and reinvestment act. SSRN Electronic Journal.
