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The role of U.S. healthcare
Healthcare and the affordable care act controversial topics
Healthcare and the affordable care act controversial topics
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All my life I always had a desire to help people especially in a medical way. Because I believe that sometimes saving lives is more effective in a place of medicine instead of an office where almost nothing gets done. I will be writing my argumentative essay about the U.S. government's role in medical care/health care. I am hoping to prove to those individuals who worry that the government will take away our affordable health care and are wrong about the government changing that policy. There is a lot or argument going on about health care lately. For example, these current debates of affordable healthcare within the political spectrum. Sure there is a lot of left wingers and right wingers going on and on about this topic on yes for affordable …show more content…
citizens the healthcare they need. According to the National Academic Press, the government has sponsored six major government healthcare programs known as Medicare, Medicaid, the Veterans Health Administration program etc. (NAP 2002) Most of these programs were constructed in the year 1965 by the 36th president of the United States Lyndon B. Johnson. This shows that the executive branch of our government worked really hard to provide affordable health care for people who need the appropriate health care they need. Although there may have been some problems with taxes and the affordable medical care. It depends on the certain states in the country, like California for example. According to Drew E. Altman, the taxpayer's uprising started in California and extend across the country, sudden budget cuts in federal aid to side aspects within the government, and the economic downturn, state and local governments are being required to cope with substantially reduced resources. Nevertheless, spending for health remains big business in state and local and even federal governments in today’s society. (Drew E. Altman
On a global scale, the United States is a relatively wealthy country of advanced industrialization. Unfortunately, the healthcare system is among the costliest, spending close to 18% of gross domestic product (GDP) towards funding healthcare (2011). No universal healthcare coverage is currently available. United States healthcare is currently funded through private, federal, state, and local sources. Coverage is provided privately and through the government and military. Nearly 85% of the U.S. population is covered to some extent, leaving a population of close to 48 million without any type of health insurance. Cost is the primary reason for lack of insurance and individuals foregoing medical care and use of prescription medications.
For decades, one of the many externalities that the government is trying to solve is the rising costs of healthcare. "Rising healthcare costs have hurt American competitiveness, forced too many families into bankruptcy to get their families the care they need, and driven up our nation's long-term deficit" ("Deficit-Reducing Healthcare Reform," 2014). The United States national government plays a major role in organizing, overseeing, financing, and more so than ever delivering health care (Jaffe, 2009). Though the government does not provide healthcare directly, it serves as a financing agent for publicly funded healthcare programs through the taxation of citizens. The total share of the national publicly funded health spending by various governments amounts to 4 percent of the nation's gross domestic product, GDP (Jaffe, 2009). By 2019, government spending on Medicare and Medicaid is expected to rise to 6 percent and 12 percent by 2050 (Jaffe, 2009). The percentages, documented from the Health Policy Brief (2009) by Jaffe, are from Medicare and Medicaid alone. The rapid rates are not due to increase of enrollment but growth in per capita costs for providing healthcare, especially via Medicare.
The bill created a Job Corps similar to the New Deal Civilian Conservation Corps; a domestic peace corps; a system for vocational training. The bill also funded community action programs and extended loans to small businessmen and farmers. This helped people to get jobs with good wages.Then came the Medicare Act of 1965 which help people to get better health coverage. “No longer will older Americans be denied the healing miracle of modern medicine. No longer will illness crush and destroy the savings that they have so carefully put away over a lifetime so that they might enjoy dignity in their later years” (1) In 1964 more than 44 percent senior had no health coverage or insurance. Senior citizens were dragged down to poverty as they were not able to pay the medical bills. But after the Medicare Act of 1965 which provide everyone with the medical coverage of all people age 65 and above this issue was almost solved. Along with the Medicare, the Johnson Administration established the Medicaid program to provide healthcare to the poor. Different from Medicare, this Federal-state partnership is largely determined in form and construct by each individual state. In the first three years of the program, nearly 20 million beneficiaries were enrolled
In recent years, the number of Americans who are uninsured has reached over 45 million citizens, with millions more who only have the very basic of insurance, effectively under insured. With the growing budget cuts to medicaid and the decreasing amount of employers cutting back on their health insurance options, more and more americans are put into positions with poor health care or no access to it at all. At the heart of the issue stems two roots, one concerning the morality of universal health care and the other concerning the economic effects. Many believe that health care reform at a national level is impossible or impractical, and so for too long now our citizens have stood by as our flawed health-care system has transformed into an unfixable mess. The good that universal healthcare would bring to our nation far outweighs the bad, however, so, sooner rather than later, it is important for us to strive towards a society where all people have access to healthcare.
The U.S. expends far more on healthcare than any other country in the world, yet we get fewer benefits, less than ideal health outcomes, and a lot of dissatisfaction manifested by unequal access, the significant numbers of uninsured and underinsured Americans, uneven quality, and unconstrained wastes. The financing of healthcare is also complicated, as there is no single payer system and payment schemes vary across payors and providers.
In 1965 President Johnson signed both Medicare and Medicaid programs into law (Nile, 2011). According to Medical news today, “Medicare is a social insurance program that serves more than 44 million enrollees as of 2008” (MediLexicon International Ltd, 2011, para2). It cost about $432 billion or 3.2% of GDP, as of 2007(par2).Medicare is broken down into parts, Part A is hospital Insurance Part B is medical Insurance, and Part D is Medicare prescription drug coverage (medicare.gov). Like we previously stated Medicare is a health insurance for people who are 65 and older, people under 65 with certain disabilities, and people of any age with End- Stage Renal Disease. Medicaid is a joint federal-state program of medical assistance for low income persons (Benefit.gov). It is administered by the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS) and Illinois Department of Public Aid (IDPA). Medicaid serves about 40 million people as of 2007; it cost $330 billion, or 2.4% of GDP, in 2007.(par.2) “In Illinois you may be eligible for Medicaid if you are a child, pre...
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed by President Barack Obama is a significant change of the American healthcare system since insurance plans programs like Medicare and Medicaid (“Introduction to”). As a result, “It is also one of the most hotly contested, publicly maligned, and politically divisive pieces of legislation the country has ever seen” (“Introduction to”). The Affordable Care Act should be changed because it grants the government too much control over the citizen’s healthcare or the lack of individual freedom to choose affordable health insurance.
Less than a quarter of uninsured Americans believe the Affordable Care Act is a good idea. According to experts, more than 87 million Americans could lose their current health care plan under the Affordable Care Act. This seems to provide enough evidence that the Affordable Care Act is doing the exact opposite of what Democrats promised it would do. On the other hand, this law includes the largest health care tax cut in history for middle class families, helping to make insurance much more affordable for millions of families. The Affordable Care Act has been widely discussed and debated, but remains widely misunderstood.
According to Roy, 2013 the issues of providing the affordable care act will unite both the supporters and offenders of the public policy, but in this current situation where the input costs are rising, it will become impossible for government in managing the public policy related to affordable health care. In order to provide affordable health care, majority of the US government has tried out different policies time to time, but unable to get success in realizing the actual policy goals. By providing the affordable health care to majority of the people who requires more amount as controlling the input cost is not possible (AAMC, 2013). Lack of doctors is one of the primary issue in providing high quality health care to the citizens especially those who are financially poor. The Supreme Court of the country passed an Act related to Health insurance as all should have Health Insurance to all the country people by the year 2014, but the at the same time government is concerned about constitutionality of these act (NYTimes, 2013).
Medicare, enacted on 1965 is one of the most important and inclusive government funded health insurance program which covers the elderly, the disabled and people with end stage renal diseases. With Medicare covering specifically the elderly and the disabled, the cost is usually on the higher side. There are different ways in which Medicare provides reimbursement and this usually is a machine run process with little scanning is done by human eyes, making it vulnerable to abuse and corruption. Also with the ever increasing number of people covered under Medicare and the number of claims that are filed daily it becomes really difficult to control Medicare malpractice. And if one learns the process of reimbursement, then there are many ways in
Imagine sitting in an emergency room while your child is screaming their head off because of how much their arm hurts. You can see the bruising and swelling, but you can’t do anything about it. As you wait, the time seems to crawl by, by sooner than expected, you are ushered in to see a doctor. The doctor is helpful and kind, and fixes your child’s broken arm, and sends you on your way—and everything seems to fall into place, that is until the bill comes. You are shocked to see that everything is payed for, and you no longer must cut corners to pay for a simple bandage wrap.
The United States is a strong developed country, yet the health care system would show otherwise. One of the biggest issue here today, is that even though the United States is a developed country, the quality, cost, coverage, and choice of its health care are effecting the citizens. In the United States, it isn’t always easy to get access to health insurance. As a science major, having health insurance is necessary. Students in my major, Exercise Science, are required to go through health compliance in order to be eligible to complete an internship.
Do you think everyone should have access to healthcare? I think people should have access to health care at a lower cost. Some people might take advantage of the cheap health care which could be a bad thing. On the other hand, if the costs of healthcare keep rising, the quality of treatment could possibly decline. Which is also a very bad thing.
...ue to numerous medical errors. With the amount of medical errors that currently do occur which is a current health care issue it cost the health care billions of dollar each year to fix the mistakes that were made.
Health care has always been an interesting topic all over the world. Voltaire once said, “The art of medicine consists of amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.” It may seem like health care that nothing gets accomplished in different health care systems, but ultimately many trying to cures diseases and improve health care systems.