Reference no: EM133370835

Questions: Respond to each of the 2 posts separately. The discussion question (does not need to be answered):
What type of health policy would you recommend for the U.S. today? Why? Please be as specific as possible with your recommendations. How does your recommendation compare to current policy changes being made by the federal government?

Case Study: 1) After reading the chapter, the articles in our module, watching the You Tube clips, and then watching the Frontline video that was posted, I was swaying back and forth with what I thought would be best for the U.S. today. Even though the show was taped in 2008 I do not think we have made that much more progress in terms of our healthcare offerings here in the United States. The Frontline show talked about our healthcare costs being the highest in the world. The reporter who was hosting the show had been afforded the chance to live in many places so his comparisions were made easily and factually.
In Britain they have NHS, National Health Services- which is run by the government. NHS covers everyone and has proven better health outcomes, longer life expectancy, and lower infant mortality. Patients receive no medical bills, no co-pays or deductibles, but they may have longer wait times to see physicians. Doctors are employees of the hospital and there is no medical systems filing for bankruptcy. British people pay higher taxes for the free healthcare and their primary care and emergency room care is good. Specialist appointments may take longer to get and may not be as efficient.
In United States our healthcare systems compete to make money and in Britain the healthcare systems compete to survive. Next in the report was Toyko, they have great health care outcomes, longest life expectancy, and lower infant mortality, this may be due to diet and lifestyle as well. Everyone has to sign up for insurance either at work or through the community. There are no appointments needed to see a doctor and they have fixed pricing for all procedures and medicines, which is updated every two years. Downside there is 50% of the hospitals are in financial deficit due to little to no spending.
Germany had a model that I thought may work well in the United States. They have the Bismarck Model, everyone is offered healthcare and 90% of the residents stay in the national model. The other 10% opt for private insurance. The 90% that are in the universal healthcare model are covered for all medical, dental, mental health, optical, and even holistic care. The doctors and hospitals are private entity's and with serious illness you are seen same day, routine visits in 1-2 weeks, specialist appts in 1-2 weeks, and surgeries can usually be scheduled within the month. This is all very similiar to the United States. There is a small co-pay for the patient and in comparision to the United States the care is top notch, more choices, and all for a fraction of the cost. The doctors feel underpaid and underappreciated but their malpractice insurance costs are minimal and their schooling is also low.
Taiwan changed their healthcare in 1995, after reviewing 10-15 countries and their systems. They now offer equal access, free choice of doctors, and no waiting time to be seen. To finance this they choose a national insurance system, the government insurer collective does not allow anyone to opt out. This plan is similiar to our medicaid. Clinics are open 7 days a week and the patient is issued a smart card that carries all their health care information. This keeps the administration cost down. Switzerland has universal coverage with high quality outcomes. Everyone must buy insurance and the government pays for the poor. The average family pays $750 a year, which puts it as the 2nd highest in the world below the US. In my opinion everyone should have health care benefits and more important access to quality health care as well. We are the wealthiest nation in the world and yet we have patients filing for bankruptcy after they or a family member fall ill. Our doctors may be overpaid, our health care costs are grossly inflated, our prescription costs are obscene, and our insurance companies dictate too much of our rights. I hear from patients all the time that they have an extremely high co-pay or deductible. When watching the show it was interesting to hear about the costs of their imaging studies compared to ours. It proved that you do not have to rob the insurance companies which then trickles down to the insured. I have to say I am sitting somewhere between Britain and Germany when it comes to which I would like us to copy or take parts of both. I think we can do better for all of our citizens.
2) Government programs and policies have been put into place to reduce the burden of illness, injury, and disability, and to improve the health and functioning of the population. In the US, the six major government programs are Medicare, Medicaid, the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), the Department of Defense TRICARE and TRICARE for Life programs (DOD TRICARE), the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) program, and the Indian Health Service (IHS) program. Depending on the program, each is managed and administered by policies either on the federal or state level. On the global level, organizations such as the World Health Organization UNAIDS, and UNICEF, focus on developing global health programs and policies to affect health outcomes within and between countries. My recommendation for the healthcare policy would be Affordable Care Act. The reason is that it offers many different opportunities and is also affordable. It is better than not having a policy. During the major crisis of COVID-19 where there were job losses, many people were uninsured ACA was an affordable healthcare policy that took effect. The ACA was created to fill holes in a patchwork healthcare system, with the ultimate aim of achieving universal coverage at affordable costs. Since its enactment in 2010, the ACA has been debated, challenged in court, and modified by Congress and the executive branch in numerous ways. In the summer of 2021, the law survived yet another existential threat when the Supreme Court overruled a lower court decision that had found the entire law unconstitutional.