Federal Health Care Policy

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Affordable healthcare policy may not be the solution to America’s healthcare challenges but an indication of overstretched power by the federal government. For the last two decades, the health reforms that had somehow been forgotten by the federal government have been taken very serious. The Federal government has attempted to improve on the healthcare policies especially under Medicaid and Medicare but some critics argue that whatever they are getting from the government is not worth their money (Williams, McClellan & Rivlin, 2010). Some of the Federal health programs are constantly absorbed into the states and the local authority although the whole issue is highly politicized.

Most people in America agree that there is no better healthcare program in the country. However, even the few reforms that are made in the federal government receive much criticism from many. It is evident that a good number of people do not have health insurance policies but the few who have are ever complaining of higher premiums and plans that may hinder them from getting maximum service (Williams, McClellan & Rivlin, 2010).

Healthcare has had skyrocketing nature that is believed to outpace even people’s income and inflation yet the quality has continued to be poor. The Affordable Care Act was therefore prompted by the need to extend the insurance coverage t the larger uninsured population and improve the quality of healthcare as well as ensuring affordability in accessing healthcare facilities. The policy intended to address all the challenges facing the health system in the country such as lowering and controlling the ever rising cost of health care (Harrington, 2010).

Pros

The policy requires that no American should be denied medical insurance cover regardless of the preexisting conditions. Medical history of an individual can no longer deny the person from obtaining medical insurance and therefore would be able to acquire the coverage with no regard to health underwriting. The policy also intends to increase the coverage for uninsured individuals who are almost 3 million Americans. Some of these people will include the 3.1 million aged between 19 and 25 but still in their parents’ plans since they cannot afford the cost of insurance. Whoever cannot afford to pay health insurance are catered for by the federal government through the states which will be required to add this category into their Medicaid program (Harrington, 2010).

It is also apparent that this program will reduce the cost of healthcare because a larger percentage of citizens will have the insurance cover. There will be possibility of easier access to preventive healthcare because patients will no longer wait for the disease to be more serious for them to visit the hospital. There will also be combination of high taxes and lower deductions. Citizens who do not either pay for insurance or do not qualify for Medicaid will be assessed $95 tax while the high income earners will pay more tax to assist in covering the program (Harrington, 2010).

Cons

The policy requires pharmaceutical firms to pay extra fees in the next ten years and this may eventually lead to increase in drug cost to the consumers. Relationship between the healthcare provider and the patients has reduced as a result of high dependence on the federal government. This policy has centralized health care system and even turned the states into a channel of implementing the federal policy. Requirement by the federal law that all citizens should buy federally designed insurance covers illustrates federal outreach which is against the originality of the constitution (Gardner, 2012).

There is another possibility of health professional shortage due to the increased demand for the service. Healthcare facilities will be overstretched because of the high number of patients. Apart from stretching the facilities and healthcare staffs, there are no financial incentives set aside for the hardworking healthcare professionals. This may really demoralize the workforce and even reduce the quality of their work.

This policy may not be as effective as it is deemed by the government. All the companies in the healthcare sector are clearly in the business of making profit without even thinking of the welfare of their clients thus making diseases and sickness big business. In fact, the US healthcare is the most costly due to the players in this fundamental sector thus making it unproductive to throw money in this system. Demand for healthcare has since been limited by demand because it is provided in the market and any attempt to provide it freely can only be limited by rationing which happens in most countries practicing this system (Gardner, 2012).

This policy is absolutely inconsistent with the constitution. Federal government should not control the health insurance industries and even compel citizens by issuing threats that they should buy the insurance covers. It seems that the federal government is trying to misuse their powers by interfering with the states’ powers. Federal government have few and defined powers which they should not go against unlike the states whose powers are numerous and indefinite. Indeed Affordable healthcare policy may not be the solution to America’s healthcare challenges but an indication of overstretched power by the federal government.

References

Gardner, D. B. (2012). The future of the affordable care act: Will we abandon health care reform? Nursing Economics, 30(1), 40-1, 49. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/923245010?accountid=45049

Harrington, S. E. (2010). U.S. Health-Care Reform: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Journal of Risk and Insurance, 77(3), 703-708. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/747991216?accountid=45049

Williams, D. R., McClellan, M. B., & Rivlin, A. M. (2010). Beyond The Affordable Care Act: Achieving Real Improvements in Americans’ Health. Health Affairs, 29(8), 1481-8. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/744045666?accountid=45049

Federal health care policy
The U.S. government’s expansive role in public policy is caught in a swirl of conflicting cross-currents. On the one hand, popular expectations about government’s responsibility to solve problems often exceed the capacity of state and local authorities to respond effectively. On the other hand, policies developed at the national level may not sufficiently reflect the great diversity of interests across the U.S. to be effective at the local level. Moreover, the search for effective policy is further complicated by theoretical debates about the constitutional framework of federalism, e.g., what limits on national power can be derived from the 10th Amendment?
Research and write an essay on a specific policy in the area that you select. (Note: The word policy is used interchangeably with the word program.) Your essay must:

Clearly identify and focus on a specific federal policy or program (the policy must raises issues of federalism because it requires national, state and local interaction and invites tension across different levels of government).
Summarize the elements of the policy, including the problem it is supposed to solve or improve.
Briefly summarize the history of the policy.
Explain how the policy raises issues of federalism
Analyze the main pros and cons in debates about the policy.
Evaluate the pros and cons from two perspectives:
The policy’s effectiveness. (Justify your assessment by clearly explaining your definition of effectiveness and how it should be measured or determined.)
The policy’s consistency with the constitutional framework of federalism. (Justify your assessment by clearly explaining your interpretation of American federalism’s constitutional framework and why the federal policy is or is not consistent with it.)
Follow these requirements when writing the Short Essay:

The body of the essay (excluding the title page and reference page) must be at least 600 words long.
The essay must start with a short introductory paragraph which includes a clear thesis statement. The thesis statement must tell readers what the essay will demonstrate.
The essay must end with a short paragraph which includes a conclusion. The conclusion and thesis must be consistent.
The essay must logically develop the thesis in a way that leads to the conclusion, and that development must be supported by facts, fully explained concepts or assertions, and persuasive reasoning.
The essay must aIDress all subtopics outlined above. At least 20% of the essay must focus on subtopic 6, above (your evaluation of the various pros and cons about the policy).