HLTH - 556 DB 7 - Urgently Required. 12-16 Hours. Need A + Work

Values in a National Healthcare Policy

There are many values important to a national health policy.  One is access.  Healthcare should be accessible to all regardless of race, religion, and economic status.  Today the Affordable Care Act (ACA) appears to have improved access to healthcare insurance as evident by the uninsured rate dropping from 44 million to 28 million at the end of 2016 ("Key Facts about the Uninsured Population," 2017).  However, it is important to note that just because a person has healthcare insurance does not necessarily mean they have complete access to healthcare.  There are still populations of people in the lower income bracket that are unable to access care due to cost (Mukherjee, 2016).  There are also areas across the United States that are seeing physician shortages so this too can impede access to healthcare.  A second value is efficiency and value.  I believe this is an area that can still be improved within ACA.  It is estimated that 30-40% of waste occurs in healthcare (McLaughlin & McLaughlin, 2015).  In addition, it’s difficult to know if you received a good value if prices are not transparent.  Along with value, you want to have a good quality experience from your healthcare provider.  Today this data is pretty transparent and can be viewed on www.medicare.gov/hospitalcompare.  A third value is patient privacy.  Since the establishment of Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA), patient confidentiality has increased significantly.  However, breeches of confidentiality can occur when computer systems are hacked.  Informed consent is a fourth value.  This is where the patient is informed of the procedure.  Once the patient is informed, they sign a consent form giving permission to the healthcare provider to provide a service.  Personal responsibility is a fifth value and I am very passionate about this value.  For example, smokers incur higher rates for insurance because they are at higher risk for disease processes.  I support these higher rates due to their high risk behavior.  A sixth value is professional ethics.  As a registered nurse myself, I have taken an oath to serve the patients in a respectable and professional manner.  In fact, nursing has been number one for the most honest and ethical professions by Gallup polls for the last 16 years (Brenan, 2017).  This high ethical standard is carried throughout a healthcare organization and taken very seriously by the employers.  I believe most of these values are available today within our healthcare policy.  Individuals may need to do a little research on where to receive most of these values for their healthcare experience.  Ultimately though, I believe removing government from healthcare and allowing the consumer driven market to drive competition will be the best solution.  This will help lower prices and improve quality as everyone has to compete for the consumers business (Williamsen, 2017).

Value of Life

            The Bible says “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” Gen 1:27 (New International Version).  All human beings are created by God and in His image.  As a society, we lose sight of this when the issue of life is discussed.  A term that every Christian should become familiar with is Personhood.  Personhood defines the right to life as occurring from biological beginnings to natural death.  Many people argue that the right to life is a personal choice about one’s body.  This is common within the pro-choice movement.  However, God tells us “before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart: I appointed you as a prophet to the nations” (Jer 1:5).  Since He is the Creator of all life, He knows each person prior to their biological beginning.  However, we live in a society that does not value life.  For 45 years we have allowed the murder of innocent lives; lives that God created.  “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for God made man in His own image” (Gen 9:6).  Abortion is murder and our current healthcare policy supports this.  This fact alone is the number one reason I could not support ACA from its origination.  God tells us “Rescue those who are being taken away to death: hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter Prov 24:12 (The Reformation Study Bible).  God calls us to protect and stand strong in faith for Life.  I also want to add, out of the sensitivity of this subject, that one in four women in the United States has had an abortion by the age of 45 ("Induced Abortion in the United States," 2018).  The great news is that we serve a God that forgives and loves each one of us.  He is a God of healing and He would want to heal this pain if anyone has experienced it.  I have been very active with our Christian pro-life ministry where I live and I have friends that have experienced this pain.  However, they have also handed it over to God and are free to share their testimonies with others that may have experienced an abortion.  The Bible tells us “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” (Isa. 1:18).

           

References

Brenan, M. (2017). Nurses keep healthy lead as most honest, ethical profession. Retrieved from http://news.gallup.com/poll/224639/nurses-keep-healthy-lead-honest-ethical-profession.aspx?g_source=CATEGORY_SOCIAL_POLICY_ISSUES&g_medium=topic&g_campaign=tiles

Induced abortion in the United States. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.guttmacher.org/fact-sheet/induced-abortion-united-states

Key facts about the uninsured population. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.kff.org/uninsured/fact-sheet/key-facts-about-the-uninsured-population/

McLaughlin, C. P., & McLaughlin, C. D. (2015). Health policy analysis (2nd ed.). [VitalSource Bookshelf].

Mukherjee, K. (2016). Impact of affordability on accessibility of medical care post affordable care act in the USA. Journal of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research, 7, 123-128. https://doi.org/10.1111/jphs.12129

Williamsen, K. (2017). Free market healthcare reform. Retrieved from https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/health-care/item/25568-free-market-healthcare-reform