What is the government's role in healthcare? How does the
government impact healthcare organizations?
The government plays several different roles in healthcare including
providing educational programs such as the diabetes prevention
program, developing policy, and providing medical insurance services
to low-income families to name a few. d Other roles include the
development of health information protection policies such as HIPAA
and other standards set such as meaningful use programs. The laws,
regulations, policies, payment systems, and oversight of these huge
federal programs have major direct and indirect influences on private-
sector payers and the health care that is delivered to Americans not
covered under federal programs (Straube, 2013). d Government
impact has allowed for the addition of healthcare policies such as
Medicaid, Medicare, and more recently Obama care.
How does health insurance impact healthcare delivery?
In order to have a healthy population, an individual must not only
seek the highest level of healthcare but be able to acquire it. The
government under President Obama established the Affordable Care
Act in 2010. The establishment of this act increased access to
affordable health insurance for all Americans. d Prior to this act
insurance was not affordable to many families. d “Health insurance
coverage is associated with better health outcomes for adults. It is
also associated with having a regular source of care and with greater
and more appropriate use of health services” (Coffee, 2005). Access
to quality, affordable healthcare should be a human right and
available to all persons equally no matter their socioeconomic level. d
Healthcare insurance impacts healthcare delivery by allowing insured
individuals to obtain higher quality healthcare at a lower cost. The
Affordable Care Act can allow health outcomes to improve by
allowing more people to have full access to affordable healthcare.
How can we reduce the number of uninsured people while
maximizing quality and access and minimizing costs?
The establishment of Medicaid and Medicare were two influential
ways to reduce the number of uninsured and improve the access to
quality healthcare. Once the Affordable Care Act was established it
gave the United States another great opportunity to improve the
number of uninsured people while maximizing other aspects such as
access, quality, and cost of insurance. Continued revisions and new
policies must be developed to ensure all Americans regardless of
race, sex, gender identity, etc are provided with healthcare. No-cost
universal care is something we must continue to research and
institute for our country. Laws and policies must be in place to keep
the cost of private insurance, prescription medication, and various
medical treatments affordable to all.
References
Coffee, L. (2005). The Future of the Public’s Health in the 21st Century
Committee on Assuring the Health of the Public in the 21st Century.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK221239/pdf/Bookshelf_N
BK221239.pdf
Davis, K. (2007). Uninsured in America: problems and possible
solutions. BMJ, 334(7589), 346–348.
https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.39091.493588.be
Health Care that Works for Americans | The White House. (2022).
Archive.org.
https://web.archive.org/web/20141021223730/http://www.whiteh
ouse.gov/healthreform/healthcare-overview
Rosenbaum, S. (2011). The Patient Protection and Affordable Care
Act: Implications for Public Health Policy and Practice. Public Health
Reports, 126(1), 130–135.
https://doi.org/10.1177/003335491112600118
Straube, B. M. (2013). A Role for Government. American Journal of
Preventive Medicine, 44(1), S39–S42.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2012.09.009
