Maui 3

Student discussion must be a minimum of 150 - 200 original words and supported by academic, peer-reviewed references (at least 1). Whenever possible, please try to relate the course content to real-world applications from your work experience. I expect your message to reflect critical thought and an integration of the key themes and concepts from the readings.

1. The readings describe the ethical principle of distributive justice in relation to the allocation of scarce health care resources.  Describe how you believe the Affordable Care Act contributes to society's obligation to ensure the health of the country.

Medicaid.gov (2015).  Keeping America health:  the Affordable Care Act.   Retrieved fromhttp://medicaid.gov/affordablecareact/affordable-care-act.html

2.  Providing government sponsored insurance for health care is a way to distribute resources (money) in society.  There are a couple of issues, though, that the Affordable Care Act  (ACA) hasn't addressed.

 

First, while insurance is an important first step, it is necessary to have providers (nurses, MDs, etc.) that are willing to see patients with this type of insurance.  The ACA does provide some financial incentives to get MDs and hospitals to accept patients with this insurance, but, they can't force providers to do it. (HHS, 2015).

 Second...even with insurance, the issue of distributive justice, like discussed in the readings, brings up the important issue of how society defines the word "need".  If need is described subjectively by an individual, how can society reconcile or pay for meeting what anyone might describe as a need?   

 How can society define "need" when it comes to health care?  Should individuals get to decide?

HHS.gov/HealthCare (2015).  About the law.  Retrieved from http://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/rights/

 

Garrett, T. M., Baillie, H. W., & Garrett, R. M. (2009). Health care ethics: Principles and problems (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

3. The rules about providing care are important, but it still doesn't address those hospitals (there are many) that don't want to accept this insurance, and they are not required to do so.  The health care industry is a market segment of our economy, so change will come slowly.  A recent article by Geyman (2015) states that 

"Based on the evidence, one has to conclude that containment of health care costs is nowhere in sight, that more than 37 million Americans will still be uninsured when the ACA is fully implemented in 2019, that many more millions will be underinsured, and that profiteering will still dominate the culture of U.S. health care" (2015, epub ahead of print).

So, what does this mean for society "distributing" justice to those that need health care and can't get it? This is an important question.  Just yesterday, the New York Times published a front page article about the ethical challenges the Cleveland Clinic is facing with changes in the health care market.  See the link below for free access.

Distributive justice requires that there is approval in society for redistributing resources.  In this case, the distribution is impacting how health care is going to be organized.  It will be interesting to see how things change.

Abelson, R (2015).  Cleveland Clinic grapples with changes in health care.  Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/18/business/cleveland-clinic-grapples-with-changes-in-health-care.html?_r=0

4. Using the readings, describe managerial responsibilities related to administrative ethical issues, such as negligence, billing fraud or medical malpractice.

 

References: 

Fremgen, B. F. (2009). Medical law and ethics (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

5. After reading the article, how would you “value” public health? http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2758411/

6. Discuss the article: What do you think about the article?---- Health Capability: Conceptualization and Operationalization. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2791246/

7. Discus the article: What do you think about the article?—Analyzing the Politics of Healthcare: Let’s Buy Ourselves Some Civilization. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551-009-0137-6

8. Write a 200-word paper in which you discuss ethics about Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association, http://www.azhha.org . Include the following:

· What are the organization’s goals? How are they tied to its ethical principles? Describe the role and importance of the corporation’s ethical values

Include at least three sources in your paper.

Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.