Medicare and Medicaid in the US Healthcare - Essay Example

 The healthcare sector operates under government regulation because it offers public and is sensitive. Private stakeholders such as private care providers and insurance companies play important roles, but the government is the main regulator through special programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, and through legislations that regulate the sector. The ObamaCare act is an example of government’s regulation over healthcare and is significant to my capstone problem on treatment of hypertension and management of future risk of cardiovascular disease. This paper reviews the problem, the legislation, and possible effects of the legislation. Overview of the health problem High blood pressure and cardiovascular disease are common health problems in the United States and other regions. High blood pressure is also a factor to cardiovascular disease and its prevention and management are therefore important. According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, about 33 percent of adults in the United States suffer from high blood pressure, and only 47 percent of the fraction has manageable blood pressures. In addition, about 1000 people die daily in the United States because of high blood pressure (The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). Further, 25 percents of deaths in the United States are attributed to cardiovascular disease with an average of 720000 people suffering from the disease in America annually. The high expenditure on the disease, with coronary heart disease alone demanding almost $ 109 billion per annum, also establishes significance of the disease. Several factors such as ethnicity, geographical location, age, and behavior contribute to high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease to identify it as a universal problem (The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention1, 2014). The ObamaCare whose objective is to ensure accessibility and quality of care is therefore relevant to management of the high prevalence and mortality rates due to high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. Severity of the problem Statistics by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention identifies severity of hypertension and cardiovascular disease. One in every three people suffers from hypertension and the number of deaths per day is high. In addition, having 67 million patients is a burden to the nation’s healthcare facilities as well as to the patients’ family and friends. The fact that the problem does not show symptoms and that it can damage other body organs also shows its severity (The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). Similarly, high incidence rate and mortality rate of cardiovascular disease establishes its severity. The fact that one in every four deaths is attributable to the disease means that it is the most significant disease in the United States, and possible in the entire globe. High incidence and mortality due to cardiovascular disease also shows its significance (The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention1, 2014). National initiatives such as efforts by the Joint National Commission, which recently developed the JNC 8 guidelines for medicinal management of hypertension (James, et al, 2014) and efforts by political institutions such as in creation of the Arkansas Minority Health Commission also shows significance of hypertension and cardiovascular disease (Arkansas Minority Health Commission, 2007). Awareness and intervention efforts by the different stakeholders shows significance of the problem and the role of management of blood pressure, through behavioral and drug based approaches, as appropriate intervention. Overview of the bill and stakeholders The ObamaCare offers provisions for better healthcare and therefore promises better services for prevention and management of hypertension and cardiovascular disease. One of the act’s provisions is “quality and affordable healthcare for all Americans,” and this means that hypertension and cardiovascular disease patients have better opportunities for managing their conditions (The Senate, n.d., n.p.). The law also establishes the role of government-sponsored programs, and improved quality of care services, measures that can reduce prevalence and mortality rates associated with the diseases. Explicit provision for prevention of terminal illnesses is another element of the legislation that relates to the problem because the two diseases are chronic. ObamaCare also provides for innovation in treatment measures that is also applicable to the problem. These further identify diversified stakeholders such as regulators in the healthcare sectors, politicians and political parties, care personnel, and patients and their associates. Political forces are likely to influence future of the law; regulators have influence over the law’s effectiveness while opinions among care personnel and the public are likely to influence change. Expected outcomes The bill is likely to earn support from the public, especially the poor who view affordability and accessibility of care as a privilege. Social groups such as human right and religious groups, as well as loyalists to the Republican Party are likely to support the current state of the law because of special and political interests. Allegiance to party and the president are likely to the political reasons while improved welfare are likely to the main reasons for the special groups’ support. Problems Despite possible support from citizens, due to benefits of the ObamaCare law, some citizens are likely to oppose the law because of its associated problems. It will increase the cost of healthcare for some people and families. The law also threatens job security and work conditions, and is therefore likely to yield negative reactions from employees, employers, investors, and special interest groups. Some employees may also be forced out of their preferred care plans to lead to opposition from the employees, their employers, and insurance providers. Policy makers are also likely to oppose the role of internal revenue service in implementing the law (House of Representatives, n.d.). Unintended consequences Despite the goal of ensuring affordable and accessible care, the law is likely to make care more expensive to some people. In addition, its effects on job creation are likely to reduce people’s ability to access care, and therefore make care expensive to the jobless. While shifting focus on the government’s insurance and increasing regulations on private insurance company, the law is likely to reduce the companies’ profitability and therefore reduce their employment capacity and have lead to policies that are less beneficial to holders. Recommendations Even though the law has disadvantages such as threat to job security, possible increase in care cost to some population segments, and undesired alignment of health insurance policies, these are limited to a small section of the national population. Benefits of the law, such as empowerment towards prevention and management of hypertension, cardiovascular disease, other terminal diseases, and other diseases and infection, and affordability and accessibility of care, especially among disadvantaged people, however outweigh the disadvantages. Support for the law, and further legislations that reinforce the law’s objective of better, affordable, and accessible care, should be encouraged. References Arkansas Minority Health Commission. (2007). Arkansas Minority Health Commission. Arkansas Minority Health Commission. Retrieved from: http://www.arminorityhealth.com/research_studies.html. House of Representatives. (n.d.). 37 reasons to repeal ObamaCare. Committee on ways and means. Retrieved from: http://waysandmeans.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=333919. James, P. et al. (2014). 2014 evidence-based guideline for the management of high blood pressure in adults: Report from the panel members appointed to the eighth Joint National Committee (JNC 8). JAMA 311(5): 507-520. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. (2014). High blood pressure. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention1. (2014). Heart disease. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/. The Senate. (n.d.). The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: Detailed summary. The United States Senate. Retrieved from: http://www.dpc.senate.gov/healthreformbill/healthbill04.pdf. Read More