Health Care Policy Issues for the Elderly in America - Assignment Example

Health Care Policy Issues for the Elderly in America Introduction America is facing a significant demographic challenge caused by an ever-growing population of the aged above 65 years. The issue has a vital impact on the stability of the nation pertaining to economic, social and health institutions providing health and well-being of old people and their families. The sophisticated standards of living and improved medical services with the notion of abolition of infectious diseases have promoted the burgeoning number of the old. The reason for the trend is the improvement of life expectancy of the current generation making people live longer until they become vulnerable to chronic diseases. The conditions include the stroke, cancer, arthritis, mental disorder, cancer, and other chronic illnesses causing limited or total disability. As people live longer, the major common chronic diseases increase causing a considerable disability and functional dependence requiring services affecting diverse sectors of the economy. The burden of chronic diseases poses a significant challenge for policy makers, providers of long-term care services including families and friends of the victims (Niles- Yokum & Wagner, 2015). Policy issues and challenges for the long-term care emerging from the demographic changes should rectify amicably by the involvement of health care providers. To make profound changes in the formal health care system, health care providers and policy makers must embrace the quality of healthcare for the older citizen. Long-Term Care As a part of Affordable care Act, Congress passed a new Voluntary, long-term insurance policy allowing planning by the individuals for the long-term services (Protection & Act, 2010). The formation of the Living Assistance and Supports Program enables individuals to plan correctly for long-term services as they age. CLASS allows the elderly to spend at home rather than forcing them to spend their life savings or enter the nursing homes. Even though, the initiation of the CLASS project terminates the Congress members believe the issue should be revocable. The Affordable Care Act comprises various funding programs to ensure improvement in the care for the elderly. It improves the available tools creating new options and financial incentives for states to give home and community-based services and support (Powers, 2014). It acts on the limited areas of interests, for example, the home, and community-based services state plan option. The law includes the changes that enable states to target home and community- based services to particular people, to services accessible to more individuals, and ensure the quality of the services provided. The community first choice provides elaborate federal financial assistance to states providing help and support to individual with disabilities to live in the society. The state is balancing incentive payments program dealing with the authorization of grants to states increasing access to non-instructional long-term service and support. LTSS also offer states that perform structural reform to elevate the access to non-institutional LTSS. The money follows the person (MFP) program providing individuals with long-term services and support to enable them transfer from institutions to their homes. The available grants for experimenting the knowledge and functional assessment tools designed to test quality measurement tools and demonstrate electronic-health in Medicaid long-term services and supports. End of Life/Advanced Directives End of life care is a kind of medical policy, which predefines the type of care an individual would prefer at advanced age (Matzo & Sherman, 2015). End –of –life care ahead of time prepares a victim beforehand to inform friends, family, and the healthcare professionals on the proposed Medicare (Medicaid.gov. 2015). People also develop the legalized living wills to elaborate on which treatments they want to receive while dying or unconscious. The document would cite the kind of the medical application the victim may require while undergoing the end-of-life treatment such as the use of breathing machines. Other applications may include the wish of the patient to undergo artificial resuscitation if breathing or heartbeats stops and tube feeding or organ tissue donation. There is a health care proxy providing the power of attorney for health care to make heath decisions for undecided individual. The individuals have the legal rights to accept or refuse the treatment as supported by the Constitution. Depending on the healthcare domains of every state, the families of the affected individuals can make decisions about life-sustaining treatment for affected individuals. Cost of the Health Care Insurance and Access to Quality Healthcare America has a stable and well-organized healthcare services globally and the health care sector. With the directives of the federal government, much money is set for the healthcare services to check on the well-being of the aged who make the highest population of the nation. The funds allocated for health care individuals ages 65 and above are more than 5 percent of the U.S economy (Cole & Bird, 2014). The percentage is expected to increase or double in the year 2030 and triple in the year 2050 because of the increasing population of the old age. The increase in population of the old age is because of excellent provision of the healthcare facilities leading to long life. The struggle by the senior aged Americans to afford the increasing healthcare cost with their limited resources makes the government chip in to support. The private insurers and the government programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and the Veteran Administration support senior aged American go about their medical insurance problems. The private and public programs assist in paying for the doctors, hospitals, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, and drugs used by million senior aged citizens. Medicare covers health expenses incurred by its enrollees who reciprocate by paying the remaining cost from their pocket or the supplement private insurance policies. Medicaid health insurance program for management of individual states is the last resort insurance for the low-income individuals including the seniors because of government funding (Hofer, Abraham & Moscovice, 2011). For the Qualification of the Medicaid benefits, eligible seniors must have spent most of their resources enabling Medicaid to pay for long-term health care. The seniors with both Medicaid and Medicare covers are dually eligible. Because of the varying rules of Medicaid from State to state, it is important for the low-income seniors to investigate how the state program works. There is a Partnership for Long-Term Care, which combines private long-term care insurance and Medicaid long-term care coverage to support healthcare services. References Cole, S. A., & Bird, J. (2014). The Medical Interview: The Three-Function Approach. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Health Sciences. Hofer, A. N., Abraham, J. M., & Moscovice, I. (2011). Expansion of Coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and Primary Care Utilization. The Milbank Quarterly, 89(1), 69–89. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0009.2011.00620.x Matzo, M., & Sherman, D. W. (2015). Palliative Care Nursing: Quality Care to the End of Life. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company. Medicaid. gov. (2015). Community-Based Long-Term Services & Supports. Retrieved March 15, 2015 from http://www.medicaid.gov/AffordableCareAct/Provisions/Community-Based-Long-Term-Services-and-Supports.html Niles-Yokum, K., & Wagner, D. L. (2015). The Aging Networks: A Guide to Programs and Services. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company. Powers, J. S. (2014). Healthcare Changes and the Affordable Care Act: A Physician Call to Action. New York, NY: Springer. Protection, P., & Act, A. C. (2010). Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Public Law, 111-148. Read More