The Importance of Health Care in America: the Improving Access and Affordability - Research Paper Example

INTRODUCTION Section 1: Why Health Care Reform is important to all Americans A. Why Health Care Reform is important to all Americans The status of the delivery of health care in America is seen by policymakers, health care practitioners and the general population as requiring significant changes that aim to improve access and affordability to all. As indicated by Holstein and Litzinger (2008, 15), “in the U.S., the rapid rise in health care cost and low access are widely recognized as twin problems. Health care reform in this country first focused on cost containment through managed care to make health insurance affordable, and then shifted to expanding access to coverage at the state level without doing away with the private health insurance market”. The contention was supported by authors Siegel, Mead and Burke (2008) who revealed an analogous argument in the rising costs of health care services coupled with the increasing number of Americans who are uninsured. B. Reality of Health Care in the US The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) emphasized that “some 47 million U.S. residents have no health insurance, and the numbers keep growing” (AFL-CIO, 2011). In view of this, the current administration has enacted the Affordable Care Act that envisions implementing “comprehensive health insurance reforms that will hold insurance companies more accountable, lower health care costs, guarantee more health care choices, and enhance the quality of health care for all American” (USDHHS: Health Care, n.d,). C. Purpose of Health Care Reform The purposes of the reform are as follows: to broaden the population that receives health care coverage through either public sector insurance programs or private sector insurance companies; to expand the array of health care providers consumers may choose from; to improve the access to health care specialists; to improve the quality of health care; to give more care to citizens; and to decrease the cost of health care, among others. (HCAN: Health Care for America Now, 2009) Health care reform is therefore important to all Americans in terms of making health care accessible to more affordable health coverage through the following strategies, to wit: “(1) sets up a new competitive private health insurance market; (2) holds insurance companies accountable; and (3) puts our budget and economy on a more stable path” (USDHHS: Health Care, n.d., pars. 6 to 8). Section 2: The History and the Evolution of the Issue in Health Care The major issues in health care that significantly traced its historical evolution are sourced from The Henry J. Kaiser Family of Foundation (2011) and enumerated herewith, as follows: 1965 President Lyndon Johnson Lyndon enacted legislation which introduced Medicare covering both hospital and general medical insurance for senior citizens paid for by a Federal employment tax over the working life of the retiree, and Medicaid permitted the Federal government to partially fund a program for the poor, with the program managed and co-financed by the individual states. 1985 The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) amended the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to give some employees the ability to continue health insurance coverage after leaving employment. 1997 The State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, was established by the federal government in 1997 to provide health insurance to children in families at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty line. 2010 The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Patient Protection is enacted by President Barack Obama providing for the phased introduction over four years of a comprehensive system of mandated health insurance with reforms designed to eliminate "some of the worst practices of the insurance companies" — pre-condition screening and premium loadings, policy rescinds on technicalities when illness seems imminent, lifetime and annual coverage caps. These significant events mark the changes reflecting the delivery of health care to identified sectors of the economy that were deemed socially and economically marginalized. Section 3: The Implications of the Health Care Reform Issue A. Obama-Biden Plan The features of the health care reform is proffered in the Obama – Biden plan with clear objectives to revitalize the American economy in terms of the creation of jobs, provision of immediate relief to the needy and struggling families, including homeowners directly affected by the financial crisis, among others (Office of the President – Elect, n.d, par. 2). Likewise, the plan aims to invest in electronic health information technology systems and to improve access to prevention and proven disease management programs (Obama Biden, 2009). Thus, the health care reform has relevant implications in the administration’s move to address the effect of the financial crisis. B. Help patient Other significant implications are manifested in the following categories, to wit: (1) to help patient through support in disease management programs; coordination and integration of patient care; and in ensuring full transparency regarding quality and costs. C. Ensure providers deliver quality care To ensure providers deliver quality care, the reform envisions the promotion of patient safety, aligning incentives for excellence, providing comparative reviews and research on health related issues, addressing significant disparities in health care, and focusing on medical issues to prevent malpractice. D. Lower Costs by taking on anticompetitive actions in the drugs and insurance companies One of the most relevant aims of the reform is to make access to health care services more affordable. This can be done by lowering costs through taking on anticompetitive actions in the drugs and insurance companies. In effect, there are implications in the following: increase in competition in the insurance industry; prevention of private insurance waste and abuse in Medicare; provision for consumers to import safe drugs from other countries; prevention of drug companies from blocking generic drugs from consumers; and allowance for Medicare to negotiate for cheaper drug prices, among others. E. Affordable, accessible coverage options for all Concurrent in making health care services more affordable, the reform plans to make guaranteed eligibility to a larger number of the population; the ability to select from new and affordable health insurance coverages; the ability to avail of tax credits for families and small businesses; a closer evaluation of contribution by employers, that would require inclusion of beneficiaries, especially children; and the expansion of the Medicaid and SCHIP. F. Reduce Costs of Catastrophic illnesses for employers and their employees The health reform would enable practitioners to focus on components that increase costs and expenditures in the federal budget. As a consequence, there would be reduction of costs of catastrophic illnesses for both employers and their employees. G. Public Health Finally, public health awareness would be enhanced as employers; school systems and the workforce are informed of the benefits and features of the health care reform. Section 4: Nursing Research and Health Care Reform The nursing profession has actively promoted the position that nurses must engage in research to enhance the health of the nation. Nursing Research is a systematic study or investigation used to confirm facts that relate to the improvement of practice and nursing profession. Nursing Research is a very important tool in the health care reform. One way to accomplish health care reform is through the pursuit of qualitative research. Through nursing research, data such as facts about uninsured people of America, public perception, as well as implications to the different sectors of the community were determined. It also helped in the legalization of acts related to the improvement of health care delivery, access, and quality. Nursing researchers attempt to explain health reform by conducting different studies. In line with the history were people who attempt to make a reform in health care system. Some of them are health care professionals, politicians, or science and research organization. Research in reforming America’s health care system started in 1965 where Lyndon Johnson introduced the Medicare and Medicaid. Studies, reviews, and researches were done by the legislation leading to the amendment of Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) to give health insurances to employee even after employment. The children were also given focused by the researcher of the health care reform by expanding child’s coverage in State Children's Health Insurance Program in 1997. The research done by Holstein and Litzinger in 2008 identified that rapid rise in health care cost and low access should be the main focus of the government to expand the coverage of Americans who will benefit from health care interventions. The revelations of the authors Siegel, Mead and Burke in 2008 about the increasing number of uninsured Americans support the research of Holtstein and Litzinger and thus, take an issue in reforming the current health care program. In 2009, the Health Care for America published the goals of the health care reform. The United States Department of Health and Human Services also took part in taking a step towards reform of health care system and identify different strategies to make health care more accessible and more affordable. The reality of uninsured people was proven by the research done by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) in 2011 and revealed that 47 million residents of U.S. have no health insurance. It is due with this increasing number of people who have no health insurance that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act were enacted by the current administration. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a comprehensive health care reform which holds the companies accountable in lowering health care costs and expanding choices, thus, enhancing the quality of health care for all Americans. The significant researches done by health care organization and legislation helped in the establishment of a health care reform. It is because of these researches that baseline data about health care system was established and problems were identified. Because of nursing research, appropriate evidenced-base actions regarding healthcare reform were conducted and improvement in the access, affordability, and quality of health care were made available to all Americans. Section 5: Health Care Reform Resources Studies and researches on health care reform can be found in reputable books, journals, magazines and internets. Health care reform is a topic that interest the general public thus, researchers and book authors started to investigate and discover the foundation of health care reform. The government, particularly the government website offered updated information concerning health care reform and the different laws and acts affecting the implementation of the reform. Since the start of health care reform controversy, several authors both from pro-reform and anti-reform explained their viewpoint about the health care reform by publishing books that would inform the public of health care reform implications. Journals and magazines offers studies and researches about health care reform and involve surveys involving small or large sample group. Health care reform continually captures the public interest thus, resources were made easily available for public awareness and understanding. Section 6: Conclusion Health care reform is very important to all Americans. The rapid rise in health care cost, low accessibility, and growing number of uninsured Americans caught the attention of health care practitioners, policymakers, and general population to conduct studies in reforming the health care system. Thus, it is deemed very important because it affects health, financial and economic matters. The Health care reform aims to broaden the population that receives health care coverage on both public and private insurance sectors, to expand consumer’s choices of available health care providers, to improve the access to health care specialists; to improve the quality of health care; to give more care to citizens; and to decrease the cost of health care. Health care reform focuses on consumer’s welfare with regards to health and autonomy. Health care reform can be achieved using different strategies such as private health insurance competition in the market, increasing insurance companies’ accountability, and budget and economic stability. Cooperation between private sectors, companies, and government are needed to implement the strategies. Health care reform underwent a long process and significant historical evolution as well as the people involved created remarks in the development of health care reform. President Lyndon Johnson’s enactment of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965 provided senior citizen with hospital and general medical insurance. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) was amended to the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) to give employees health insurance coverage even after employment. The State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, was established in 1997 provided health insurance to children in families at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty line. Likewise, President Barack Obama also advocated for the health care reform by enacting the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2010 which had eliminated some of the worst practices of the insurance companies. The government, therefore, played a vital role in the history of health care reform. In line with the different policies concerning health care reform are the effects to the different sectors of the state. The health care reform, especially the Obama-Biden plan revitalized the American economy, provided assistance to the needy and improved access to prevention and proven disease management programs, a proof that authorities focused on health care reform. Health care reform also has direct implication for the patients for they are provided with different programs concerning health care and assurance of transparency in health care cost and treatment. The health care reform ensures that health care providers are well-competitive by offering professional growth thus, health care providers avoid incidence of malpractice and contribute to the delivery of quality care. With the proposed changes in health care reform, continued development of a strong scientific base in nursing research for practice is essential to prepare advanced practice specialists to care for the rapidly changing needs of high risk and underserved population. One of the greatest implications of health care reform is the affordability of health care services by taking anticompetitive actions in drugs and insurance companies. Health care reform also expands the SCHIP and Medicaid, making it available to a large portion of the American population. It also gave freedom to the consumers to choose form affordable health insurance coverage. Since health care reform will minimize the cost used in health care services, employers and employees would have reduction of costs from health-related expenditures. With the different researches issues concerning health care reform, public awareness are gained through employers, school and workforce. The process of informing health care reform through nursing research provides an opportunity for the assessment of what has been accomplished and highlights the challenge of what the future brings. Health care reform, therefore, affects the different sectors from the government to the general public. References American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). (2011). What’s Wrong with America’s Health Care. Retrieved 08 April 2011. http://www.aflcio.org/issues/healthcare/whatswrong/index.cfm# Health Care for America Now Organizations (HCAN). (2009). What is Health Care for America Now. Retrieved 08 April 2011. http://healthcareforamericanow.org/site/content/about_us/ Holstein, A. and Litzinger, P. (2008). “Health Care System Financing And Design: Convergent Trends In North America And Europe.” International Business & Economics Research Journal, Volume 7, Number 10, pp. 15 – 20. Obama Biden. (2009). Retrieved 08 April 2011. Siegel, B., Mead, H. and Burke, R. (2008). “Private Gain and Public Pain: Financing American Health Care.” Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, pp. 644 – 651. The Henry J. Kaiser Family of Foundation (2011). Timeline: History of Health Reform Efforts in the U.S.. Retrieved from U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (USDHHS). (n.d.). About the Law. Retrieved 08April 2011. < http://www.healthcare.gov/law/about/index.html> Read More