The US Health Care Reforms Program - Essay Example

Multiple topics on health care Introduction Current government programs designed to assist medically uninsured groups The US government seeks to provide health care to every citizen through various health care programs. Some of the current government programs designed to assist the medically uninsured groups within this country include the patience assistance programs which is the overall program covering other bodies such as the Partnership for Prescription Assistance (Quadagno 71). Under these programs, the government takes care of the medical bills accumulated by people without medical insurance cover. Additionally, the government has also initiated the medical bill negation program which is a service offered to uninsured people where they can get medical help from the government (Hernandez 50). In this program, the responsible personnel can audit the uninsured patients’ medical bill to check incidents that involve things like errors and overcharges (Tate 33). Other assisting programs for those people who lack insurance cover within the United States include the universal heath care, the US health care reforms program, and the single payer health care program. Reasons government programs are not meeting their goals First, mismanagement of funds created for helping people without health care insurance is an issue of great concern. Generally, when the responsible officials fail to account for every single penny directed towards helping the uninsured in the United States, it becomes very hard to meet the set goals and objectives of the programs (Angel and Keith 46). This is so because embezzlement of funds created for health care programs for the uninsured leaves a huge risk for health related problems in the families of those involved. Misuse of health care funds is a devastating issue in the US given the fact that a substantial percentage of people lack health care insurance (Quadagno 93). Another reason responsible for failure in the available health care programs in meeting their goals is the inability of the government to issue the set funds at the required time (Hernandez 58). Frequently, the government fails to disburse the money stated for those health care programs at the intended time. This in turn leads to delays in the programs’ calendar making the delivery of services a bit tedious and thereafter become hard to execute its objectives on time (Tate 40). Even though there are other entities looking into the procedures followed by the ministry of health care and finance in delivering these services to the said programs, it is challenging to these health care programs to meet their goals as required. Factors that will improve government programs and allow them to meet their goals In order for the US government to improve the health care programs and in turn allow them to meet their goals just as intended, it must resolve to establish bodies that will see into the activities carried out by the programs. This will ensure that the programs bodies do not take that long in delivering the supposed services hence be in a position to meet their set obligations and goals without much contemplation (Angel and Keith 55). In addition, the government can also help improve these programs and give them room for meeting their goals by ensuring that it disburses the allocated funds for helping people without insurance at the required time. Management of time is one factor that may help the programs to deliver their services accurately and at the same be in a state to meet their goals (Hernandez 67). Another factor that will improve the available government programs and leave them a space to deliver their services acutely and meet the set goals are stipulations set herein by the EMTALA. According to this Act, the government programs can meet its goals, which comprise of saving lives regardless of the patient’s ability to settle bills by insisting that all emergency departments should treat patients’ conditions without looking into their payment eligibility and ability (Tate 52). Without a doubt, establishing such a condition in almost every health center can help the government programs improve their service delivery on one end and facilitate their ability to meet their goals on the other. Compare and contrast health care statistics in the state of Texas with those of the remaining United States With reference to the Current Population Survey, Texas has the largest number of the uninsured persons. Since 1999, the number of people without insurance cover in this state has been rising steadily to an extent that it exceeded all the other states. As of today, this number stands at 26.1 percent, which is very large compared to other states such as Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Hawaii (Angel and Keith 63). Overly, this state lags behind with regard to the ability of people to take medical cover such that it has been the only state with the highest number of the uninsured persons since 1999 (Tate 59). By the end of 2009, a decade later, it was still having the largest number of the uninsured people and according to experts, this might continue for a little longer if the government through its set agencies does not intervene. Compared to a state like Minnesota, the gap is explicit. However, there are other states, which also have a large amount of people without insurance. They consist of Florida, Georgia, Nevada, and New Mexico. Based on the US Census Bureau statistics, medical services are deplorable in these states mainly because they have a huge percentage of residents who do not have health care insurance (Quadagno 105). This makes it hard for both the government and the families residing in these areas as well as the available health centers to provide medical services to their clients just as other states with the least number of the uninsured such as Vermont and Massachusetts do (Angel and Keith 77). Medically uninsured groups in Texas and the United States Population analysts identify Texas as the capital city of the uninsured in the United States typically following its 6.3 million Texans of which 1.2 million are children without health insurance covers (Hernandez 79). The national data statistics document that some of the medically uninsured groups of Texans are the Hispanics, people living in families where their income is under 200 percent, which is the poverty level, young adults who are within the range of 19 to 34 years, and persons whose adults worked part time or just part of the year. The other group of people without insurance in Texas is that of individuals within vividly poor or fair statuses of health and significantly unable to insure themselves for a longer period probably than expected (Tate 66). Reasons these groups are medically uninsured and conclusion Obviously, the reasons explaining why these groups lack insurance is that some of them live below the poverty line and therefore unable to pay for their own health insurance cover. Furthermore, some of them are simply young adults who do not have the financial capability to cater for their own medical cover and others come from families where the adults were only able to work either part time and/or part of the year (Angel and Keith 84). In conclusion, some of these groups lack health insurance mainly because they are minorities like the Hispanics and cannot afford some of these privileges, which include medical cover. Works Cited Angel, Jacqueline and Keith, Whitfield. The Health of Aging Hispanics: The Mexican-Origin Population. New York: Springer, 2007. Internet resource. Hernandez, Lyla. How Can Health Care Organizations Become More Health Literate?: Workshop Summary. Washington, D.C: National Academies Press, 2012. Print. National Academics Press. Americas Uninsured Crisis: Consequences for Health and Health Care. Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2009. Print. Quadagno, Jill. One Nation, Uninsured: Why the U.S. Has No National Health Insurance. Oxford: Oxford university press, 2005. Print. Tate, Nicholas. Obamacare Survival Guide: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and How It Affects You and Your Healthcare. West Palm Beach, FL: Humanix Books, 2012. Print. Read More