Federal Role in Healthcare Delivery - Essay Example

The role of federal government in healthcare is to facilitate Medicare- a plan by the U.S government to provide health insurance to people that are 65 years and above, those below 65 with certain disabilities and those with final-stage renal disease. On the other hand, there is Medicaid- a co-operation tasked with providing cash benefits to welfare beneficiaries, mainly low-income mothers and children and disabled persons and the elderly. This is a responsibility undertaken by both the federal and state government.

Nonetheless, there has been a long-time argument as to whether the federal government should be responsible for healthcare entirely (Bovbjerg, Wiener and houseman, 2005). Those favoring the federal government taking over the healthcare system argue that healthcare is essentially a right and not privilege as illustrated by the state government system. That the federal government considers healthcare as a service entitled to all Americans because they are citizens as opposed to the fact that they reside in a particular state.

Ideally, it would promote the general welfare of all Americans thus the Universal Healthcare plan. Those favoring the state government taking over argue that it would be better suited to comprehend its citizen’s problems and recommend viable solutions (Bovbjerg, Wiener and houseman, 2005). In 1945, President Harry Truman, only seven months into his presidency, proposed to improve the state of the healthcare system by tackling five issues. The foremost issue was the inadequate number of healthcare professional i.e. doctors, nurses and other specialists in the low-income parts of U.S. He noted that the low earning capacity of healthcare professionals in these parts made it difficult for them to practice there.

Coupled with this was the fact that the hospitals and clinics present in these areas did not meet the proper standards of quality. Therefore, he sought to access federal funding to