Healthcare Plan Issues - Essay Example

Healthcare is one of the most important components of the welfare programmes of the government. It is also the intrinsic part of development strategyof a nation that contributes towards the all round growth and expansion of the nation. Hence, the various issues vis-à-vis healthcare plan become crucial for the effective delivery of the same. In the recent times, the various issues like accessibility to good medical care, quality, cost and health insurance have increasingly moved beyond the reach of the common man in America.

Indeed, the inflationary trends in the economy have added to the woes of the masses and created a vulnerable segment in the society whose healthcare has become a major concern for the government. President Obama’s national healthcare plans have been hailed as a major initiative in the field. While it is true that the healthcare system of the government has come under lot of threat from various factors like recessive economy, changing socio-economic pattern and increasing pluralistic society, the most damaging has been the insurance sector that has increasingly become market driven.

Healthcare plans have just become insurance products and the common man as their consumer. In such a scenario, the poor have no choice but to compromise on their insurance package that may not fully meet their health requirements. The prices and the level of services or healthcare modules become have become crucial factors in the delivery of healthcare insurance. President Obama’s healthcare plans have taken special care to address this area and introduced reforms that can broadly be divided into three categories:Provide more security and stability The plans introduce stringent measures to control discrimination based on gender, age and existing illnesses, thereby ensuring limit to the escalating insurance premium.

There is protection for senior citizens and extra expenditure on flu shots, mammogram, diabetes tests etc. have now been incorporated within the insurance package so as to improve healthcare delivery and reduce extra burden on the common man.Assure quality The plans also initiate various fringe benefits like tax credit for individuals and small businesses to get insurance with a ‘real choice’. Public health insurance provides cover to people who cannot afford and has made provisions to protect people with pre-existing condition by creating national ‘high risk’ pool.

Rein in cost of healthcare delivery The cost would be met through savings and extra expenditure, if incurred, would be addressed through cuts and austerity measures. The hospital, doctors, specialists and physicians would be given incentive for improved quality in healthcare delivery. There would be special team of experts that would overseas the waste, fraud and abuse in the medicare. The government’s initiative in improving and improvising the healthcare delivery through well defined plan is recommendable.

The budget of 2010 has set aside $630 billion as a reserve to be used for the healthcare reforms over a period of ten years (OMB). President Obama has taken the first step towards fulfilling his promise of providing quality and affordable healthcare to one and all without adding burden to the deficit. Indeed, it is expected that Obama’s healthcare plans would go a long way in meeting the needs to the people from all strata of society thus promoting equality and non discrimination at all levels of healthcare delivery.

ReferenceOffice of Management and Budget. (2009). President Obama’s 2010 fiscal budget. Available from: [Accessed 5 October, 2009].