Policy and Politics in Nursing and Health Care - Research Paper Example

 Proposal for Healthcare Reform Proposed Problem The healthcare reform does not benefit the majority of Americans, and fixing the problem may be costly because of market failure of shifting the uninsured to private insurance. Background to the Problem Healthcare reform has been a debating issue in the United States for a long period. The recent introduction of PPACA (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act), which is commonly referred as the Obamacare has raised a significant debate issue in the United States. Since the introduction of this federal health care act, many issues have been raised concerning the healthcare system of America. The Obamacare act was introduced for the purpose of reducing the uninsured number of Americans; thus introducing universal healthcare that benefits everyone. The government wanted to reduce the total healthcare costs and provide a mechanism for increasing the healthcare coverage rate such as through subsidies and tax credit cards. However, the healthcare reform act has posed significant challenges; thus, it has become a political debate in America. This is because the rich feel that the Obamacare act is not fair because they will be paying for the lazy workers. Therefore, instead of putting control over the health care reform decisions, the government will mandate families, individuals or employees to be the key decision makers in the health care issues. Proposed Solution The government will mandate families, individuals or employees to make decisions on the health care issues. This is because the problem of health care reform has been a significant problem for a long time in the U.S. Therefore, providing employees or individuals to make their own decisions and provide their own opinions on the policy reform. This will enable the government to get the sense of direction. The healthcare services have become expensive in the contemporary society. Many people are dying especially the poor because they are unable to afford the Medicare services (Holtz, 2008). Moreover, many Americans especially those suffering from acute diseases are unable to meet the cost of medicine because some diseases such as cancer are expensive to treat; thus the new healthcare act will benefit people suffering from such disease that are too costly to maintain. Therefore, including employees or individuals to offer their opinions over the issues of health care reform will enable the government to implement effective policy that benefits everyone. Mason, Leavitt and Chaffee, (2012) reveal that the big threat in America is the rising costs for healthcare services. Healthcare costs have become one of the driving forces for economic assets more than even oil and food crisis. The state spends heavily on the heath of the citizens, but still many people are suffering because they are unable to access to better healthcare services. The rising healthcare cost contributes to increased insecurity and personal bankruptcies. Thus, the introduction of the Obamacare will create sustained economic growth of successful PPACA. This is because the reform will lower premiums and remove the hidden healthcare cost of uninsured Americans. Moreover, the Obamacare will be fair to the unemployed people especially the majority who are the youths. This is because children will remain under the care of their parents after college until they get employed and start paying for their healthcare. Youths can use the healthcare plan of their parent to access healthcare services unless they secure their own job; thus receive healthcare plan through their jobs. This will be fair to younger people who are uninsured and unable to pay for healthcare insurances themselves due to lack of employment (Schulte, 2009). The policy will not only benefit the young people but also the majority population living under high poverty level. The healthcare reformation have been a global issue and since the regime of Roosevelt up to the present. The introductions of universal healthcare by Bill Clinton and the present Obamacare have both made efforts of providing effective services to all Americans. This is because of the increased death rates whereby the poor or unemployed Americans are the ones that have been impacted highly. Thus, the new policy will be fair because it will enable every American regardless of being poor or unemployed to access to affordable healthcare services. The research study indicates that more than 32 million people in American do not have medical coverage (Holtz, 2008). Many of them are uninsured; hence, they are unable to meet the medical costs. The healthcare reform has been a global issue because many people work, but they lack medical coverage. The Obamacare may be fair to many people who do not have medical insurances; hence, they will be able to meet the medical costs at the lowest prices. This is especially to those who are poor and to low income earners; hence, they will benefit from the Obamacare policy. Moreover, further research indicates that the new policy will alter the way insurance companies deal with high risks whereby many Americans have lost their jobs because of health problems (Holtz 2008, P. 96). The insurance companies will not simply provide insurance coverage to individual, but the new policies will provide regulations concerning on the provision of healthcare insurance. Justifications Offering individuals or the public mandate to make decisions on buying health coverage in a fair and equal treatment is essential. This is because it will encourage the state to implement effective solutions that will over public a direct control over the health care services. Even though, many hard working people feel that they will be paying for the lazy, working people, the Obamacare will be fair. This is because it will reduce overdependence of the unemployed people to the working relatives. This is because of the health benefits that favor the unemployed and the poor people in the society; thus, they will benefit from the reduced healthcare costs. Moreover, the policy will be fair because it will stop the powerful companies that offer insurance premiums from taking control over the health of a nation. This is essential because it will reduce the greedy companies at the expense of citizens; thus allowing the poor to afford the healthcare costs. Moreover, financing reform through restructuring the existing spending is crucial because it will enable the government to reduce costs of spending on health care reform services. This will solve the health care reform of American that has been a challenging issue for a long time. Such a method will promote individual ownership; thus providing Americans effective health care choices. The result will be lower costs spent on health care reform. This will guarantee the Americans better health care services of high quality. Although, the Obamacare act is fair policy that aims at providing affordable healthcare services at cheaper costs, restructuring the existing expenditure is crucial. This is essential because healthcare services have become expensive in the contemporary society. Many people are dying especially the poor because they are unable to afford the Medicare services. Moreover, many Americans especially those suffering from acute diseases are unable to meet the cost of medicine because some diseases such as cancer are expensive to treat; thus the new healthcare act will benefit people suffering from such disease that are too costly to maintain. Conclusion The problem is that the healthcare reform does not benefit the majority of Americans and fixing the problem may be costly because of market failure of shifting the uninsured to private insurance. Therefore, instead of putting control over the health care reform decisions, the government will mandate families, individuals or employees to be the key decision makers in the health care issues. The proposed solution is to mandate families, individuals or employees to make decisions on the health care issues. Moreover, financing reform through restructuring the existing spending is crucial. This is because it will enable the government to reduce costs of spending on health care reform services, thus provide services that will be beneficial to everyone. References Holtz, C. (2008). Global health care: Issues and policies. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Mason, D. J., Leavitt, J. K., & Chaffee, M. W. (2012). Policy & politics in nursing and health care. St. Louis, Mo: Elsevier/Saunders. Schulte, M. F. (2009). Healthcare delivery in the U.S.A: An introduction. Boca Raton: CRC Press. Read More