Social History Case Study and Policy Development - Assignment Example

Social History Case Study and Policy Development Social History Case Study and Policy Development Introduction The formulation and development of social policies is not a new aspect in many nations. The salient need to have in place social policies has been evident for some centuries. Some countries have had elaborate social policies since the 19th century. However, social policy development became a reality in the United States in the 20th century. Notably, there were some social policy efforts in the 19th century, which presented a framework for the development of the 20th century social policies. This was after numerous efforts and campaigns geared towards setting up social policies that can serve to improve the social welfare. Notably, social policies were developed to address the emerging social problems. Social welfare policies are a smaller subsection of social policies which address the social problems related to ensuring a fair distribution of resources (Blakemore & Warwick-Booth, 2013). In this context, social policies denote either principles, defined causes of action as well as procedures that have been developed and are recognized as statutes and serve as guidelines in agency regulation in a bid to register a positive impact on the social wellbeing. Evidently, theorists have made efforts of describing certain theoretical constructs that contributed to the formulation of social policies. These theoretical constructs will be given attention in this paper. Moreover, under the social welfare policies, the paper will discuss health care policies which are critical in ensuring that the American population has access to the available health care resources. The strength and weaknesses of the existing health care system policies will be tackled in depth. Finally, the paper will highlight possible remedies that can be made on the existing health care policies in a bid to develop a new and more and more effective health care policy (Livermore & Midgley, 2009). Theoretical Constructs related to Social Welfare Policy History Many authors have sought to highlight the theoretical perspectives which explain how social policies came into existence. Like in any other field, social policies need ideological frameworks which can vividly explain the aims and the objectives associated with the policies. Before advancing to the definition of the theoretical constructs, it is critical to understand the meaning of the welfare state which is commonly used in such constructs. Welfare state refers to a state which makes use of power in a bid to create a balance in market forces. The objective of doing that is ensuring that all the members of the welfare have access to certain social services. Moreover, power is used to ensure that inequalities are minimal and that citizens of that state can access a minimum level of income. The main reasons why a welfare provision should exist is to ensure a level of social equality, a measure of economic efficiency, social integration as well as stability (Béland, 2005). Other reasons include the promotion of autonomy and a remarkable reduction of poverty. Notably, poverty is a manifestation of the existing economic inefficiency, social inequalities and instabilities. Therefore, addressing the issue of poverty may in turn register positive outcome regarding other objectives of social welfare provision. One of the theoretical construct appeared in 1994, which described six different approaches which were referred to the ideologies of welfare. Notably, different political philosophies have served to shape theoretical perspectives related to social policies. For example, the collectivist and the anti-collectivist political views are of critical influence of the social policies. Moreover, the Marxist political and economic theory has served to influence the development of different constructs related to social policies. For example, due to the popularity of the capitalist economies, a type of pressure has resulted that affects the working class increasing their demands. Hence, the health fare state emerged to address such issues. The United States is a capitalist nation and this theoretical construct appears to have been a critical motivation for the development of social policies (Stevens, 2008). With the level of inequalities associated with capitalism, many people campaigned for reforms in welfare provisions. There is evidence that the welfare reforms that emerged have served to modify capitalism. The neo Marxist approach is the most recent and is critical importance in explaining the relevance of the social policies as well as the complexities surrounding the policies in the contemporary society. The fact that the existing systems presented numerous social problems is a factor that triggered the formation of social policies. Social problems include poverty, social exclusion, unemployment, as well as poor distribution of resources. Understanding the presence of the social problems specific to the United States, which must have triggered the development of social policies, is critical. Poverty and unemployment were the leading social problems (Livermore & Midgley, 2009). Moreover, the increasing population of the elderly as well as the war veterans who had contributed to the nations independence was an additional factor motivating the formulation of social policies. Other theorists have identified the great depression, which occurred in 1929 as the main reason why the modern welfare policy systems was developed. The depression took toll for close to two decades and was associated with shattering economies and businesses and causing a high rate of unemployment. All industries were affected by the depression resulting in multiple financial problems. Economic efficiency became a farfetched dream to many. The impacts of the depression motivated the American government to begin the passage of different policies that would improve the social wellbeing of the people. In the modern day, a new theoretical perspective concerning the social welfare has emerged. The main objective is ensuring that people are no longer dependent on the welfare, but autonomous. On the other hand, the contemporary welfare system seeks to address the needs of children, the elderly, and the unemployed, those stricken by poverty as well as the single families. Worth noting is the fact the first social welfare policy in the United States was the social security act in 1935 (Meier & Gable, 2013). Analysis of Health Care Policies in their Historical Context Since the 1800’s, Americans have been fighting for universal health care provided by the government. Many times advocates of the health care policies almost thought that they had succeeded only to realize that such efforts did not bear any fruit. During this time, other nations had an effective health care policy in place. Although advocates insisted on the introduction of sickness insurance, it was never considered as the role of the federal government. Private and voluntary entities took up the role of providing such health care services. In the 20th century, efforts towards a policy ensuring access to health care services were emphasized at a higher rate than in the previous century. Bills were drafted from 1900, but none succeeded because they faced opposition from insurance companies, the labor department as well as the doctors. Notably, in the 1920s and 30s, when the great depression affected the American nation, medical costs rose tremendously (Meier & Gable, 2013). Although there was an optimism that the great depression would facilitate the passage of health insurance bills, things turned out otherwise. This is because, with the high rates of unemployment and numerous financial problems, the nation had other priorities. Although there were efforts of moving health care insurance bills to receive support from the federal government, there were barriers preventing their passage. It was only during Truman’s reign that health care issues became a priority in the national politics. However, health care insurance bills did not pass because they were perceived as a communist strategy. Notably, in this era, the cold war and the communist politics were at their peak (Meier & Gable, 2013). Truman had proposed the need for a single comprehensive health care plan unlike in the previous era when different plans had been drafted for different social classes. In 1946, a Republican president took over from Truman and considered the national health insurance a scheme developed by socialists. Notably, ideological differences were the primary barriers for a national health insurance plan. The fact that many people were against communism and socialism made them to reject such a plan. However, in 1958, a Rhode Island congressman drafted a proposal of ensuring health coverage for the elderly. Doctors were against the national health insurance plan because they opined that it would affect the patient doctor relationship. Despite the ensuing debate, Johnson signed the proposal into law. In the 1940s, there were commercial health insurance systems only until the 1960s when John F. Kennedy was the president did the government begin to offer health care insurance. However, it began with health care insurance to the elderly. In the years that followed, specifically in 1965, a bill was passed that would benefit both the elderly and the poor because they were identified as the ones with the highest rates of medical needs. Notably, these target groups were unemployed and lacked access to health insurance offered by employers. In the years that followed, Medicare and Medicaid would define the health insurance program in the United States (Manchikanti & Hirsch, 2012). Medicare was introduced to cover both hospitals and doctors’ services. On the other hand, Medicaid targeted the poor. Funds set apart towards implementation of both programs have only served to increase over the years. Analysis of the Modern Health Care System in the United States Since 1965, the passage of Medicare and the introduction of Medicaid, there existed no health care reform until the introduction of the patient protection and affordable care act in 2009. For many years, the cost of Medicare and Medicaid had soared immensely. Moreover, the healthcare system did not address affordability as well as the quality of the health care. There were many people who could who did not have access to Medicare or Medicaid while private health insurance was too expensive for them. These are some of the factors that facilitated the introduction of health reforms by the Obama government. The patient protection and affordable care act sought to ensure that all Americans had the access to the health care insurance. Moreover, it sought to address the existing discrimination according to gender as well as exploitation by the insurance companies. The bill introduced in 2009 would later be signed into law in March 2010 (Meier & Gable, 2013). Strengths of the Obama Care Health System Since the introduction of the patient protection and the affordable care act, there is a new realm of possibilities ensuring that a remarkable percentage of the American population gets access to health care services that are both affordable and of high quality. Moreover, over 50% of Americans without any health insurance are now assured of either free of a lower cost of health insurance provided by the insurance marketplace of their state. In the modern system, Medicaid is available to over 15.9 million people, including men, women, and children who register poverty level below 138%. In the case of children, this health care system has introduced the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which offers health care coverage to about 9 million children. Unlike in the past, individuals cannot be dismissed from the coverage because of getting sick or due to eras made during application. In the Obama care plan, small businesses are eligible for tax credits of about 50%, which encourages them to provide their employees with health insurance premium costs. Unlike in the past, young adults can benefit from health care insurance plans of their parents until the age of 26. In addition, 82% of adults without the health insurance cover are eligible for free or minimal cost coverage. According to the Obama care plan, Americans would begin to enjoy preventative services from 2014 (‘We need health care reform other than Obamacare before its too late’, 2013). Weaknesses of the Obama Care Health Care System In order to achieve the above benefits, the health care plan also introduced numerous taxes that target the upper class of the society. These new taxes may eventually affect individuals directly. There is evidence that this health care plan is stretching both the federal and the state resources. In addition, the health care system has led to increasing costs of health care for all the people because insurance companies are supposed to cover a higher number of people. Evidently, this health care system has ensured accessibility of the health care services to many people, but has failed to effectively address the issue of affordability (‘Will Obamacare succeed?’, 2014). Analysis of Remedies the Obama Care Health Plan A new health care policy should address the weaknesses exhibited by the current health care system. One of the main strategies that would serve to introduce a new health care policy that is more effective would be allowing both the federal and state governments to provide a range of health insurance choices. The range of choices that would be provided will need to conform to the diverse health needs of different people. This will allow people to access health insurance specifically for needs such as birth control and mental health coverage. This will solve the problem of having only a single health care plan which contributes to rising costs of insurance premiums. In addition, a more effective health care insurance plan would encourage competition between different states. This would ensure that individuals can access coverage of the competing companies just as other businesses operate (Safian, 2013). When companies compete for clients, there would be an evident likelihood that the cost of premiums would be reduced. In order to ensure that no single would lack insurance for any condition, a better health care policy would introduce state risk pools. This would cater for about 313 million Americans with conditions that are not insurable. In order to minimize the cost of the premiums, introducing risk pools would ensure that people with severe conditions have access to special insurance programs. Such a plan would ensure that the general premiums are offered at a cheaper price. The new health care insurance policy would ensure that the elderly, the poor, war veterans and children are covered either for free or at lower costs. The Obama care health plan has contributed to a rise in premiums because of offering guaranteed issue. A strict health care plan that does not guarantee coverage would motivate individuals to pay premiums regularly reducing the overall cost. Introducing individual penalties for failure to sign up for insurance covers would also be an effective strategy of motivating people to pay premiums regularly. These remedies would ensure that the public has access to both affordable and quality health care. On the other hand, it will also ensure that doctors receive their pay while insurance companies have an opportunity to compete fairly (Hoffman, 2012). Provision of an effective insurance plan is a sure way of addressing inequalities existing in the society especially to the poor and the aged. Conclusion Evidently, provision of health care services is one of the goals and objectives defined by social welfare policies. With increasing unemployment and poverty, a high number of people lack the access to affordable and quality health care services. This introduces the need for an effective health care plan that can address this issue. As highlighted above, the introduction of a national health insurance plan was given attention since the 19th century. Although it faced multiple challenges, it eventually became a reality in the 1960s. The Obama care health plan is the current health care system in the United States. It has its strengths as well as weaknesses. A notable strength is the fact that it ensures the coverage of a greater American population. However, remedies to this health care system would create a more effective health care insurance system. References (2014, March 21). We need health care reform other than Obamacare before its too late. Inside Tucson Business.p. 23. Béland, D. (2005). Ideas and Social Policy: An Institutionalist Perspective.Social Policy & Administration, 39(1), 1-18. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9515.2005.00421.x Blakemore, K., & Warwick-Booth, L. (2013).Social Policy : An Introduction. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Education. Hoffman, B. (2012). Health care for some : rights and rationing in the United States since 1930 / Beatrix Hoffman. Livermore, M., &Midgley, J. (2009).The Handbook of Social Policy.Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications. Manchikanti, L., & Hirsch, J. A. (2012).Regulatory Burdens of the Affordable Care Act.Harvard Health Policy Review, 13(2), 9. Meier, B., & Gable, L. (2013). US Efforts to Realise the Right to Health through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. 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