Health Care System Policy Issues

Issues in Health Care System Policy (HP3)

Table of Contents

TOC o “1-3” h z u HYPERLINK l “_Toc322608311” Introduction PAGEREF _Toc322608311 h 3

HYPERLINK l “_Toc322608312” Discussion PAGEREF _Toc322608312 h 3

HYPERLINK l “_Toc322608313” Politics, morality politics, and health policy PAGEREF _Toc322608313 h 3

HYPERLINK l “_Toc322608314” Variation in policies PAGEREF _Toc322608314 h 4

HYPERLINK l “_Toc322608315” Health insurance PAGEREF _Toc322608315 h 4

HYPERLINK l “_Toc322608316” Use of performance indicators in reproductive health PAGEREF _Toc322608316 h 4

HYPERLINK l “_Toc322608317” Medical ethics PAGEREF _Toc322608317 h 5

HYPERLINK l “_Toc322608318” Reluctance to efficiently pay for health care services PAGEREF _Toc322608318 h 6

HYPERLINK l “_Toc322608319” Summary PAGEREF _Toc322608319 h 6

HYPERLINK l “_Toc322608320” References PAGEREF _Toc322608320 h 7

IntroductionHealthcare policies involve the rules and regulations, or some form of governing system by which a healthcare institution is run or managed. It involves actual policies, which is the route followed to achieve a certain goal, and nominal policy, which is the goal itself (National Academy for State Health Policy, 2012). The main issues that are likely to face American healthcare system are mainly related to the problems experienced in achieving universal healthcare insurance coverage, providing quality care at minimized costs, effective performance in accordance to the available resources and encouraging health living by encouraging a healthy lifestyle (Weissert & Weissert, 2006).

Other issues that cause more problems are the already in place policies such as; bad debt collection policies that involve forcing wage deduction from those who cannot afford to pay voluntarily, the policies regarding the taking care of patients discharged into a nursing home and their paying plan, variation of policies in different states about issues like whether or not to carry out an autopsy in routine death cases.

DiscussionThese issues discussed below are just but some of the many issues that are likely to continue hampering the performance of the health care system if not dealt with.

Politics, morality politics, and health policyPeople vote on policies without considering the outcomes that are likely to arise from its implementation. Sometimes the policies suggested by the specialists may not work, or may work to benefit only a section of the community, especially from the low income patients. An example is a decision to improve the quality of nursing home care by increasing the cost, at the expense of the privately paying patients that may not be able to meet these new costs, thus not able to afford nursing home care (Weissert & Weissert, 2006). Adopting policies that are to the favour of politicians and not the commoners is a major concern and is still an issue being fought against.

Variation in policiesDifferent hospitals differ in the private healthcare policies they choose to use (Weissert & Weissert, 2006). This is an issue because some hospitals use this opportunity to adopt policies that favour the organization and the way it is run at the expense of the country’s citizens. This differences mainly arise between for profit and not-for profit healthcare institutions. The collection of debt that may be either graciously or aggressively, for example, will depend on this factor, thus a challenge in cases where the government would like to implement universal fair and equitable policies that would benefit all the patients regardless of their income levels.

Health insuranceOver 160 million Americans are provided health insurance by their employers, thus have a considerable stake in the health care costs. However, it is still noted that even after the efforts by the large employers to minimize the costs and improve value of care and quality, the costs of providing health benefits are still on the rise at rates that exceed the growth in wages. Many employers continue to provide health promotion programs, disease management programs and initiatives that support value based benefit design, but containing the costs incurred in providing health care becomes more and more difficult every day, even to large firms (National Health Policy Forum, 2012). It is therefore imperative that new designs or policies for controlling costs are adopted in the effort to tame the increase in the cost of providing health care.

Use of performance indicators in reproductive healthPerformance indicators are very essential in improving the quality of the eservices provided and avert unnecessary costs. Such indicators are however not being used to assess services that concern reproductive health and family planning. Very few states, like California, have adopted this technique. An example is the California Family PACT (Planning, Access, Care and Treatment). Continued ignorance towards adoption of such policies that encourage utilizing management indicators and quality improvement will continue causing negative effect towards improving the provision of health care services. The methodology used in the PACT program experiences challenges, but it could very well serve as a starting point for developing a uniform set provider focused improvement in reproductive health quality, and the reports used to institute by state family planning programs and other systems used for health care delivery (Health Affairs, 2012)

Medical ethicsWhen describing medical ethics, four principles are concerned. They include beneficence, non maleficence, and justice. Beneficence describes the obligation that health care providers have in helping the people in need. Health care providers should treat people to the best of their ability; their duty is to anyone in poor health. The second principle, non maleficence, describes their duty as health care providers to do no harm. The third principle, autonomy, relates to the right that patients have in making choices that regard the type of health care they receive. The fourth and final principle, justice, describes the concept that should be used in treating people in a just or fair manner. It is important that the health care professionals implement these principles in health care systems to minimize the issues that arise as ethical dilemmas (Bodenheimer & Grumbach, 2009b). Few health care systems fully use this system and will continue to be an issue that emanates from the type of policies the health care system adopts

Reluctance to efficiently pay for health care servicesMany patients, if not all, desire to receive potentially beneficial care, yet some of them are not willing to play their role or part as purchasers who spend unlimited amounts of money to finance their health care. This phenomenon creates a strain for all health care professionals or care givers and on the health care systems. Many health care professionals are called on today to incorporate cost considerations when making clinical decisions. This accounting for costs in a manner that is socially responsible as well is very likely to intrude on the health care professional’s ability to serve a patient effectively (Bodenheimer & Grumbach, 2009a). People are still in the process of researching whether there are more global methods that are able to induce the performance of physicians and care givers to be in a more cost conscious manner, thus continues to be an issue in the policies used by the health care systems today.

SummaryPeople will have to look beyond their own immediate self interest in order to change the future to having health care systems that are accessible, of high quality, affordable, and for everyone. This therefore means that the health care professionals that provide health care services to the citizens of America and those receiving these health care services will have to work together in the efforts to achieve a brighter future in the nation’s health care system.

Policies that represent the daily realties experienced by care givers and patients will need to be discussed or debated and adopted to replace the policies in place today that are inefficient regarding delivering the required health care services of high quality and affordable to everyone. This will also ensure an easier task to the health care professionals and care givers in dealing with the major health care system’s concerns of allocating health care resources and addressing the social context of illness and health.

References

Bodenheimer, T., S. & Grumbach, K. (2009a). Understanding health policy. A clinical approach: Chapter 13. New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Retrieved on 18th April 2012, from: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/47566859/Understanding%20Health%20Policy%2013.pdf

Bodenheimer, T., S. & Grumbach, K. (2009b). Understanding health policy. A clinical approach: Chapter 17.New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Retrieved on 18th April 2012, from: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/47566859/Understanding%20Health%20Policy%2017.pdf

Health Affairs, (2012). In a California Program. Retrieved on 18th April 2012, from: http://www.healthaffairs.org/

National Academy for State Health Policy, (2012). HYPERLINK “mhtml:file://G:\Manu\New%20Job\Job\Health%20Policy\5\NASHP%20Publications%20by%20Category%20%20National%20Academy%20for%20State%20Health%20Policy.mhtml!/nashp-pubs/39″Delivery System Reforms for Chronic and Long Term Care. Retrieved on 18th April 2012, from: http://www.nashp.org/

National Health Policy Forum, (2012). Employers and Today’s Health Care Marketplace: Between a Rock and a Hard Place? Retrieved on 18th April 2012, from: http://www.nhpf.org/

Weissert, C. & Weissert, W. G. (2006). Governing health (3rd ed., pp 300-342): Chapter 6. Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press. Retrieved on 18th April from: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/47566859/Governing%20Health%202_6.pdf