Lake Sumter State College Health Care Policy Discussion and Responses

Response posts to two peers (Minimum 250 words each) who answered a different prompt than yours.  The response posts should add new information, challenge ideas presented, or synthesize related ideas posted by the group. Each response post must be supported by the module readings AND one current (within the past five years), peer-reviewed journal article with a focus on the United States.

Hello and thanks for your help.

Post # 1

Kristy Carroll

A-J: While the Affordable Care Act, in part, has slowed the growth of Medicare spending in recent years, projections of Medicare costs are highly uncertain. What are some of the reasons why the projections are so uncertain, especially in the decades to come?

Medicare spending is a large sum of the federal budget each year and only with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act did these costs begin to decline. The ACA implemented this decline in costs through lowering the payments made to providers and plans as a result of the Budget Control Act of 2011 (Cypress, 2020). It is being predicted that Medicare spending will be much more difficult to project, specifically over the next decades for a variety of reasons. One of these difficult measures comes from price updates for non-physician services which cannot continue to be lowered as they have in recent years because the cost of providing these services will not be met with the payments made by Medicare. The providers will not be able to sustain the same level of care for less money. Another contributing factor to the uncertain forecast for Medicare spending are the ever-evolving scientific advancements in health care. Despite the previous trend of innovative advancements in health care provision increasing healthcare spending, we may find that in the future these new treatments, procedures, and medical equipment will possibly save money (2020). I think one more factor, whose role needs to be acknowledged, that will also play a large role in making the costs of Medicare spending difficult to to project is the trend toward better health. We have discussed in prior assignments that health insurance is moving toward a preventative model, rather than a reactive model. By doing so, consumers are taking part more in wellness plans that include diet and exercise plans. People are living longer and enjoying very active, meaningful lives. One study shows that older people who have a positive outlook on the aging process take part in more health and wellness behaviors and live an average of 7.5 years longer (Fullen, 2019). Medicare costs are certainly difficult to project because Americans are living longer, which would lend toward higher costs because more people would qualify for benefits longer, however, if more people in my generation are taking their health more serious and turning toward improved health and wellness, the costs paid out by Medicare could be lessened.

Cypress, B.S., (2020). Midicare: Protector to innovator. In D.M. Nickitas, Donna J. Middaugh, & Veronica D. Feeg (Eds.). Policy and politics for nurses and other health professionals: Advocacy and action. (3rd ed., pp. 231-248). Jones & Bartlett Learning

Fullen, M. C. (2019). Defining Wellness in Older Adulthood: Toward a Comprehensive Framework. Journal of Counseling & Development, 97(1), 62–74. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcad.12236

post # 2

K-P: Americans believe that the health care system in the United States is the best in the world, however, the ways in which access to health care has been defined creates disparities in access and quality of care. The complex system utilized by the U.S. is often compared to that of other developed nations to demonstrate the variance in access. Provide an example of how the disparities in access continue to plague the U.S. health care system and why the U.S. system is often compared to health outcomes in developing nations to illustrate the disparities.

Elizabeth Linton

Good Morning Class!

I hope everyone is having a great week this week, we are almost there! This week I am to discuss with you all the reasons that America has shortcomings in health care coverage and how comparing America to other nations is useful in creating different ways to give coverage to our population. As stated in my discussion prompt, many Americans believe that the healthcare coverage and medical system in this country is par none. However, there are also many who would disagree with this, specifically those who are uninsured or underinsured. According to Caress and Aries (2020), the healthcare coverage Americans have is primarily dependant on their social standings. For instance, those who are employed have access to health insurance through their employer. Despite having jobs, there are still many working people who make so low of an income that they cannot afford to have health insurance, even if it is provided by the company they work for. For the elderly population, they are able to seek insurance through government supported programs such as Medicare. It is believed that the elderly are deserving of care coverage, as long as they have contributed with while they have worked nearly all their lives. The American government also has programs funded to assist those very vulnerable populations such as children with low income parents and the disabled. It is very unfortunate how our social status defines the quality and amount of healthcare we get. For instance, those who are wealthy and can afford private insurance get a significant amount of health coverage, though it does come at a cost. While those who are not as wealthy can certainly receive Medicaid and other coverages through the Affordable Care Act, however they resources are limited.

Researches and analysts compare America’s healthcare system to all nations and systems worldwide. Not only does this provide ample information regarding the outcomes of care internationally, but it also can act as a sounding board of how other systems are ran and governed. Imagine that a task needs to be done. There are many ways to do that task, but some ways will be more efficient than others and have better outcomes. This is why we look at other nations in comparison to our own. Healthcare is very complex and when compared to other successful systems, we can find ways to do things differently, especially when considering how unequally distributed American healthcare coverage is provided.

Carress, B. & Aries, N., Medicaid and the financing of care for vulnerable populations: A story of misconceptions. In D.M. Nickitas, D. J. Middaugh, & V. D. Feeg (Eds.), Policy and politics for nurses and other health professionals: Advocacy in action (3rd ed., pp. 255-277). Jones and Bartlett Learning.