Examples of Health Policy Issues

Examples of Health Policy Issues

The United States is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, and it spends a higher proportion of its wealth on healthcare than any other country. Healthcare already takes up one-seventh of America's GDP, and its costs will almost certainly continue to rise with increased technology. Nevertheless, healthcare statistics show that Americans lag behind other countries in some key healthcare categories, including life expectancy and the infant mortality rate.

Health Workforce Shortage

Do the costs outweigh the benefits?

The Aging of America

• The "frontline healthcare workforce" include nurses, assistants, technicians and other direct care providers that are the foundation for a quality healthcare delivery system.

Obama Care advantages

Obama Care Disadvantages

• lowers health care costs overall by making insurance affordable for more people.
• Medicaid is expanded up to 15.9 million men, women and children below 138% of the poverty level.
• Young Adults can stay on parents plan until 26. 82% of uninsured adults will qualify for free or low cost insurance.
• ObamaCare helps to curb the growth in healthcare spending.

• In order to get the money to help insure tens of millions there are new taxes, mostly on high-earners. The taxes that may affect you directly are the individual mandate and employer mandate.
• Medicaid is expanded using Federal and State funding.
• Insurance companies must cover sick people and this increases the cost of everyone's insurance.
• The employer mandate says that in 2015 businesses with over the equivalent of 50 full-time employees must provide health coverage. In anticipation some businesses have cut employee hours.
• Young people tend to be healthy and not to need coverage as often as older Americans.
• ObamaCare focuses more on making sure people are covered than it does on addressing the cost of care in the first place.

• PEOPLE KEEP GETTING OLDER

Recent research indicates that between now and the year 2030, the number of people who are 55+ in the U.S. will almost double while the number of those 65+ more than doubles.

• In Terms of health profession this means that now and over the next few decades, there will be a high demand for health professionals who are skilled in geriatric care.

• According to the report, demand for frontline workers is expected to increase 50% over the next five years, but there are not enough students to fill these jobs.

The Uninsured

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

• The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), was created in response to the Great Recession, and was enacted by the 111th United States Congress in February 2009 and signed into law on February 17, 2009, by President Barack Obama.

• The primary objective for ARRA was to save and create jobs almost immediately and to provide temporary relief programs for those most impacted by the recession and invest in infrastructure, education, health, and renewable energy.

2005 White House Conference on Aging

• There currently are 46.6 million Americans without health insurance - and the numbers keep increasing.
• This is due to the fear of medical bills or simple because people can't afford health insurance.

The conference brought together approximately 1200 delegates to make recommendations to the President and the Congress on how best to guide national aging policies.

The Affordable Healthcare Act/ Obama Care

• The Affordable Care Act is complex piece of legislation that attempts to reform the healthcare system by providing more Americans with affordable quality health insurance and by curbing the growth in healthcare spending in the U.S..
• Reforms include new benefits, rights and protections, rules for insurance companies, taxes, tax breaks, funding, spending, the creation of committees, education, new job creation and more.