The World Health Organization (2016) acknowledges that health promotion plays a significant role in allowing individuals to have control and enhance their health. On a broader scale, health promotion shifts its focus from individual behavior to social and environmental interventions geared towards uplifting the health status of a given population. Health promotion and wellness are achieved when health literacy and good governance are promoted within a country, community, or society. The essence of a functional healthcare system advocates for financing and policies to provide health care services that promote health literacy, wellness, and prevention. Moreover, these healthcare systems foster a conducive healthcare environment to provide better, accessible, and quality care to all people. The United States and the United Kingdom are two powerful economies that have different economic policies for health promotion, wellness, and prevention. Healthcare in these two countries differs from one another in many ways. This paper analyzes economic policies for health promotion, wellness, and prevention between the U.S and U.K, examines the implications for health disparities in the two countries, and offers recommendations the U.S should adopt from the U.K healthcare system.
U.S Economic Policies
Contrary to its economic prowess, the United States has one of the most inferior healthcare systems compared to other developed countries. According to Himmelstein & Woolhandler (2016), the government has spent far less money for public health programs over the past decades. However, the country has begun making significant changes to its healthcare system, shifting its focus to health promotion, wellness, and prevention . Poor access to health care, disparities within the healthcare system, social demographics, among other factors, have significantly influenced the U.S to transform its healthcare system and adopt models from other countries (Salmond & Echevarria, 2017). With colossal expenditure on healthcare and still a deteriorating healthcare system, concerns over quality and cost created an urgency for transformation.
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Further, these new economic policies on healthcare are geared towards promoting healthy population metrics, increased access to better health services while reducing costs, and improving overall health outcomes. Before this move, there was no justification for the high expenditure on healthcare in the country. By 2014, for instance, the U.S healthcare system had reached $3 trillion in spending, nearly a quarter of its total GDP (Salmond & Echevarria, 2017). Taking into account all health performance indicators of quality care, access, efficiency, and equity, among others, the U.S ranks last as compared to other developed nations (Davis, Stremikis, Squires, & Schoen, 2014). The implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was meant to promote health, prevention, and wellness for all citizens. Moreover, it was aimed at ensuring each citizen had to access to health care services at an affordable cost. Through prevention strategies, ACA would bring to the table quality care, health promotion, and reduce care costs (Linnan et al., 2017).
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2011) notes that the U.S approach to health promotion, wellness, and prevention is stipulated in the National Prevention Strategy, a strategy focused on improving the lives of all Americans. Indeed, a healthy lifestyle depends on the prevention strategies in place, environmental factors, and societal norms woven into the general population. Promoting health, wellness, and prevention should begin with promoting community health. As most chronic diseases can be prevented, every American citizen must ensure health is a priority. According to the CDC (2011), policies and health strategies should be promoted through active engagement by all people and supported by the economy. People should be empowered to make better health choices and decisions through health promotion. Improving the already tainted U.S healthcare system will take more than just economic policies and strategies for health promotion, wellness, and prevention .
U.K Economic Policies
The U.K government has made significant strides in creating approaches towards health promotion, wellness, and prevention . Compared to the U.S, the U.K healthcare system is far much ahead and justifies the total expenditure the country spends on health care. In the country, about 70% of the healthcare expenditure is utilized in treating the high number of people with underlying long-term conditions like dementia and high blood pressure, among others (GOV.UK, 2016). Through policies that foster health promotion, wellness, and prevention, the government aims to enhance the lives and health of this population by educating them on managing their health. Further, these plans include creating a care plan tailored to their needs and preferences and advocating for better care coordination. Through public participation, the U.K government sought views and opinions from its citizens on long-term conditions and care (GOV.UK, 2016). The information collected has been a stepping stone in implementing policies and crafting approaches that build upon the country's effective universal healthcare system.
Implications of Health Policies and Disparities in the U.S and U.K
Health disparities have a significant impact on a country's ability to provide quality healthcare services. Both the U.S and U.K face a myriad of health disparities that prevent their healthcare systems from functioning effectively. Both governments are working towards perfecting their healthcare systems, incorporating policies from other countries. The U.S faces health disparities ranging from race, ethnicity, and social injustices in accessing healthcare services, which are pushing the healthcare system downwards (Exworthy, Blane, & Marmot, 2003). The U.K, on the other hand, faces healthcare inequalities among its regions, forcing the country to overlook its policies and healthcare model. Through the execution of the ACA, the U.S is taking a step in the right direction. Universal access to health care services is paramount in a country that spends nearly a quarter of its GDP on health.
Unlike the U.K, the lack of a universal healthcare system in the U.S has a significant impact on the socio-economic aspect of the population and economy. The minority groups do not have access to healthcare services, impacting their mortality rates. These disparities result in high numbers of those diagnosed with chronic illness and deaths. Ultimately, health disparities in both the U.S and U.K are posing a significant challenge to policymakers. With a miniature of evidence to support the effectiveness of these policies and the impact they have on the overall healthcare system of a country, Exworthy, Blane, & Marmot (2003) note that countries, such as the U.K, are still making changes to their existing policies to address these disparities. The shift in health care translates from a volume-based to value-based health care where healthcare providers and governments are focusing on the quality of care rather than profits. Value-based health care transitions from a system solely focused with fee-for-service to one that is accountable. Overall, the changes being implemented by these two governments are geared towards a preventive healthcare system concerned with value rather than volume.
Implementing U.K policies in the U.S
The U.S has a lot to learn from the U.K on strategies of implementing, coordinating, and fostering affordable and universal healthcare to its citizens. With an unjustifiable expenditure on health care, the U.S should implement models that promote equal and quality care to all people. Shifting from a healthcare system that is mostly privately owned to one funded by the government should constitute the first step in mending the already bad healthcare system. Further, the country should adopt policies that mitigate racial and ethnic disparities that continue to hinder the healthcare system. As with the U.K, the U.S government should foster public participation in collecting opinions on changes that people want to be incorporated within the healthcare system. I live in Georgia and implementing value-based health care policies such as those implemented in the U.K will take much lobbying with state officials and related health groups. The lobbying will involve convincing the state government to expand Medicare and Medicaid to cover all patients suffering from the long-term conditions and other illnesses. With the current state of healthcare in the State, I would opt for petitions and collection fo health data of all those suffering from long-term health conditions. The information would then be presented to the Congressman and Governor for further deliberation.
Influence of U.S Market Conditions on the Provision of Health Care
Before the 2008 financial crisis, the U.S market had a positive impact on the delivery of health care. Also, an economic giant, much of its expenditure, was used to finance the expensive healthcare system. However, after the recession, the paradigm on health care provision shifted from a volume-based system to a value-based system. Health facilities and providers are more concerned about their revenues rather than the quality of care provided. Instead of promoting health education, wellness, and prevention, much of the healthcare delivery system remains rooted primarily in treatment. However, as Santilli & Vogenberg (2015) note, the government has shifted its focus to creating goals that will strengthen the healthcare system through equity and preventive care, reducing the country's financial burden.
Conclusion
Remarkably, the U.S and U.K healthcare systems are undergoing tremendous changes to incorporate policies that integrate health promotion, wellness, and prevention. Marred by various health disparities of race, ethnicity, and inequalities, both healthcare systems do not offer optimal quality care to the people. The U.S healthcare system, for instance, takes a large chunk of the country's GDP, yet its performance does not reflect the high expenditure. Unlike it, the U.K healthcare system offers a universal approach to care service delivery, justifying its cost to quality provision. However, bot healthcare systems can learn from one another, adopting policies that will prove decisive in pushing healthcare service delivery towards health promotion, wellness, and prevention.
References
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