Access to health care defines the proficiency of having timely use for personal health services in order to achieve the best health outcomes. The U.S government funds two kinds of health plans namely Medicare and Medicaid. These two policies are exclusively designed for the elderly, disabled, poor, and young. Many Americans have their healthcare paid by their employers which is often included as a marginal benefit in job packages. This essay provides a discussion of the issues surrounding access to health care and the need to address them.
There are many issues that need to be addressed when it comes to access to care in the US. There is need for the government to create health packages that will ensure medical treatment is provided to everyone despite their economic status. There is need for them to donate more funds towards the health insurance sectors so that expensive drugs and treatment procedures are available to every citizen in the US. Sometimes these services can be very expensive to some people because health care is unevenly distributed and many have poor access to it. Judson & Harrison (2016) observe that balancing quality and safety with efficiency is a challenging task, considering the increasing pressure hospitals receive to lower the cost of healthcare facilities while still expected to improve their quality.
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The department of health and human services conducted a research which revealed that many people under the age of sixty five are uninsured. The Affordable Care Act is a division in the U.S public health policy which provides a legal shield that guarantees access to reasonable health insurance coverage from birth throughout retirement. According to the Health Care Education and Reconciliation Act, the implementation will reduce the number of uninsured Americans by more than half which will result to covering about 94% of the American population.
In order to improve access to care, the issue of private insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, military and other government health insurance plans have to be embarked upon. The issue of understaffing is a major issue in the US health care system. This has been contributed by the growing population, rising prevalence of chronic illnesses and the aging nursing workforce. It is imperative to understand that if healthcare providers are unable to develop and sustain a strong workforce, then the number of patients who die every year as a result of poor health care in hospitals will continue to rise. Nurse retention strategies should become a central focus for all hospitals and healthcare institutions.
The subject of confidentiality when accessing the patient database is also an issue that needs to be addressed (Trotochaud, 2006). The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act was instituted as a means of protecting a patients’ medical information. Violating a patient’s privacy and confidentiality can bring ethical consequences for healthcare providers.
In my opinion, I believe that some of the issues surrounding access to care in the US need immediate attention. These are some of the aspects that should be considered. First, new rules for the health insurance industry should be initiated whereby the government should make health insurance coverage a legal expectation to its citizens. This law will enable health services to be affordable to everyone in all societies. Moreover, primary healthcare investments also need to be made in medically underserved communities. This can be accomplished by broadening medical coverage and making direct public health investments.
Access to health care should therefore be considered as one of the most important subjects that must be handled with great caution. I therefore stand firm with this opinion because if people decide to leave this matter unattended, patients will die turning this into a predicament that might be hard to deal with in the future.
After reading the article on ethical issues that affect the health care system, I realized that like many Americans, I was not aware of the problems and challenges many people face when accessing affordable medical services. I did not think that insurance, understaffing and confidentiality were issues that could bring such a big problem to the medical division. This coursework has changed the way I look at access to health care in the US. The open-ended nature of the assignment was not favorable because it did not insist on a specific aspect that was supposed to be tackled. I had to review many articles and resources so that I could determine the issues that were to be handled in the essay.
References
Five Top Ethical Issues in Healthcare. https://www.amnhealthcare.com/latest-healthcare-news/five-top-ethical-issues-healthcare/
Judson, K., & Harrison, C. (2016). Law & ethics for health professions 7th Edition . New York: McGraw-Hill Education
Trotochaud, K. (2006). Ethical issues and access to healthcare. Journal of Infusion
Live link: http://journals.lww.com/journalofinfusionnursing/Abstract/2006/05000/Ethical_Issues_and_Access_to_Healthcare.7.aspx
