The provision of quality healthcare is an important undertaking for any government. Increased access to quality healthcare improves population health and reduces the adverse effects associated with high healthcare costs (Marmor & Wendt, 2012). Government policies significantly determine the extent to which citizens can access quality healthcare in a country. For some nations such as Canada, the government has created laws and policies that have significantly reduced healthcare costs and increased access to quality healthcare, an indication of the impacts of government policies on access to healthcare and healthcare costs (Kelley, 2009). Compared to the United States, the regulation of drug prices in Canada has ensured that medicine is affordable for most citizens. The Commonwealth Fund has rated the United States on 42 criteria and has given the country’s healthcare system a rating of 64 out of 100 points (Commonwealth Fund, 2019). In terms of percentage grading, this would be a score of 64%. This paper is a reflective essay on the rating received by the United States to identify key issues and draw conclusions.
Overall Score
The overall rating of 64 out of 100 points shows that the US healthcare system, in general, requires significant improvements. The United States has one of the biggest economies in the world, yet it cannot be considered to have the best healthcare system. Politicians seeking to improve the healthcare system of the country have always held Canada as an example of how good government policies on healthcare can enhance the quality of healthcare and increase affordability. The 64 rating also shows that the country has not prioritized healthcare over the years, and this has resulted in a decline in access to healthcare as treatment costs increase. Healthcare is a highly divisive issue in the United States and this could explain why finding the right solution for the problem has been a challenge. A section of the US population sees an expanded role of the federal government in healthcare through insurance schemes and laws to regulate the prices of pharmaceutical drugs as integral to the improvement of the country’s healthcare system (Maxwell & Shields, 2014). Others have lobbied against such laws and policies by claiming that the state and federal governments should not introduce policies that ensure healthcare for all because this would result in higher taxes (Toth, 2013). Political ideologies are thus at the center of the challenges that the country has continued to face regarding the quality of healthcare.
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Political Will and Effective Policies
The report shows that while the quality of healthcare has significantly increased in some states, the same has declined in other states. The disparity implies that some state governments have prioritized healthcare and sought to develop and implement state laws and policies aimed at improving access to quality healthcare (Commonwealth Fund, 2019). Additionally, these policies aim to reduce healthcare costs. The differences further underscore the relationship between politics and the quality of healthcare in a country. The United States does not lack the resources to improve its healthcare system. If anything, the country is one of the wealthiest in the world, and it can allocate resources for improving healthcare quality and access (Kelley, 2009). However, due to the lack of political will, the country’s healthcare system has stagnated in many areas while it has registered a decline in others. Having an administration that prioritizes healthcare is likely to result in significant improvements in the healthcare system of the country.
The results of the survey also show that there has to be a joint effort from the federal and state government to improve the quality of healthcare in the country and also enhance access and affordability. According to the results of the survey, most states registered improvements on indicators that had been prioritized by both the national and state governments. Some of these healthcare issues include the provision of patient-centered care in hospitals, immunizations for children, the safe prescription of medications for elderly patients, cancer-related deaths, and a reduction in the number of avoidable hospital admissions and readmissions. The attention that these issues have received at both the state and national level has played a crucial role in improving healthcare in these specific areas, an indication that federal government policies must be supported by state laws to ensure that healthcare quality and access is significantly improved.
Historical Inequalities and Healthcare Disparities
The results of the survey also demonstrate that historical inequalities have contributed to the persistent lack of access to quality healthcare among some sections of the population. Racial minorities have especially been disadvantaged when it comes to access to affordable and quality healthcare. High levels of unemployment within the disadvantaged groups hinder them from affording and accessing quality healthcare (Delamothe, 2012). These findings indicate that a systemic approach to addressing healthcare challenges is necessary to improve the overall rating of the US healthcare system. Policymakers should develop policies that consider the well-being of the disadvantaged groups in the country to ensure that more people are accessing quality healthcare in the country. Addressing historical inequalities would thus contribute to an improvement in the rating of the healthcare system.
Conclusion
The reflective paper reveals that the quality of the healthcare system of a country largely depends on government policies. The rating of the US healthcare system is relatively low because subsequent state and national administrations have failed to prioritize healthcare. Ideological differences concerning the issue in the country have made the problem more complex as politicians charged with making laws balance the need to offer public service and the preferences of those who voted for them. The existence of political will can, therefore, lead to the development of appropriate policies that will significantly improve the rating of the US healthcare system.
References
Commonwealth Fund. (2019). Aiming Higher: Results from a Scorecard on State Health System Performance, 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2019, from https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/fund-reports/2014/apr/aiming-higher-results-scorecard-state-health-system-performance
Delamothe, T. (2012). Migrant healthcare: public health versus politics. BMJ , 344 , e924.
Kelley, R. (2009). Where can $700 billion in waste be cut annually from the US healthcare system. Ann Arbor, MI: Thomson Reuters , 24 .
Marmor, T., & Wendt, C. (2012). Conceptual frameworks for comparing healthcare politics and policy. Health policy , 107 (1), 11-20.
Maxwell, A., & Shields, T. (2014). The fate of Obamacare: Racial resentment, ethnocentrism and attitudes about healthcare reform. Race and Social Problems , 6 (4), 293-304.
Toth, F. (2013). The choice of healthcare models: How much does politics matter?. International Political Science Review , 34 (2), 159-172.
