Public Policy and Its Impact on Healthcare in the US

This article discusses the impact of public policy on healthcare in the US, including controversies in healthcare policies, factors for high healthcare spending and inequality, and opportunities for policymakers to reconcile these differences.

Running head: PUBLIC POLICY AND ITS IMPACT 1
Public Policy and Its Impact
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PUBLIC POLICY AND ITS IMPACT 2
Introduce
Boudreau, (2017) state that the economic crisis in America has increased the gap between
the low-income earners and the high-income earners in America. Higher income earners can
afford the health care services including elective surgeries, and private rooms among others
while the low-income earners cannot afford the preventive care at a basic level. Department for
Professional Employees, (2016 ) observes that healthcare in the US remain distinct among other
developed nations internationally because it does not possess equal healthcare system, only
currently enacted policies mandating healthcare coverage for every person and does not possess
universal health care system coverage. Therefore, the government and policymakers must ensure
a universal and uniform health care coverage and system that bridges the existing gap between
the low income and high-income earners in the US.
Controversies in the healthcare policies
Some of the statistics that reflect the issues and challenges in the healthcare sector in the
US include the following. Department for Professional Employees, (2016) highlights that in
2014, 90% of the American population possessed some kind of health insurance with 66% of the
employees covered by private insurance. Among the insured population, 37% (115 million
individuals) of the citizens received healthcare coverage via Medicaid (62 million), and
Medicare (51 million) while Veterans administration (14 million) were covered by the
government plan. However, 33 million citizens did not have a health insurance. Boudreau,
(2017) claims that health care costs have increased from 2.5% points compared to the gross
domestic product in the US since the year 2017. More so, ½ of the health care spending is
utilized to treat 5% of the citizens in America.

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McCanne (2004) claims that states that in the year 2004, America used approximately
two trillion dollars in health which translated to 16% of the GDP. It amounted to 6,1790 dollars
per person which remain almost twice the amount other states with comprehensive system spend
on healthcare. Various policy analysts claim that the extent of spending remains adequate to
offer all US citizens with quality comprehensive health care but America has not yet attained the
goal. Additionally, Boudreau,(2017) argue that spending on prescription drug stands at 10% of
the entire health spending, but contributes to fourteen percent of the development in spending. In
1996, 26% of the poor used more than 10% of their income on health and the number grew to
23% in the year 2003. Glied & Jackson, (2017) claims that most policy professionals believe that
modern technologies and the growth of the existing technology account for most medical
spending and its development.
The Kaiser Family Foundation, (2017) states the ACA (Affordable Care Act) resulted in
historical benefits in the healthcare insurance coverage via expanding the Medicaid coverage to
numerous low-income earners and offering marketplace subsidiaries for those people below the
four hundred percent of poverty. Previously, Haught, Dobson, DaVanzo, and Abrams, (2017)
claim that there existed a gap in the unavailability of public coverage and the public insurance
system that oversaw millions of individuals without the healthcare insurance in America. As a
result, the Medicaid got expanded and the Health Insurance Marketplace got developed to
minimize the number of uninsured people. However, The Kaiser Family Foundation, (2017)
observes that 1 in every 10 children remains uninsured in America while 35% get insurance
through the Medicaid programs.
Factors for High Health Care Spending and inequality in America

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Department for Professional Employees, (2016) argues that the high costs of accessing
health care in the US remain the highest barriers and people below average incomes in the US
possess a higher likelihood of not following up health care, getting treatment, tests, visiting a
dentist, and filling a prescription. Karen, Kristof, David, & Cathy, (2014) says that research
indicates that 59% of the physicians acknowledge that the patients face challenges in paying for
care. More so, Woolf, Aron, & (Eds.), (2013), claim that in 2013, 31% of the uninsured
grownups failed to access or delayed medical care due to costs compared t0 27% of the
population insured by public insurance such as Medicare, and Medicaid and 5% of privately
insured grown-ups.
Department for Professional Employees, (2016 ) states that drug prescriptions and
technology remain a key contributing element to the high costs of health care in America. The
availability of more costly medications and medical technologies and innovations have driven
the health care spending higher as they produce demand for costly and intense services although
they do not appear cost-effective. According to Michelle, Matthew, Gary, Anne, & David,
(2016), America spent 1.03 US dollars per capita n medications and pharmaceuticals as well as
non-durable medical services in 2013 which remain twice the average decided by OECD of 515
US dollars.
Elizabeth, Peter, & David, (2012) observes that an increase in chronic illnesses such as
obesity account for the high costs in healthcare because patients suffering from chronic diseases
in their final two years constitute 32 percent of Medicare spending with most of the money being
spent on repeated hospitalization and hospital and physician fees. Professionals continue to
emphasize preventive care with the aim of minimizing the financial costs associated with chronic
illnesses. In 2013, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act offer more Medicaid funding

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for the states offering preventive care at low costs to encourage prevention care. Melissa, Vann,
& Rachel, (2015) argues that administrative costs remain another factor contributing to high
healthcare costs in America. America remains a leader in the national healthcare expenditures
shares devoted to the administration of insurance among other developed nations. It also
outsources various administration requirements to the private companies.
Elizabeth, Peter, & David, (2012) states that the national estimate indicates that half of
the 360 billion dollars used on administrative costs yearly remain a waste. However, in 2013, the
ACA implemented a national pilot project to enhance efficiency in administration via permitting
hospitals and doctors to bill for an episode of care instead of the recent ad hoc technique.
Department for Professional Employees, (2016) states that President Obama in 2010 signed into
law ACA that made various important changes to the healthcare system in the US between the
year 2011 and the year 2014. It included the provision to extend health care coverage, emphasize
wellness and prevention, enhancement in consumer protection and promotion of evidence-based
administration efficiency and treatment with the aim of minimizing healthcare costs.
Opportunities for Policy Makers in Reconciling These Differences
Woolf, Aron, & (Eds.), (2013) claims that other OECD nations possess more successful
and equitable healthcare projects that maintain healthcare costs and provide protection to
vulnerable population segments. Some of the healthcare insurance programs that the US
government and policymakers can implement include the following.
Department for Professional Employees, (2016) states that the National Health Service
includes medical services provided by government salaried healthcare professionals, clinics and
hospitals that remain operated by the government and owned publicly via tax payments. The

PUBLIC POLICY AND ITS IMPACT 6
private doctors must act under certain regulations on their medical activities and get their fees
from the government such as in New Zealand, Spain, and the UK.
Boudreau, (2017) states that a single-payer system/National health insurance system
where one government entity that serves as the administrator to gather the entire health care fees
and pay out the costs of health care can resolve the issue. The medical services are financed
publicly but not offered publicly such as in Sweden, Taiwan, Denmark, and Canada.
Haught, Dobson, DaVanzo, & Abrams, (2017) says that an all-payer-system/a multi-payer
insurance system can solve the healthcare costs issues because it offers a universal health
insurance utilized to pay hospitals and physicians at equal rates hence preventing billing for
administrative costs such as in France, Japan, and Germany.
In conclusion, healthcare in the US remains distinct among other developed nations
internationally because it does not possess equal healthcare system, only currently enacted
policies mandating healthcare coverage for every person and does not possess universal health
care system coverage. Therefore, the government and policymakers must ensure a universal and
uniform health care coverage and system that bridges the existing gap between the low income
and high-income earners in the US. Various policy analysts claim that the extent of spending
remains adequate to offer all US citizens with quality comprehensive health care but America
has not yet attained the goal. Additionally, most policy professional believe that modern
technologies and the growth of the existing technology account for most medical spending and
its development. Some of the policies and programs that can resolve the issue include the
National Health Service, a single-payer system/National health insurance and an all-payer-
system/a multi-payer insurance system.

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References
Boudreau, R. (2017). The Plausibility of Universal Health Care in the United States. Retrieved
from J Clin Res Bioeth 8:298: doi: 10.4172/2155-9627.1000298
Department for Prefessional Employees. (2016 ). The U.S. Health Care System: An International
Perspective. Retrieved from Department for Prefessional Employees:
https://dpeaflcio.org/programs-publications/issue-fact-sheets/the-u-s-health-care-system-
an-international-perspective/
Elizabeth, W., Peter, B., & David, C. (2012). Paper Cuts: Reducing Health Care Administrative
Costs. Retrieved from Center for American Progress :
http://www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/issues/2012/06/pdf/
papercuts_final.pdf
Glied, S., & Jackson, A. (2017). The Future of the Affordable Care ct and Insurance Coverage.
Retrieved from Am J Public Health. 2017 April; 107(4): 538–540:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5343718/
Haught, R., Dobson, A., DaVanzo, J., & Abrams, M. (2017). How the American Health Care
Act’s Changes to Medicaid will Affect Hospital Finances in Every State. Retrieved from
The Commonwealth Fund: https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2017/how-
american-health-care-acts-changes-medicaid-will-affect-hospital-finances-every-state
Karen, D., Kristof, S., David, S., & Cathy, S. (2014). Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: How the
Performance of the U.S. Health Care System Compares Internationally, 2014 Update.
Retrieved from The Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health

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System: http://www.commonwealthfund.org/~/media/files/publications/fund-report/
2014/jun/1755_davis_mirror_mirror_2014.pdf
Melissa, M., Vann, M., & Rachel, G. (2015). The Uninsured: A Primer – Key Facts About
Health Insurance and The Uninsured in the Era of Health Reform. Retrieved from Kaiser
Family Foundation: http://kff.org/uninsured/report/the-uninsured-a-primer-key-facts-
about-health-insurance-and-the-uninsured-in-the-era-of-health-reform/
Michelle, L., Matthew, R., Gary, C., Anne, J., & David, R. (2016). Recent Trends in Employer-
Sponsored Health Insurance Premiums. Retrieved from Journal of the American Medical
Association: http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx
The Kaiser Family Foundation. (2017). Key Facts about the Uninsured Population. Retrieved
from The Henry J. Kaiser Foundation: https://www.kff.org/uninsured/fact-sheet/key-
facts-about-the-uninsured-population/
Woolf, S., Aron, L., & (Eds.). (2013). U.S. health in international perspective: Shorter lives,
poorer health. Retrieved from Washington, DC, US: National Academies Press :
http://psycnet.apa.org/record/2013-02331-000