Healthcare Policy Discussion: Agenda Comparison Grid Analysis

This discussion post analyzes a student's initial post and responses concerning U.S. healthcare policy, specifically focusing on mental health. The student identifies mental health as a significant population health concern, highlighting disparities in access to services influenced by factors like geographic location, income, and race. The post compares the administrative agendas of Presidents Trump, Obama, and Bush, detailing their approaches to mental health, including resource allocation and policy initiatives. Trump focused on inpatient treatment and military service provider training, Obama built community health centers and aimed for equal mental health coverage, and Bush advocated for screening and military personnel support. The student responses further elaborate on the impact of mental illness, the allocation of funds, and the contributions of each president to the healthcare system. The post references key readings on healthcare policy, economics, and presidential agendas, demonstrating an understanding of the assignment's requirements.

Running head: POLICY
Initial post and response
Student Name
University Name
Author Note

1
Initial post:
Identify the Population
Health concern you
selected.
The population who have been detected with mental illness and improving
their access to health services
Describe the Population
Health concern you
selected and the factors
that contribute to it.
Mental health in United States gathers funds much differently than physical
health services. There is increasing disparity among individuals for their
equal access to mental health services. Geographic location, income and
race are some of the major factors which influence the accessibility of the
individuals to mental health services (McGinty et al., 2016). It is important for
the individuals to equal treatment as the functional health status of an
individual is affected by mental health.
Administration (President
Name)
Donald Trump Barack Obama George W.
Bush
Describe the administrative
agenda focus related to this
issue for the current and two
previous presidents.
Donald Trump
addressed the needs of
children and adult who
have been diagnosed
with critical mental
disorder to improve
their access to inpatient
treatment ward. In
addition, he also aimed
to provide training and
education to service
providers such that
effective treatment
could be provided to
patients belonging in
the military.
Barack Obama built
community health
centers which dealt with
mental health disorders.
In addition, he also
aimed to cover the
costs of mental health
on the same level as
other medical services.
However, he had first
included the treatment
of PTSD and other
deliberating mental
health disorders in
individuals working for
the military. Moreover,
he segregated funds to
be invested in research
to improve the
treatment and early
diagnosis of the
disorders.
George W.
Bush
suggested
comprehensiv
e screening of
mental
disorders for
individuals of
all ages. There
was an
expansion of
resources for
mental health
issues
diagnosed in
military
personnel.
Identify the allocations of
financial and other resources
that the current and two
previous presidents
dedicated to this issue.
The fund allocated was
$5.8 billion in FY 2020 for
treatment of mental health
and its prevention (Mckee,
Greer & Stuckler, 2017).
The fund allocated was
$100 million to expand the
access of mentally ill
individuals in community
healthcare centers.
$1 billion worth
fund was
allocated for the
treatment of
mental disorders
in individuals.
Explain how each of the
presidential administrations
approached the issue.
The primary focus is on
allocating funds such that
access to health care is
improved further.
The primary focus was
efforts to make mental
health care more
accessible.
The primary
focus was on
prevention and
screening of
mental disorders
in individuals of
all ages.
Student Response 1:
From the summary, it could be understood millions of people are diagnosed with
mental illness in a given year. Certain factors like homelessness, suicidality, drug use and
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unemployment for which the government have planned to increase the allocation of funds for
their appropriate treatment and future prevention (McGee & Thompson, 2015). Many people
in the United States have been affected by the increasing incidence of mental disorders which
could be prevented with the availability of resources.
Student response 2:
From the Agenda Comparison Grid, it can be clearly understood about the
contributions of the President of the United States. The mental health care system in the
United States have been under the focus of the Presidents for quite some time for which
substantial amount of funds are allocated for their timely detection, screening and future
preventions which could be understood from the grid (Davidson, 2016).
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References
Davidson, L. (2016). The recovery movement: Implications for mental health care and
enabling people to participate fully in life. Health Affairs, 35(6), 1091-1097.
McGee, R. E., & Thompson, N. J. (2015). Peer reviewed: unemployment and depression
among emerging adults in 12 states, behavioral risk factor surveillance system,
2010. Preventing Chronic Disease, 12.
McGinty, E. E., Kennedy-Hendricks, A., Choksy, S., & Barry, C. L. (2016). Trends in news
media coverage of mental illness in the United States: 1995–2014. Health
Affairs, 35(6), 1121-1129.
McKee, M., Greer, S. L., & Stuckler, D. (2017). What will Donald Trump's presidency mean
for health? A scorecard. The Lancet, 389(10070), 748-754.
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