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America's Healthcare: Change...But How? Essay

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The idea of reforming the nation’s health care system was introduced as far back as the early 90’s. During this time ideas were created but action was never taken. In 2008 the idea that health care reform could actually happen, became a reality. After eight years under a predominantly republican run government, the Democratic Party once again became the majority. In addition to being the majority party in the House of Representatives and the Senate, a democratic president was elected to office. This has created a new window of opportunity for health care reform, along with a promising future. A realization has occurred among stakeholders that the health care system is in need of change. In a poll conducted by the Kaiser Family …show more content…

The stakeholders that are in support of reform are democratic political leaders, patients, providers, academics, and medical industry leaders. Support of reform has increased over the years however there is still resistance from stakeholders with the largest influences. These stakeholders are the ones that have a financial interest in the health care industry. If the industry was to change they would be at risk of losing profit and therefore resist the necessary reform. The stakeholders that are against health care reform include insurers, business people, and republican political leaders. The stakeholders that support health care reform have several strengths that work in their favor. First and foremost is size. The democratic political leaders out number the republican political leaders in terms of size, allowing them to out-vote and simply out number their opponents. Size has also helped reform time-wise. Having the voting majority has allowed steps to be made in a timely manner to help enact a reform bill into law sooner rather than later. Several other strengths include health care expertise, patient involvement, and provider involvement. Stakeholders have strengths that will help them prevail in enacting health care reform however they are not with out some weaknesses. Medical industry leaders, providers, and academics, while supportive of reform, may also cause weaknesses. Having health care knowledge and experience is beneficial but can also

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