For my training project, I decided to train one of my co-workers, Danny. I decided to ask my co-worker if I could train him considering he is young, and I know that it has been extremely beneficial to be aware about the health care system. The importance of understanding how we are insured and what our rights are, has never been more prominent. With the introduction of the Affordable Care Act or “Obamacare,” in 2010, there were many changes to our health care system. The changes apply to everyone and I felt that it was my duty as a Public Health student to spread what I have learned to further engage my peers and allow them to take an active role. I gave Danny a short survey before I trained him to understand what he was interested in and …show more content…
I used this to set the base for why there has been considerable push back to have a universal health care system. I also included that there was significant influence from the American Medical Association and the Republican party. There was also mention of how ideas of socialism and communism were sensitive to the United States, and any suggestion that stemmed from this was not accepted. I then took this opportunity to talk about the technological advances we have made and how that has contributed to the rise of health care. I made a note that, even though, we have the best technology, we are not showing the best health outcomes and are spending about $9,000 per person on health care yearly. Second, I gave a detailed explanation of Medicaid and the program’s role in our health care system. This was something that my co-worker was interested in, seeing that he probably qualifies for Medicare. I decided to start by showing a video I found on YouTube that talked about Medicare and Medicaid. It did an excellent job at explaining that Medicaid is a needs based program that is determined by income. Medicaid covers the basic services that we need to keep healthy like, hospital visits, doctor visits, prescriptions and nursing home care. In order to qualify, New Jersey is using data sources like the Social Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security and Labor. It covers people with incomes up to 133%
Health care has been an area of discussion for some time now. In the United States, the current health care system is a private system that allows individuals to choose their own method of care. Despite the freedom that comes with the independent nature of this type of health care system, the true disposition creates more problems than it solves. The privacy of the health care institutions has caused affordability and access to become serious issues with this system. Additionally, those with lower socioeconomic status fall short of the ability to access the same pool of resources as everyone else. Due to the issues with affordability, access, and the poor infrastructure of the health care system, a universal health
“That the U.S. health care system is broken and needs to be fixed is widely agreed to be true” (Universal Health Care Opposing Views p 19) is immediately apparent following a brief research of the organization of health care in the nation. There is an inability to control rising health care costs, and the system, although considered the most technologically advanced in the world, is riddled with waste and inefficiency. Year on year, doctors are spending increasingly more time dealing with insurance related administrative work rather than healing patients, there is gross overuse of care because employees view healthcare as part of a work-related benefit package, access to health care is based on ability to pay, and there is constant anxiety caused by the fear of losing employer-sponsored coverage. In contrast, a system of universal healthcare offers free services that are accessible to all, releases doctors from insurance paperwork to focus on healing, removes overuse of care because citizens fund the services through the payment of taxes, and may lead to healthier populations, among other things. Therefore, although vastly different from the current system, one could consider whether the introduction of universal healthcare would be beneficial for the USA?
Medicaid is a social health care program that covers nearly 60 million Americans, including children, pregnant women, seniors, parents and individuals suffering with disabilities. Medicaid is the biggest source of funding for health related services and medical needs for the people with low income in the United States. This program is funded jointly by the state and federal level governments, but it is the state’s responsibility to manage this program. The Medicaid program is not a required program that states have to use, but all 50 states have implemented this program. With the introduction of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and its passing in 2010, the ACA unveiled its plans to expand Medicaid eligibility to nearly all low-income adults as an addition to the other groups that fall into the Medicaid eligibility. The Medicaid program had “many gaps in coverage for adults” because it was only restricted to the low income individuals and other people with needs in their own specific category. In the past, the majority of the states who had adults that did not have children dependent on those parents were not eligible for Medicaid. These low income adults without dependent children would be without medical insurance assistance before the ACA was introduced. Medicaid is now available to all Americans under the age of 65 whose family income is at or below the federal poverty guideline of “133 percent or $14,484 for an individual and $29,726 for a family of four in 2011” (NSCL).
Those who utilize the Medicaid system range from low income families to the over 65 age group. Within this population is also those who are disabled due to physical or mental problems. This is among the sickliest of our American population. A paper based on a study in Oregon stated that “Medicaid significantly increased the probability of being diagnosed with diabetes, and being on diabetes medication as well as high blood pressure and high cholesterol.”(Baicker et al., 2013, p. 1715). Much of this is due to the struggle that the Medicaid beneficiary has
Have you ever thought about how many people in the world suffer from diseases but can’t afford to be taken care of? 45,000 people die annually in the U.S. alone because of their lack of healthcare. Well, with universal healthcare, this can definitely help change this all around. I am able to inform you on this possible implementation because I have done extensive research through study of political stand points and geographically for a prior research assignment as well as knowledge from the media and government on this topic. With this plan in action, people all around the country don’t have to suffer from disease simply because they are poor. I will tell you all about our current healthcare system and why it needs to change, what universal
Medicaid has help many qualified Americans who were historically unable to access health care. At the same time, it has raised questions and controversies as how efficient is the plan overall. Various research studies were conducted and contradicting results were presented. According to Paradise and Garfield (2013), some said that having no coverage at all is better that having a Medicaid coverage. On the other hand, some expressed that Medicaid paved a way to improved health due to increased access to services that provides prevention of diseases, health maintenance, and effective treatment (Paradise & Garfield, 2013). As for me I am in favor of the later, health care access for all. It comes down to equitable distribution of resources
In March 2010, one of the most controversial bills in modern history was signed into law by President Barack Obama. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act expanded the 1965 bill passed under President Johnson that created Medicare and Medicaid (“LBJ Presidential Library,” 2015). While the Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare” as it has been dubbed by the media, has many components, the focus here is the expansion of Medicaid. Obamacare sought to expand Medicaid to cover those who earn too much to qualify for traditional Medicaid, but not enough to afford employer-provided health care. These people are said to be in the “coverage gap” (“Obamacare Medicaid expansion,” 2015). While only 32 states have adopted Obamacare, we should advance a policy encouraging the remaining states to expand existing coverage by extending the period of federal government cost-sharing an additional five years. Doing so would give states previously refusing the cost sharing a second chance to opt-in. This expansion would save money for the states from some of the rising cost of healthcare, and fulfill our moral duty to care for uninsured Americans.
With the implementation of the ACA, many states have expanded their Medicaid programs to include a larger population of low income individuals and families that were not able to obtain health insurance prior to the law. Some of the issues that state legislators struggle with are the overall cost of providing services for the additional recipients, staying within budget, determining an adequate approach of offering quality care, and providing adequate coverage for each recipient. Even though the cost of Medicaid expansion within each state has increased the budget for the program, new appraisals has shown that Medicaid programs spend less per enrollee than commercial health insurance and much of the increase in Medicaid expenses originate from the increase in enrollment in the programs (Coughlin, Long, Clemens-Cope, & Resnick, 2013).
As previously illustrated, there are both advantages and disadvantages of Medicaid. However, being a beneficiary of Medicaid increases access to health care. As a result of the program, adults were 70% more likely to have a regular place of care, “55% more likely to have a regular doctor than the adults who did not gain coverage;” and the utilization of preventative services have increased (Garfield & Paradise, 2013). Furthermore, access to speciality care such as physical therapy; podiatry and hospice remain unattainable. In a multiple city audit, researchers found that only 34% of Medicaid beneficiaries were able to “secure an appointment for urgent” specialist care, compared to 64% of those privately
States are being pressured to expand Medicaid to families earning up to $30,000 a year, just like the Affordable Care Act permits. While several respected governors have agreed to expand the program, many other governors and state legislators are cautious. These officials do not want to deny Americans their access to health care, however they do want to slow the expansion of a program that will provide them with limited access to quality care while destroying state budgets. One of the strongest arguments that can be made against the expansion of Medicaid is the fact that States simply can not afford it. The appeal to states to expand Medicaid is that the federal government will cover 100% of the cost through 2016 and eventually lowering to
Medicaid is one of the most widely acknowledged sources of health insurance coverage in the United States, benefiting over 48 million low-income children and parents (Hansen, 2012). It also supports those over the age of 65 who may also receive Medicaid. By providing essential health insurance protection, Medicaid supports the growing un- and under- insured population. This federal program for the financially needy is administered at the state level. Coverage varies and each state creates its own rules, typically offering support through county social services, welfare, or other department of human services offices (Goodman, 1991).
The paper is broken up in to three sections. In section one, we will discuss the problems with the American Healthcare system and we will try and clear up some of the often misrepresented facts about the healthcare problems and solutions to fix them. In section two, we will present some of the solutions being put forward to fix the healthcare system, including plans by both Presidential Candidates
I agree with you, Medicaid has provided coverage to individuals and families with low incomes and few resources. In fact, Medicaid coverage includes various other programs for the betterment of the people such as the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment (ESPDT), The Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act (TWWIIA) of 1999 and The New Freedom Initiative. For instance, CHIP offers health insurance coverage for uninsured children. EPSDT offers healthcare benefits like prevention, early detection, and treatment to children under age twenty-one. TWWIIA provides healthcare services to workers with disabilities. The New Freedom Initiative reduces barriers to full community integration
IV. Today I’d like to talk to you first about, how the US has failed its obligation to provide for the welfare of millions of insured Americans, second, how your family, and kids can benefit from having a Universal Health Care system that is affordable, and finally, providing a Universal Health Care will not make the U.S. into a Socialist nation.
The household income for 2 is $21,000 according to “New Jersey Medicaid Program.” Benefits.gov - Your Path to Government Benefits, www. Benefits.gov/benefits/benefit -details/1314, but it states that the requirements go off by income before taxes but during the time when I applied my mom fell under that amount before taxes so that was really an issue for me. Medicaid sets up financially levels for different family groups which don’t need to be the same, but the requirements for household sizes are all the same for everyone. This program provides different levels of health insurance coverage, that covers doctor visits, hospital expenses, and any home care that’s needed, to my understanding that would all medical insurance should cover especially is its free from the state. So it’s understandable on why there are income limits, but even though people make over a certain amount they also have other needs to take care of also every paycheck a cost for Medicaid is taken out of the check which should be fair enough that the individual should qualify for coverage if it ever became a time that they would have to apply for it. I understand that this program is run by the federal state and the actions behind it change every year to control who really needs the insurance or not, but as stated before I believe that everyone should be notified as soon as changes have