Access to Health Care: For Everyone, or Just for Some? Reflect on how public health measures have shaped their daily lives. Come up with one unmet public health need.
Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is a multi-dimensional concept that includes domains related to physical, mental, emotional, and social functioning. It goes beyond direct measures of population health, life expectancy, and causes of death, and focuses on the impact health status has on quality of life. A related concept of HRQoL is well-being, which assesses the positive aspects of a person’s life, such as positive emotions and life satisfaction.
Clinicians and public health officials have used HRQoL and well-being to measure the effects of chronic illness, treatments, and short- and long-term disabilities. While there are several existing measures of HRQoL and well-being, methodological development in this area is still ongoing. Over the decade, Healthy People 2020 will evaluate the following measures for monitoring HRQoL and well-being in the United States:
Health care in the United States is provided by many distinct organizations Health care facilities are largely owned and operated by private sector businesses. 58% of US community hospitals are non-profit, 21% are government owned, and 21% are for-profit.[2]According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the United States spent $9,403 on health care per capita, and 17.1% on health care as percentage of its GDP in 2014. Healthcare coverage is provided through a combination of private health insurance and public health coverage (e.g., Medicare, Medicaid). The United States does not have a universal healthcare program, unlike other advanced industrialized countries
In 2013, 64% of health spending was paid for by the government and funded via programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program, and the Veterans Health Administration. People aged under 65 acquire insurance via their or a family member's employer, by purchasing health insurance on their own, or are uninsured. Health insurance for public sector Employees is primarily provided by the government in its role as employer
The United States life expectancy is 78.6 years at birth, up from 75.2 years in 1990; this ranks 42nd among 224 nations, and 22nd out of the 35 industrialized OECD countries, down from 20th in 1990. In 2016 and 2017 life expectancy in the U.S. dropped for the first time since 1993. Of 17 high-income countries studied by the National Institutes of Health, the United States in 2013 had the highest or near-highest prevalence of obesity, car accidents, infant mortality, heart and lung disease, sexually transmitted infections, adolescent pregnancies, injuries, and homicides. A 2014 survey of the healthcare systems of 11 developed countries found that the US healthcare system to be the most expensive and worst-performing in terms of health access, efficiency, and equity
By the middle of the past century, health professionals predicted that we would conquer infectious disease. Now the current epidemics of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), tuberculosis, malaria, and antibiotic-resistant infections, among many other threats, show how naïve that view was. Even though we understand what causes most of the world's plagues and have already devised medical tools and sanitation strategies to fight them, infectious diseases still claim millions of lives each year. These diseases remain major killers, largely because the tools and strategies do not reach the people who need them most: the poor of the poorest developing countries.
Access to Health Care: For Everyone, or Just for Some? Reflect on how public health measures...
Some people argue that access to health care should be a right, others argue that is a privilege. There are many policies that govern how people access care and the type of care that is received. In some countries, like the United States, access to health care is determined by one’s socioeconomic level, which includes but is not limited to employment, access to health insurance, place of residence, etc. Needless to say, these factors contribute to health disparities around the...
Public health class The affordable care act was designed to reduce healthcare cost and increase access to care for the most vulnerable populations. In class we mostly focused on the ACA goal of increasing access. Do you agree that the affordable care act has increased access to those who most need it? Who is most in need? Why did it succeed/fail? what evidence is there that it has achieved/failed to achieve its goal? how has it achieved/failed to achieve said...
Some consider fair access to health care a moral right, while others disagree. We have defined the term moral right as "a privilege to act in some specific, intentional manner or to obtain some specific benefit because one is a moral agent living in a community of moral agents under a shared moral standard." Is access to health care a moral right? Why or why not?
Some consider fair access to health care a moral right, while others disagree. We have defined the term moral right as "a privilege to act in some specific, intentional manner or to obtain some specific benefit because one is a moral agent living in a community of moral agents under a shared moral standard." Discussion Prompt: Is access to health care a moral right? Why or why not?
Some consider fair access to health care a moral right, while others disagree. We have defined the term moral right as "a privilege to act in some specific, intentional manner or to obtain some specific benefit because one is a moral agent living in a community of moral agents under a shared moral standard." Discussion Prompt: . Is access to health care a moral right? Why or why not?
Describe how the United States developed a plecemeal approach to providing access to health care. How did the incremental changes to the U.S. health care system conform to the American preference for public/private policy solutions?
Many consumer and health care advocacy initiatives are converging toward a mandate to provide public access to many types of information about managed care organization (MCO) performance, costs, and quality. In fact, employers in the many parts of the country who are the major purchasers of health insurance are now requiring MCOs to make “health plan performance data” available to subscribers to facilitate their choice of plans. Discuss and provide the rationale for your opinion on providing data in areas...
Should taxpayers sponsor attorneys (i.e., public defenders) for undocumented immigrants? How about access to health care for undocumented children? Would you give different answers to these two examples? Consider the views of Locke and Holmes and Sunstein in your response.
Health care is highly regulated in many countries. Access to care remains a debate whether it is a right or a privilege. Discuss public health and regulatory systems in the United States and the Sub-Saharan country you chose for prompt 1. How is the healthcare system coordinated? What is the role of public health? How is healthcare regulated?
An understanding of health care cost, access to care, and quality of care is vital for health care professionals, as is the ability to articulate these issues. For this assignment, students will examine the effects of cost and the issues associated with accessing quality care, both in a historical context as well as the future impact on health care. For this assignment, address the following in 750-1,000 word paper: Identify the factors contributing to the rising cost of health care....