Healthcare Issue Discussion Question

Healthcare Issue Discussion Question

Healthcare Issue Discussion Question

The rising cost of healthcare is a top concern for American families and businesses. It is also one of the most important issues facing our country. That is why President Obama has made reducing healthcare costs a key priority for his Administration. One reason healthcare costs are so high is that insurance premiums have been increasing faster than wages and inflation. In 2009, premiums increased by five percent, compared to 3 percent wage growth and 2 percent inflation. This means that premiums now eat up a larger share of people’s paychecks. And since businesses pay for health insurance policies for their employees, rising premiums put pressure on wages and hiring.

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Besides healthcare costs, another population health issue that I came across recently is the high rates of obesity among Native American children. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost 1 in 3 Native American children are obese, and this high rate of obesity can have serious consequences for their health later in life (Ogden et al., 2018). Obesity can lead to a number of health problems, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. It’s therefore important to address this problem early on, and provide Native American children with access to healthy food and physical activity opportunities.

Causes of obesity among Native American children may vary from tribe to tribe. However, there are a few general things that the president could do in order to help address this issue (Poudel et al., 2018). For example, the president could work with tribal leaders to develop educational programs that teach kids about healthy eating habits and physical activity (Kelley & Lowe, 2018). He could also promote nutrition assistance programs that are available to Native Americans, and invest in research on obesity and its causes among native American children. Finally, he could create policies that incentivize healthy food choices and discourage unhealthy ones.

Obesity is a major contributor to increased health care costs in the United States. In 2008, the estimated annual medical cost of obesity was $147 billion; the medical costs for people who are obese were $1,429 higher than those of normal weight. The estimated annual cost of obesity-related illness in the United States is now more than $190 billion. Illnesses associated with obesity include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer, some of the leading causes of death in the United States. It is important to note that these estimates are for direct costs such as hospitalizations and medicines, and do not include indirect costs such as lost productivity.

References

Kelley, M. N., & Lowe, J. R. (2018). A culture-based talking circle intervention for native American youth at risk for obesity. Journal of community health nursing, 35(3), 102-117. https://doi.org/10.1080/07370016.2018.1475796

Ogden, C. L., Fryar, C. D., Hales, C. M., Carroll, M. D., Aoki, Y., & Freedman, D. S. (2018). Differences in obesity prevalence by demographics and urbanization in US children and adolescents, 2013-2016. Jama, 319(23), 2410-2418. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2685153

Poudel, A., Zhou, J. Y., Story, D., & Li, L. (2018). Diabetes and associated cardiovascular complications in American Indians/Alaskan Natives: a review of risks and prevention strategies. Journal of Diabetes Research, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/2742565

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Healthcare costs are part of the Presidential agenda but I have a question. Is there a more specific population health
issue that you came across? Perhaps something that addresses a specific population? Trying to use the ACA for this discussion is difficult.

Discussion Question Presidential Agenda
Population health topics are critical in the United States and form part of the presidential agenda among different candidates. The cost of healthcare and the need to make it affordable, high-quality, and accessible topics included on the recent presidential agenda (McKee et al., 2018). The need for increased access to healthcare can only be guaranteed through universal health coverage through models like the Affordable Care Act.

Two recent presidents are Obama and Trump. These two presidents handled the cost of healthcare differently. The Obama administration enacted the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) in 2010 to lay the foundation for the American health system to transition to a universal model of care, as with her peers in developed countries (Lambrew, 2018). The ACA remains the most fundamental and severe attempt by presidential candidates and their administrations to offer universal health coverage to Americans, especially those from low-income and disadvantaged backgrounds. The ACA led to over 25 million individuals, families, and households previously uninsured getting health care coverage.

On assuming office, President Trump kept on repealing and replacing the ACA with a different plan. Under the Trump plan, the federal government was to repeal some of the notable parts of the ACA, like enrolment for individuals with preexisting conditions (Kelly, 2017). The Trump administration handled the cost of health care by lowering the cost of prescription drugs when it failed to repeal and even replace Obamacare.

I would do differently under the current ACA model to lower premiums, encourage individuals to pay for health insurance, and offer more options on the health insurance exchange. The enactment of ACA was significant as it pointed to healthcare reforms focused on improving access and quality and reducing the overall cost (McKee et al., 2018). Integration of ACA with aspects that reduce costs and promote value-based care would lead to better patient outcomes in different care settings.

References

Kelly, A. S. (2017). Health reform in the Trump era: Will politics unmake policy? The Forum,

15(2), 345-362. https://doi.org/10.1515/for-2017-002

Lambrew, J. M. (2018). Getting Ready for Health Reform 2020: What Past Presidential

Campaigns Can Teach Us. https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/fund-reports/2018/jun/getting-ready-health-reform-2020-presidential

McKee, M., Greer, S. L., & Stuckler, D. (2018). What will Donald Trump’s presidency mean for

health? A scorecard. The Lancet, 389(10070), 748-754.

DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)30122-8.