Question

Based on the World Health Organization a policy encompasses a broad range of laws, guidelines, regulations, and habits necessary to maintain the health infrastructure. Identify a policy proposed or enacted at the federal or state level. Summarize the policy and discuss how the measure works to support the health infrastructure.

Answer 1

Health care policies are a necessary process to ensure to effectiveness of the health care industry. These policies are typically plans that turn into laws and regulations to achieve futuristic health care goals within society. The policy I chose to discuss is The Affordable Care Act (ACA) which went into effect as a federal law in 2010. The ACA focuses on the expansion of health care coverage and insurance, the improvement of health care delivery and lastly, the control of health care expenditures. “. A major contributor to the passage of the act was the continued rapid rise in health care expenditures and the projections regarding the growth in those expenditures.” (Hicks, Jacobs, 2014) One issue that seems to be a continuous struggle within the health care system is the rising costs which is a result of many different factors such as increase in chronic illnesses, fewer insurance options, and advancements in technology. The ACA helps to ensure health care infrastructure because its main goal is to keep the cost of health care steady by expanding health insurance. The reason this maintains the infrastructure and keeps costs lower is because there is more competition which means that other insurance companies are forced to lower the costs of their premiums. With that being said, this can also help to decrease the current rise of chronic illnesses because more people are applicable to afford health insurance since the competition among them cause’s prices to decrease.