Question

Describe the united states healthcare system. in your opinion, how will current policy changes impact national health.

Answer 1

The United States healthcare system is a unique system but is not uniform and is not a ‘free healthcare for’ all system. The United States healthcare system is a publically and privately funded hybrid system consisting of fragmented systems as well as programs. The healthcare spending comes from private funds, households, private businesses, the federal government, and state as well as local governments. Most of the healthcare, even though publicly financed, is delivered by private means. Insured citizens have both private and public health insurance coverage, among which a majority has private insurance coverage through their employers. Government-funded schemes like Medicaid and Medicare provides coverage to certain vulnerable groups of population. However, government financing of the healthcare system is sizeable. When life expectancy and infant mortality rate are considered, the United States consistently ranks lower in comparison to other countries. The absence of universal coverage for the citizens is the major challenge, which results in inequality among various population groups in health resources, health outcomes, and healthcare access. The country’s fragmented funding and delivery also lags behind others. However, the US healthcare system has a well-trained workforce, including well-qualified quality medical specialists, though the primary care generalists are too few to meet the demand. It also has excellent healthcare facilities as well as research programs, which makes it one of the best in the world.

As per the new healthcare policy, it is possible for the citizens to continue on a short-term healthcare plan for 364 days. Employers will be allowed to fund Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRA) for their employees. The employees, in turn, can use that amount to pay for health insurance plans they buy on online health insurance marketplaces. The new policy will give the states the authority to build these changes through the state innovation waivers. The new rules targets to encourage small business firms with less than 50 employees to pay for healthcare coverage of their employees. This would give employers an alternate way to offer financial aid to their employees who can’t buy health insurance on their own.