Healthcare Principles Issue of Healthcare in The United States Discussion
two classmates discussion responses. Each 125 words including references One: President Lyndon B. Johnson was the president to sign Medicare into law in 1965. He followed the steps of President Truman in hopes of creating national health insurance. The idea was to assist the elderly including some low-income populations with insurance coverage. “Johnson wanted to recognize Truman, who, in 1945, had become the first president to propose national health insurance, an initiative that was opposed at the time by Congress.” (History.com Editors, 2009) President Reagan was known for his policies of deregulation for healthcare and the era of the increasing healthcare costs and cutting program budgets. “The Reagan administration also repeatedly assured the public that their cuts wouldn’t result in actual harm — people would get jobs, get better jobs, or states would make up the funds. But we now know that this was largely not the case.” (Campbell, O. 2017) The result was instead price increases, loss of jobs, and higher economic impact. President Clinton, mandated employers provide healthcare creating the Health Security Act as well. Clinton wanted to expand healthcare and make it more affordable while protecting the privacy of electronic records. This was also the plan for President Obama, who enacted the ACA act in 2010. Which allowed all to gain access to coverage, insurance providers could no longer deny coverage for preexisting conditions, and requirements for states to have portals for populations to gain access to coverage.For each President, there were some positives and negatives for the healthcare policies. Reagan for instance derailed some of the policies Johnson had put into effect with deregulation. Both however wanted to see healthcare expand and reform with Medicare being the major topic. Clinton and Obama both made the push for affordable care and coverage expansion. Before the Trump era, the healthcare industry still had its faults but was headed into the original idea of Johnson that healthcare can and should be handled on a national level. For the healthcare industry, each time a President takes office and the policies are developed further derailed, or enhanced there is an adjustment. “Managers and their organizations are battered by the recession, government interference, and competitor’s actions.”(Bateman, Snell, & Konopaske, 2020) So, with the new President Biden, there will be more adjustments, and more faults until America can decide on one healthy well-structured healthcare system. Reference:History.com Editors. President Johnson signs Medicare into Law. A&E Television Networks, Nov.2009 retrieved https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/johnson-signs-medicare-into-lawCampbell, Olivia. Here’s what happened when Reagan went to healthcare programs. It’s not good. Timeline. Sept. 13, 2017 retrievedhttps://timeline.com/reagan-trump-healthcare-cuts-...Bateman, Snell, & Konopaske. Management. McGraw Hill Education. 2020Two: Governments play a large and critical role in healthcare policy. In the US, politics and politicians have significantly influenced healthcare policy, leveraged healthcare policy for political gain/agenda, and contributed to healthcare becoming more accessible for vulnerable populations. From the establishment of the Medicare and Medicaid programs to the Affordable Care Act, presidents have long played a role in impacting healthcare – and almost always with significant controversy. President Lyndon Johnson, in 1965, signed the Social Security Amendments into law – creating the Medicare and Medicaid programs that would provide health coverage to vulnerable populations (including the elderly and children). His aim was to provide security against sickness and drive good health for the millions of people that could not afford or access healthcare. Today, these programs provide coverage for nearly one-third of the US population (Van der Voort, 2017). Superficially, it would seem an easily accepted social program – designed to encourage health and provide for the sick. But it was met with fierce opposition including from then actor Ronald Regan who described the program as “the beginning of the end of freedom in the USA” (Fee, 2015). After using his celebrity actor platform to espouse disdain and defiance of the government-sponsored Medicare program, Ronald Reagan, more than a decade later, became President and put his words into action. As President, Reagan made sweeping cuts to public health programs that impacted not only the recipients but the funding cuts caused hospitals and providers to shut down. His policies removed 600,000 people from the Medicaid program, disqualified 1 million children from receiving reduced school lunches, and closed down 250 community health centers (Campbell, 2017). His policies were a stark contrast to those of Johnson, heralded by some as a necessary move to alleviate reliance on government and admonished by others as a despicable act, taking food out of the mouths of children. With term limits in place for the Presidency, the American people can be sure that leadership – and policy – can and will change…a hopeful relief to some who disagree with current policy. As Johnson made accommodations to provide health coverage for more, Reagan pulled it back. When Bill Clinton took office, the tide turned again with his proposed Health Security plan to overhaul healthcare. His proposal included universal coverage, insurance reform, consumer choice, and expanded mental health and substance abuse components (Plaut, & Arons, 1994). Like the leaders before him, he and his plan were met with fierce resistance and ultimately, unlike Reagan and Johnson, his proposal failed to make it through the legislature. Years later, a new President, Barak Obama, would try again to bring access and affordability of health services to the American public. His plan, dubbed “Obamacare”, would be signed into law in 2010. Unlike Johnson who intended to provide expanded coverage and service, Obama’s plan would penalize those who did not have coverage. Additionally, those opposed to the Affordable Care Act argued it would increased premiums, raised taxes, and put an undue burden on small businesses that could not afford the coverage requirements for staff. Advocates weighed those concerns against expanded coverage, reduced drug costs, and access for those previously denied due to preexisting conditions (Sullivan, 2019). The common thread between all Presidents and administrations in the healthcare debate is simply that – debate. No topic, no policy will ever have universal support. So long as democracy remains, politicians and the public will always have spirited debate and differing opinions of what is best for America and its people. Term limits continue to guarantee an expectation of change. In that change, some will find value and some will find struggle. But everyone will have an opinion.ReferencesCampbell, Olivia. (September 13, 2017). Here’s what happened when Reagan went after healthcare programs. It’s not good. Timeline. Retrieved from https://timeline.com/reagan-trump-healthcare-cuts-...Fee, Elizabeth. Signing the US Medicare Act: a long political struggle. The Lancet. Retrieved from: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/...Plaut TF, Arons BS. President Clinton's proposal for health care reform: key provisions and issues. Hosp Community Psychiatry. 1994 Sep;45(9):871-6. doi: 10.1176/ps.45.9.871. PMID: 7989016.Sullivan, Debra. (August 16, 2019). The Pros and Cons of Obamacare. Healthline. Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/health/consumer-healthc...Van der Voort, Tom. (July 24, 2017) In the Beginning: Medicare and Medicaid. UVA. Retrieved from https://millercenter.org/issues-policy/us-domestic...
