Regulatory vs. Allocative Health Policies
In the past, health insurance coverage was an issue of great concern for a majority of Americans until the Affordable Care Act (ACA) came into place in the year 2014. Before the ACA, low-income persons were not covered by health insurance. By the year 2013, it was reported that approximately 44 million non-elderly persons were not covered, and upon the ACA becoming effective, the number of uncovered non-elderly persons dropped to below 27 million persons in which approximately 10% of non-elderly persons were not covered (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2017). The huge number of uninsured persons in the past was linked to gaps that existed in the public insurance systems. For instance, a majority could not access medical coverage, citing costs as a primary hindrance.
Although the introduction of ACA in 2014 drastically reduced the number of uninsured persons, it lasted up to the year 2016, and in the year 2017, the population of uninsured persons seemed to have risen to approximately 700,000 persons. The rise of uninsured persons in the recent past has been linked to the high costs of insurance coverage, for instance. In the year 2017, uninsured adults, totaling up to 45%, cited high costs as the sole cause of lack of insurance (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2017). Compared to the year 2014 up to 2016, the number of non-elderly persons without insurance is seen to have risen by 35%. Over the period, families with at least single workers have also remained uninsured due to the high costs of insurance. Besides the high costs of insurance being a primary factor for the lack of insurance for elderly persons, eligibility for Medicaid coverage has also remained to be an issue of concern.
Access to health insurance coverage is subject to help limit certain monetary and health-related risks. For instance, individuals living with health insurance coverage are subject to experience a financial toll even if covering basic care such as treatment for flu or prescription of medicine. Reports by the United States Health Affairs indicated that approximately two million Americans have filed for medical bankruptcy based on unexpected health problems (Sherrie Scott, 2018). Uninsured persons, therefore, run a risk of missing important preventive care services, thus heightening the risks of negative health outcomes. Living without health insurance coverage is also considered a burden of not being able to provide basic healthcare to loved ones, the risk of delayed care, tax penalties, and less access to quality care since the law does not allow uninsured persons to get medical care unless it is an emergency.
Besides lack of health insurance coverage posing monetary and health risks to individuals, whenever large numbers of persons without insurance rise in the community, shared economic and social foundations of a community are adversely impacted. For instance, high numbers of uninsured persons pose a challenge of higher rates of health services and health premiums. Affected communities are also likely to be subjected to higher rates of taxation as a way of generating revenue for supporting local hospitals (Rosenbaum, 2011). Higher rates of taxation would also act as a way of bridging financial gaps created by uninsured persons. A direct impact of larger numbers of uninsured persons is increased costs of health and higher rates of taxation.
Another adverse consequence of large numbers of uncovered persons is the negative implication on budgeting. Since communities would require health services, it implies that additional finance must be sourced from other sectors during budgeting. Besides public subsidies resulting in higher taxation, economic development is adversely affected since revenue allocation for other developments is affected (Callahan, 2003).
The implementation of the ACA saw a significant drop in number of uninsured persons in the United States. Although in 2017, the number of uninsured people rose significantly, there are measures worth implementing to improve health insurance coverage. Such measures are subject to benefit individuals as well as the economy and, therefore, the community at large. The first important consideration should be the stabilization of insurance markets and ensuring that ACA market reforms are retained. Stabilization and implementation of ACA reforms are subject to foster stronger healthcare insurance covers that would see low and moderate-income patients secure affordable and adequate health coverage. Strong health insurance covers would be realized through support to permanent federal reinsurance programs and opposition to sales of health insurance plans by individual and small group markets.
The other measure towards improving health insurance coverage is through adequate funding of children and adults insurance programs. Adequate financing would see a majority get enrolled, thus solving the concerns of ineligibility by elderly persons. There is also a need to address physical shortages by growing the clinical workforce. For instance, the increment in the number of available graduates in the field of medical education would see citizens receive services with lots of ease. The increment of efficiency is also an important measure of luring lots of citizens into enrolling for the services. Efficiency is subject to be increased through the reduction of insurance and government regulatory burdens. It is also important that new physician payment models are put in place for better outcomes.
References
Callahan, M. A. (2003). A Shared Destiny: Community Effects of Uninsurance. Annals of Internal Medicine, 139(4), 312-312.
Kaiser Family Foundation. (2017, September 19). Key facts about the uninsured population. Retrieved from https://www.kff.org/uninsured/fact-sheet/key-facts- about-the-uninsured-population/
Rosenbaum, S. (2011). The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: implications for public health policy and practice. Public Health Reports, 126(1), 130-135.
Sherrie Scott (2018). What Are the Consequences of Not Having Health Insurance? Retrieved from: https://www.sapling.com/5549791/consequences-not-having-health-insurance
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Question 
Explain the difference between regulatory health policies and allocative health policies.
What are the determinants of health? How are they related to the determinants of health policy?
Regulatory vs. Allocative Health Policies
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