Respond to at least two of your colleagues* on two different days by expanding on their response and providing an example that supports their explanation or respectfully challenging their explanation and providing an example.
RE: Discussion – Week 1COLLeague 2Lack of Insurance Health Coverage
One of the major population health topic that has risen to the presidential agenda level in recent times, is the issue of lack of insurance health
coverage by most Americans. Many U.S citizens have lost their jobs due to the Covid 19 pandemic hence losing their health coverage. Hence
significant efforts have to be made in terms of legislative agenda that would ensure most Americans access healthcare services. It is important to
note however, that efforts have been put by previous authorities towards this. For instance, President Barack Obama, signed into law the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act that drastically changed the healthcare system in the U.S. This is majorly because, the Act led to the reduction
of amount of money that a person or a family paid in term of uncompensated care. Most specifically, the Act calls for every U.S citizen to have
health insurance and further provides assistance to those individuals who cannot afford an insurance plan (Camillo, 2016). Similarly, President
Trump also made efforts in providing health insurance to Americans by making changes to the Affordable Care Act in order to expand the
Medicaid program. The Medicaid program is the core health insurance program for low income Americans, that aims at providing them with
quality, affordable and comprehensive healthcare (Antonisse, 2018). It serves as a major source of financial protection by reducing out of pocket
costs for beneficiaries of the insurance program. This program is further supported by the law, since the federal government allows various states
to seek waivers that would enable them expand eligibility to people who may be ineligible to benefit from the Medicaid program. Despite all these
efforts however, high health insurance costs still remain a major issue in most states. In North California for instance, many people have
complained of high health insurance costs that are facilitated by high hospital prices. What I would do differently is to reinforce the antitrust laws
that are aimed at protecting consumers through regulating companies and how they operate their businesses. This would ensure that hospitals
and insurance companies do not exploit individuals in need of medical care through health insurance programs.
Reference
Antonisse, L. G. (2018). The effects of Medicaid expansion under the ACA: updated findings from a literature review. .Camillo, C. A. (2016). The US
healthcare system: Complex and unequal. Global Social Welfare,. Global Social Welfare, .Courtemanche, C. M. (2020). The impact of the Affordable
Care Act on health care access and self‐assessed health in the Trump Era . 55, 841-850.