In the United States, most individuals obtain health insurance through their employer.
Briefly describe the impact of health insurance on access to care and health outcomes. Is a
reliance on employer-based health insurance plans ideal for the individual, health care
providers, employers, and society? Should the federal government have a more prominent
role in providing health insurance? Explain and defend your positions with evidence, and
recommend a policy action that aligns with your position.
Healthcare
Health insurance is a critical component in promoting the wellbeing of populations across
different states. In the United States, health insurance has expanded access to healthcare among
populations while taking into consideration the disparities in the socioeconomic status of
individuals (Padula, Heru & Campbell, 2016). With the aim of providing affordable health
coverage to all persons, health insurance schemes endeavor to enhance the ability of people to
receive preventive medical services in healthcare institutions including vaccinations, disease
screenings and medical checkups. The health insurance schemes cushion people from high
unexpected medical costs while ensuring that the beneficiaries pay less for health services
(Padula et al., 2016). The health insurance scheme offer a low cost cover network for subscribers
while only contributing a small proportion of the healthcare cost. Therefore, healthcare
insurance schemes promote positive health outcomes to all populations despite the differences in
socioeconomic incomes which may impact on timely reception of medical services.
Elsewhere, the employer-based health insurance plans are beneficial to stakeholders
involved in the healthcare sector as it offers a direct means of making deductions towards a
health insurance scheme. The insurance plan is a reliable approach in providing medical
coverage to employees since it provides a direct approach in remitting healthcare deductions on a
regular basis (Gabel et al., 2015). The insurance plan reduces the direct cost implication and
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burden for employers towards improving health outcomes for their employees. Besides, the plan
benefits the society as it reduces costs associated with acquisition of medical services within
their local areas (Gabel et al., 2015). Thus, the employer-based health plan provides an added
advantage towards sustaining the service delivery through actively engaging in work.
Indeed, the federal government needs to play a prominent role in healthcare provision in
addressing healthcare disparities that may arise across the medical system. While realizing
inadequacies in policy enhancement and enactment across states, the federal government needs
to develop uniform policies for healthcare development while recognizing its impact on
population health. As a financial contributor to different states, the federal government offers
numerous advantages in harmonizing the health insurance plans to the level of service delivery
across states (Bandara et al., 2015). A major policy action would involve the federal government
necessitating states to adhere to uniform healthcare service practices and guidelines for
sustaining healthcare outcomes among populations. Thus, with adequate policy implementation
by the federal government, it would be possible to realize uniform service delivery.
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References
Bandara, S. N., Huskamp, H. A., Riedel, L. E., McGinty, E. E., Webster, D., Toone, R. E., &
Barry, C. L. (2015). Leveraging the Affordable Care Act to enroll justice-involved
populations in Medicaid: state and local efforts. Health Affairs, 34(12), 2044-2051.
Gabel, J. R., Whitmore, H., Satorius, J. L., Pickreign, J., & Stromberg, S. T. (2015). Collectively
bargained health plans: more comprehensive, less cost sharing than employer
plans. Health Affairs, 34(3), 461-466.
Padula, W. V., Heru, S., & Campbell, J. D. (2016). Societal implications of health insurance
coverage for medically necessary services in the US transgender population: a cost-
effectiveness analysis. Journal of general internal medicine, 31(4), 394-401.