Global Health Comparison Grid Template

Use this document to complete the Module 6 Assessment Global Healthcare Comparison Matrix and Narrative Statement

Global Healthcare Issue Universal Healthcare Insurance to Promote Universal Healthcare Coverage

 
Description Universal healthcare coverage policies and programs are usually regulated by the national or federal governments in most countries to achieve the objectives of global healthcare tenets. The American Affordable Care Act (ACA) was legally passed by the Senate more than a decade ago with the passionate aim to include national healthcare coverage through health insurance. The Canadian Medicare is another version of the national health insurance policy program that ensures nationwide health insurance coverage.
Country United States Canada
Describe the policy in each country related to the identified healthcare issue The affordable care act was signed in to law by the former USA president Barack H. Obama on 23rd March 2010 and is, therefore, popularly known as the ‘Obamacare,’ sometimes the Comprehensive Healthcare Reform, and formerly as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) (Manchikanti et al., 2017b). This healthcare policy promoted universal coverage by ensuring national regulation of healthcare insurance. The core objective of this legislative act was to reduce healthcare cost through health insurance, tax subsidies, and health cost-sharing; and promotion of primary care prevention and promotion The Canadian Medicare policy is a system that resembles the American Medicare in some respects. The national health insurance systems are funded by the public and the individuals do not have to pay for health services from their pockets. The Canadian Medicare dates to the legislations of 1957, 1966, and 1984 (the Canadian Museum of History, n.d.). Since its final legislation in 1984, Canadian Medicare has become a social icon among Canadians because of their freedom and ease of access o health care among other reasons. As opposed the American Medicare, Canadian Medicare covers health insurance for all age ages. The representation allows everyone to access the required care in Canada. Therefore, this policy is sometimes referred to as ‘Medicare for All.’ The tenets of this policy ensure accessibility, universality, portability, and public administration.
What are the strengths of this policy? The policy prevented health care insurance discrimination where Americans with presenting chronic medical conditions were ‘unfairly’ overcharged. It also reduced care cost through reduction in prices of prescription drugs, increased coverage of primary care through improving disease screening strategies and subsidized the insurance premiums by cost-sharing. Healthcare limits were reduced regardless of the economic abilities of the individual This policy eliminates discrimination in healthcare access. Both the vulnerable and the healthy population have equal access to healthcare. The costs of the healthcare insurance come from taxation and are paid by the government. Healthcare cost is one of the determinants of healthcare quality and if everyone can access care services without financial straining, the general healthcare quality is improved. The universal healthcare coverage of Canadians is therefore improved (Martin et al., 2018). The policy includes further promotion of programs that aim at achieving health education and promotion. The education of the citizens about their health promotes primary disease prevention hence reduction in care costs.
What are the weaknesses of this policy? This policy imposed various penalties on individuals who did not subscribe to any healthcare insurance plans. This policy meant that people with existing health insurance had to pay more insurance premiums due to the coverage of people with preexisting medical conditions. However, arguments by various scholarly items literature that failure of the insurance subscription by one individual passes acre costs to other people through the pooling of risks may be true (Manchikanti et al., 2017a). The weaknesses of this policy come from the generalizations in access to care. The geographically quality health facilities are in urban areas where the population is high. This means that the dwellers in rural areas do not get equal access to better quality care as the citizens in urban areas. The free access of care reduces the waiting time by patients as the number seeking care increases with different minor complaints.
Explain how the social determinants of health may impact the specified global health issue. (Be specific and provide examples) Poverty as a major social determinant of health in the united states majorly impacted the nationwide coverage of the policy. The cost-sharing and subsidies did not entirely exclude the citizens from paying the insurance premiums. The low-income citizens would therefore strain to afford this ‘mandatory’ insurance to avoid penalties. The success of the ACA in addressing universal care is, therefore, impacted by the disparities in levels of income. Major social determinants of health in Canada include the disparities in income, the aboriginal people, and geography. Medicare allows permanent residents and all citizens to access care from anywhere in Canada. However, the geographical disparities in quality of care among provinces have led to underachievement by Medicare because the geographically disadvantaged have no full access to proper care.
How has each country’s government addressed cost, quality, and access to the selected global health issue? The ACA addressed the cost of healthcare through cost-sharing of insurance premiums. The policy also proposed a reduction in prescription drugs. All these are aimed at improving the general quality of healthcare through universal coverage. Even though there have been questions about the ability of Obamacare in improving healthcare quality (Manchikanti et al., 2017), the overall evaluation showed improvement in access which determines the care quality The Canadian Medicare improved the cost of care by taking care of all costs of the care services. This then improved access to healthcare across the country while boosting the general services of care (Tuohy, 2018). The administrative structures including the provincial administrations helped in ensuring structurally organized taxations that funded Medicare for all.
How has the identified health policy impacted the health of the global population? (Be specific and provide examples) The impact of the Obamacare is increased number of Americans subscribing to healthcare insurance. The reduction in costs of drugs has relatively reduced the cost of care. While this has been debatable, there have been discussions about the overall cost of care quality in the United States over the past decade since the introduction of the ACA. The general improvement in universal healthcare coverage has been noticeable. The Canadian Medicare has improved universal healthcare through the involvement of all care stakeholders. The citizens can access care from wherever is convenient for free considering there is payment out of pocket. The involvement of the rural population, the vulnerable population, and the veterans has improved their participation in primary and preventive care. Existing literature reports improvement in life expectancy, mortalities, and morbidities in Canada as compared to the United States.
Describe the potential impact of the identified health policy on the role of the nurse in each country. The policy created potential roles for nurses through increasing access to an individual with chronic disease who could not afford acre through the formerly expensive insurance rates. The caseload increase has therefore provided the nurse with opportunities to provide secondary and tertiary prevention strategies to the individual patients at the point of care.

 

 This policy potential requires the services of a nurse in providing patient education and health promotion to the general population. The nurse haves the potential of influencing the policy through feedback, participation, and implementations of the policy requirements
Explain how global health issues impact local healthcare organizations and policies in both countries. (Be specific and provide examples) Global health has necessitated the united states to improve the local policy systems while supporting global interests. The improvement in global health not only impacts the health sector but also the economic and political sectors through policies that aim at improving the national health The global health issues empower local and national equity and citizenship. The government has promoted progress in ensuring equality through resource distribution and improved access (Nixon et al., 2018). The need for proper funding and limited resources have however reduced the role of Canadians in the global health response. However, the involvement of local organization is evident in promoting global health through initiatives such as vaccine production and
General Notes/Comments The ACA has improved the participation of Americans in healthcare through a relative reduction in costs of care. However, the reduction of the overall costs is still debatable The Canadian Medicare has tangible positive health outcomes on the global health increasing public participation through health education and promotion.

 

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