Healthcare Reform Proposal

A healthcare plan proposal entails information regarding a proposition on specific or general issues related to health, which is intended to be implemented in future. Currently, healthcare is a very significant issue, and is among the most debated areas in politics. Every person requires healthcare, but some people are more able than others to access it. This proposed healthcare plan for U.S. is envisioned to be the new optimal healthcare plan that will make use of medical incentives and other options for socioeconomic groups. It will address the main challenges regarding access to healthcare, cost as well as care quality. The plan also entails technology use, the role of work force in healthcare, funding of insurance plan, as well as the transitioning from the current plan to the new plan.

Healthcare Disparities in the U.S.

In the U.S., there is a large difference in health condition among the socioeconomic groups in the population. While the high class groups enjoy good health, the underprivileged continue to suffer from health issues. Both social and economic factors are associated to the existing differences. Primary healthcare is very significant in addressing many health problems because it is care nearest to the community and with a steady relationship with every individual (Lane et al., 2017). By providing strong primary care, U.S. will be at a position to meet the healthcare needs of the community, and will help in controlling health system costs through coordination of care and management of interfaces with other areas.

Vision for an Equitable Healthcare Workforce

This plan envisions an equitable availability of high quality health care workforce. There is unequal distribution of healthcare resources, and not every person in the U.S. has access to qualified professionals. In addition, there are healthcare systems that are specialist-driven leading to population groups with reduced accessibility to care. Some of the problems that this proposal addresses relating to the unequal availability of healthcare services include;

Objectives of the Healthcare Proposal

The main objective of this proposal is to improve public health in the U.S. by addressing issues that lead to differences in the manner in which healthcare is accessed by the general population based on social and economic factors. To contribute to the main objective, this plan is aiming at promoting equitable distribution of high quality healthcare systems all over U.S., address health risks that are related to social and economic factors, advocate for the use of medical incentives, and ensure every person is able to access qualified healthcare professionals for quality services, and have an insurance plan that is easy for the participants to get memberships and follow an easy and straightforward affordable payment structure.

Utilization of Medical Incentives

It is worth noting that utilization of medical incentives is an important element that should be used to ensure that the workforce is motivated to work in areas and situations that it would otherwise not be comfortable working in. The current situation in the U.S. is that as the industry of healthcare goes on moving in the direction of utilizing compensation incentives, the approach is not an effective motivator, thereby leading to waste of resources. Compensation incentives are either too small or poorly communicated that they fail to generate the work outcomes that employers in health care expect to achieve. Incentives are very important in driving change, and it is a tool that the U.S has available and so much money is spent on it. Incentives are significant levers that can be used by both public and private healthcare organization to attract, motivate, retain, satisfy and enhance staff’s performance. They can be applied to individuals, groups, and organizations and vary based on employer type. However, the manner in which it is implemented has not resulted to the intended results. The current proposal is aimed at ensuring that the use of incentive is directed in encouraging individuals to enter into the profession of health care like primary care and encourage the professionals to practice in areas that are underserved. Financial incentives are not sufficient in retaining and motivating staff. Other than wages, bonuses and loans, non-financial incentives have a crucial role. The new plan proposes for an incentive scheme that has clear objectives, realistic, deliverable, reflect the needs and preferences of health professionals. The incentive scheme should be designed well, contextually suitable, measurable and incorporates both financial and non-financial elements. The new plan recognizes that the greatest asset of a health service is the staff, which is why the implementation of incentive package that is effective is in itself an investment through which the healthcare professionals can be protected, nurtured and developed.

Addressing Major Healthcare Challenges

This plan addresses major challenges of access, cost and quality care. According to Blendon (2006), Americans are increasingly dissatisfied with the system of their healthcare than other citizens from other industrialized nations, and are far dissatisfied with the availability of affordable healthcare. Currently, the public is concerned regarding the rising prices of health care, and the concerns are connected to the people’s worry that they may fail to afford different services for healthcare in future as well as the current problem they are having when paying for their medical bills. The new plan proposes for a health insurance plan that is going to cover everyone so that the problems of access and cost are solved. Regarding quality of care, Blendon (2006) say that although Americans are satisfied with the medical care they are provided, they are worried of medical errors in future. For this reason, this plan proposes strategies that will address the occurrences of medical errors including reduction of workloads for the healthcare givers by encouraging increased numbers of recruitments in any given healthcare facility. Adequate staffing will ensure that a worker s not overloaded with work at any particular time to cause any medical error. In addition, it proposes efficient communication among the healthcare providers to reduce medical errors through computerized medical records. It also proposes reduction of work hours of those physicians that are in training to reduce fatigue that could otherwise lead to medical errors. Another proposal is for the government to suspend the licenses of healthcare givers that are involved in making medical error. If all these measures are going to be implemented, then the Americans will be assured of quality medical services that will be provided to them. Moreover, substandard care is an issue that is particularly relevant to Americans from low-income backgrounds as well as other people of diverse demographic and ethnic groups who experience disparity in health as well as healthcare. For that reason, the new plan is a proposal to reform the healthcare delivery system with an aim of improving the quality and care value by addressing cost and poor quality.

Proposal for a Single-Payer National Insurance System

insurance system. Through the taxes that each person pays to the government, the government becomes the only payer, which should be tasked to providing coverage, and no private insurer should be involved. Presently, the health care system of the United States is outrageously expensive, but inadequate. Although it spends more than the rest of industrialized countries, the nation continue to perform poorly in major indicators of health like life expectancy, mortality of infants, and rates of immunization. While other advanced states offer comprehensive cover to everyone, the United States leaves many people uninsured and several others are not adequately covered. Depending on private payers has not been effective as they waste money on things that are not related to care such as billing, marketing and underwriting. Hospitals are forced to maintain costly administrative staff to address bureaucracy and as a result administration spends 31%of health money belonging to Americans. Therefore, the new plan proposes that single-payer financing is the most effective approach of recapturing the wasted dollars. For example, there will be a possibility to save on paperwork, thereby getting enough funds to provide comprehensive coverage to all people in the country without paying anymore that it is currently done. Under the proposed system, no patient will ever face financial barriers against receiving proper care like deductive or co-pays, and everyone will regain free choice of doctor and healthcare facility. In addition, doctors will be at a position to regain autonomy over the care of their patients. Fee-for-service will be paid to doctors based on a negotiated formula. An operating expenses budget will be given to all hospitals. Financing of the single payer system will be achieved through the elimination of private insurers as well as recapturing their administrative wastes. There will also be replacement of premiums and out-of-pocket payments that are presently paid by both businesses and individuals with modest new taxes that will be based on paying ability (Woolhandler et al., 2003). Generally, funds for the insurance will come from different taxes. For example, the Tobin tax, which is a financial transactions tax will raise revenue and at the same time discourage speculative finance that resulted to the present crisis of the economy. The remainder of the revenue will originate from, taxes targeted at those individuals that are able to pay and will include those that will have high incomes as well as with incomes from property like capital gains, interests, dividends, rents and profits.

To transition from the current plan to the proposed optimal healthcare plan, every potential partner will be invited to specify those activities that will fit into the frame that will help in the realization of the set objective to achieve the expected outcomes. Transition will require agreement with the proposed new strategy, actions from the leaders as well as the general orientation towards change for everyone. These three variables are very important in influencing the stakeholders of the expected change to take actions in supporting the strategic shift aimed at improving healthcare in the U.S.

References

Blendon, R. J., Brodie, M., Benson, J. M., Altman, D. E., & Buhr, T. (2006). Americans' views of health care costs, access, and quality. The Milbank Quarterly, 84(4), 623-657.

Lane, R., Halcomb, E., McKenna, L., Zwar, N., Naccarella, L., Davies, G. P., & Russell, G. (2017). Advancing general practice nursing in Australia: roles and responsibilities of primary healthcare organisations. Australian Health Review, 41(2), 127-132.

Woolhandler, S., Himmelstein, D. U., Angell, M., & Young, Q. D. (2003). Proposal of the Physicians' Working Group for single-payer national health insurance. JAMA, 290(6), 798-805."