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Please reply to the 2 following discussion post make it sound personal please
APA format with intext citation
150-to-200-word count
2 scholarly references per post must be different references for each post
Plagiarism free and Turnitin receipt
Andee-M
Discussion # 1
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A health policy that is often at the forefront of thought for Americans is healthcare. Healthcare and the cost of healthcare is an issue that affects every member of the United States. According to the Physician Health Foundation (2013), The United States spends more than any other country in the world on healthcare, and Americans worry about the cost of medical care more than other countries. Some believe that access to healthcare is a right, while others believe it is not. Healthcare is a complex, multifaceted issue, that brings up concerns about cost, quality, and availability. Another concern is the availability of insurance, and coverage of pre-existing conditions (Evans E. & Fleming K., 2019).
The “Lower Health Care Costs Act” (S. 1895) was introduced in the summer of 2019, and the purpose of this bill is to lower health care costs for Americans. This bill plans to make changes to coverage, costs, and services (U.S Congress, n.d.). Currently, this bill has been reported to the Senate and has been placed on the legislative calendar.
If passed, this bill will make positive changes in the lives of many Americans. One way that will be accomplished is by ending unexpected medical bills from outside providers that are not covered under your insurance policy. This can lead to extraordinarily high health care costs. This bill will require health insurers to make out-of-pocket costs accessible to enrollees, allowing them to be aware of possible costs in advance (U.S. Congress, n.d.). Another way that this bill can address the issue of health care is by addressing the drug price increase. The cost of medications can vary based on availability and generic or brand name. This bill will revise certain requirements to expedite generic medication approval and related costs (U.S. Congress, n.d.). The passing of this bill will create openness in the healthcare industry, reducing the financial load on patients.
Discussion # 2
Fabioula U
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The potential for a golden era of evidence-based policymaking has never been greater. The increased availability of data, new investments in rigorous research, and a growing public focus on results have given policymakers expanded abilities to determine whether public investments achieve their intended outcomes (Cairney & Oliver, 2017). Also, it has resulted in policymakers making informed choices based on evaluations of social costs and benefits. Therefore, policy and practice rooted in evidence can result in better use of taxpayer dollars and better health outcomes (Cairney & Oliver, 2017).
The selected health policy is the Health Care Improvement Act of 2021. This bill is in the first stage of the legislative process (GovTrack.us, n.d). The legislation was introduced into Congress on February 22, 2021, by U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner. This bill aims to amend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to reduce health care costs and expand health care coverage to more Americans (GovTrack.us, n.d). The COVID-19 pandemic caused millions of Americans to lose their employer-provided insurance (Rudowitz et al., 2020). This is unfortunate because an alarming number of Americans already lack health insurance. Therefore, it is the appropriate time to deploy tools to meet the demands of the US health care system.
I believe there is an evidence base to support the Health Care Improvement Act of 2021. Research has shown that the United States has one of the highest costs of healthcare in the world (CMS, 2019). Whereas the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) project that by 2028, such costs will climb to $6.2 trillion, or about $18,000 per person, and will represent about 20 percent of GDP (CMS, 2019). Furthermore, the covid pandemic-induced under- and unemployment in 2020 had led Medicaid and CHIP enrollment to increase by more than 6 million people (Rudowitz et al., 2020). All this information supports the Biden administration’s effort to reinforce the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
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