Respond to the post below , incorporate challenges you would anticipate for the proposals, as well as arguments to overcome those challenges. It should be 200 to 400 words with atleast two references APA format :
The U.S. healthcare system needs to make changes in order to benefit
more people’s health. People are living longer with more co-morbidities
and chronic illnesses. However, we also see individuals at a younger age
living with the same chronic illnesses that could have been prevented
with proper health screening. The progression of these chronic illnesses
could be less rapid if individuals had the proper resources and quality
of care they need to live a good quality life. For many individuals, it
is too late to be receiving preventative care with their chronic
illnesses. Proper screening of symptoms, risk factors and
predispositions could have slowed or halted the progression of chronic
illnesses. However, individuals may not have had a choice if they do not
have proper access to affordable and quality healthcare.
If I could propose a plan, I would make it similar to the goals of the
ACA’s expansion of Medicaid. I would make this a requirement for all
states. Studies show that the ACA’s Medicaid expansion has prevented
thousands of premature deaths in low-income individuals annually
(Broaddus & Aron-Dine, 2019). In 2019, more than 2 million Americans
fell into the coverage gap due to ineligibility for Medicaid and the
state’s decision to not expand Medicaid (Garfield, Orgera and Damico,
2020). These are two million people who were unable to take advantage of
primary or preventative care. Without proper screening, individuals
miss the window of making lifestyle changes before the progression and
diagnosis of a chronic illness. This then focuses on more expensive
treatments to treat the disease rather than catching it early, resulting
in more healthcare costs annually.
I understand that this proposed plan is easier said than done. The idea
of Medicaid expansion has obviously been turned down before, primarily
in southern states. I would do my best to advertise the importance of my
Medicaid expansion-like plan. I would attempt to grasp the attention of
minorities and individuals of low-income. However, I would also attempt
to display findings in previous studies of the benefits of Medicaid
expansion in the north to those who disapprove of the idea. I would then
extend on that by illustrating the negative impacts everyone faces for
those who arrive to the emergency room to get treatment that could have
been prevented in primary care. Going to the emergency room for
treatments would result in increased healthcare costs annually and take
up a bed in the emergency room for someone who may really need it,
resulting in increased wait times. Accidents can happen at any time and
we all are getting older and watching out for loved ones who can get
sick at any time. I figure this might be the best approach to grasp the
attention of the opposers of a Medicaid expansion type of plan. I
imagine this will attract many democrat’s attention. However, this may
be more of a problem to attract the republicans vote. Again, I would
advertise as much as I could to bring awareness to republicans that
their healthcare and their loved one’s healthcare might be negatively
affected by not expanding this proposed plan. I hope that would result
in a lot of positive publicity, making my proposed plan sound the most
beneficial plan for most individuals.