Health Care Coverage to Low-Income Individuals, Essay Example

Which government programs provide health care coverage to low-income individuals?

According to Stanfield, Cross & Hui (2008), local and state government agencies provide various programs to assist economically deprived individuals with their healthcare.  These programs include drug abuse treatment, family planning, preventative health maintenance, food and nutrition, emergency care, pediatric healthcare, vision care and dental care. The three major government health insurance plans are Medicaid, Medicare and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). They are responsible for “financing research and individual health care for the elderly and indigent “ (Stanfield, Cross & Hui, 2008, p. 10).

Medicaid

Medicaid is run by each state and provides free healthcare coverage to families with low incomes and also people with disabilities. Services covered by Medicaid include well and sick doctor’s visits, hospitalization, vaccinations, prescription drug costs, vision care, dental care, hearing care and long-term care (USA.gov, n.d.).

Medicare

Medicare is also run by each state and provides healthcare and prescription drug coverage for people age 65 or older or with certain disabilities, including end-stage renal disease. Medicare covers costs for hospital and skilled nursing facility stays, home health care and hospice care, as well as doctor’s services (USA.gov, n.d.).

CHIP

The Children’s Health Insurance Program covers health costs for children in low-income families. Covered benefits include routine check-ups and health maintenance, immunizations, dental visits and care, lab costs, x-ray services costs and hospitalization.

Stanfield, Cross & Hui (2008) report that all three of these agencies fall under the federal agency that services health affairs, and that is the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS) and its principal unit is the Public Health Service (PHS) department. The PHS agency functions include assistance with substance abuse, mental health issues, disease control and health research.

What effect do these programs have on the overall quality of the delivery structures?

An article in The National Academies Press reports that public healthcare programs and costs negatively affect the healthcare delivery system.

The article points out that, governmental public healthcare is expensive and undermines the organizational structure of the delivery system. This basically causes flaws in the system as it relates to administrative burdens to healthcare providers and consumers. It is mentioned that state health departments often regulate insurance reimbursement rates and control how providers acquire new technology for important procedures because they affect state revenues.

So basically, it appears that governmental public healthcare is a burden in the pockets of privatized insurance and provider companies.

References

Committee on Assuring the Health of the Public in the 21st Century. (2002). The Future of the Public’s Health in the 21st Century: The Health Care Delivery System. The National Academies Press. Retrieved from http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10548&page=212

Health Insurance. Help for Difficult Financial Times. USA.gov. Retrieved from http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Health/HealthInsurance.shtml

Standfield, P.S., Cross, N., & Hui, Y.H. (2008). Introduction to the Health Professions 5^th Jones & Bartlett Learning.