History of Healthcare and the Government, Research Paper Example

History of Healthcare in the U.S.

The government has been involved with the healthcare reform from 1945 to current by either passing, introducing, implementing or suggesting healthcare changes. The healthcare reform has footprints from every American presidential administration that supported changes in the healthcare system. In a great article by author Jerry W. Taylor called “A brief history on the road to healthcare reform: Truman to Obama” the author provides a literary masterpiece that provides an excellent chronologically history of each presidents contribution to healthcare reform. The follow discussion will be based on this detail healthcare reform historical perspective.

 Historical View

The history of healthcare in the United States starts in 1945 to 1953 under the President Harry Truman administration. President Truman proposed to a social movement to implement healthcare reform after WWII. Nevertheless, the healthcare reform never materialize on the “New Deal” agenda. The historians credit Truman with attempting to pass “Universal Healthcare Coverage” however the bill stopped in Congress (Taylor, 2014). Truman was not successful in bringing modernization to the healthcare industry however, his efforts increased the number of hospitals and address the growing healthcare needs. Truman efforts led to the enactment of the Hill-Burton Act was passed in 1946(Apel, 2009).The Eisenhower Administration implemented the a version of Medicare coverage from 1953-1961 implemented limited healthcare reform with the 1956 Military Medicare program was enacted which provide healthcare services and Social Security beneficiaries health coverage(Polsky,2015). The implementation of the Military Medicare that has evolved into the Tricare for Military personnel which stills resembles the 1956 enacted law.

The Kennedy Administration laid additional foundation for healthcare reform that later became Medicare in 1961 by implementing Medicare coverage for those age 65 and older called the King-Anderson bill(Taylor,2014). The Kennedy Medicare proposal called “The King-Anderson” bill was died in Congress, however it was Lyndon Johnson that passed in 1965.

Lyndon Johnson gained approval to pass the Medicare and Medicaid programs. President Nixon laid the foundation for Managed Care. In 1974, it was the Ford Administration that passed “The National Health Planning and Resources Development Act of 1974” to control healthcare cost. (Taylor, 2014).  President Ronald Regan in 1981 expanded Medicare coverage with the passage of the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage of 1988, which George H. Bush inherited in 1989. President Bill Clinton can be credit for protecting healthcare information by enacted and passing “The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act” in June, 1996. George W. Bush can be credited for enacting the largest expansion of the Medicare program in history called “Medicare Drug Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003”.

President Obama will be credited for enacting the PPACA March, 2010. There is much opposition and promoters of the Obama healthcare changes however, the need for change was needed and imminent but the PPACA may not be the answer to the rising cost of healthcare for American citizens. The best part about PPACA is all Americans have access to healthcare which is commendable but at what cost to the American people. In 1978, a family policy with full coverage and benefits was about $150.00 a month and today that same amount of family coverage is over $1500 per month. The purpose of the healthcare reform has gotten lost in translation that the people should benefit from these healthcare decisions not the private market.

State of Healthcare

The United States citizen is living in the worst healthcare reform era in history because the Obama law was implemented however the impact of the PPACA in 2010 will have serious catastrophic consequences. The bottom line American citizens cost to receive healthcare is rising and the cost of paying healthcare premiums has blown through the ceiling. The hospital care has become about healthcare dollars instead of the health of the patient. The visit to the hospital regardless of your health situation, the hospital provider will ask for up front funds before they performed the surgery. In addition, the out of pockets expense has quadrupled that the average American cannot afford the regular healthcare options and are forced to use emergency room or Urgent Care out pocket expenses.

The hospitals have so much control that some hospitals will not take Medicaid health insurance regardless of your health conditions. The idea of socialized healthcare systems such as Canada that has been rejected in the United States, however the healthcare system has start to resemble the socialize healthcare. The best example is in today’s United States healthcare system it could take months to get a specialist and weeks before you get a regular doctors visit.

The healthcare coverage prior to WWII was the infancy stages of healthcare reform however, the slowly gradual coverage of the United States citizen was good for healthcare reform. However, with each passing presidential candidate healthcare was changed however, the cost of healthcare continue to rise along with healthcare insurance premiums.  The private sector is dictating price even with the Obama incentive that provides low healthcare coverage for some Americans. The bottom of the ceiling increased from the first year to massive healthcare premiums increases and the American people lose their choice to keep quality insurance from their employers. The future appears to be bleak for healthcare reform because it takes years to undo or redo decisions made by any president administration. The best advice for Americans is start saving for a raining day that is going to last for a long time.

References

Apel, Susan B. 2009. “Access denied: assisted reproductive technology services and the resurrection of Hill-Burton.” William Mitchell Law Review 35, 412. LexisNexis Academic: Law Reviews, EBSCOhost (accessed October 20, 2015).

Polsky, A. J. (2015). Shifting currents: Dwight Eisenhower and the dynamic of presidential opportunity structure. Presidential Studies Quarterly, (1), 91.

Taylor, J.W. (2014). A brief history on the road to healthcare reform: From Truman to Obama. Retrieved from http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/news-analysis/a-brief-history-on-the-road-to-healthcare-reform-from-truman-to-obama.html