How Foreign Policy Can Influence Health, Coursework Example

How important is it that healthcare/ community leaders Ensure the politician chosen supports the initiative 100%. Why?

It is important because political scientists contend that politicians play a significant role in the policy making process, especially, with regards to the healthcare industry. Healthcare in United States of America is a huge business. When healthcare policies are being designed by politicians their focus is on how to reduce the health care deficits so that profits could be maximized. As such, healthcare recipients must ensure that polices are designed to their advantage. For example, the managed care policies are not altogether beneficial to users of that healthcare provision. Quality of services seemed to be rationed or stratified according to the type of supplemental plans supporting the Medicare coverage. Persons who have not reached the age to receive Medicare and are Medicaid recipients face issues whereby certain health care services are not covered under the plans offered (Kickbusch, 2011).

Another reason for ensuring why users of health care and community leaders ought to ensure that politicians are 100% behind the polices that are beneficial to the society is for equitable distribution of healthcare services within their communities. For example, illegal immigration is a significant issue in many states and communities. In designing of the affordable care act these 11 million people were not included for any healthcare services. Some healthcare organizations refused to treat them. However, they are in the communities and their labor is exploited by employers (Hardee, Ashford, Rottach, Jolivet & Kiesel, 2012).

Importantly, they work either with false documents or a tax ID number. Social security, Medicare and taxes are removed from their wages, but  they have no healthcare coverage due to their true illegal status. These are flaws in policy making that do not address 100% of the health care concern within  communities. There are numerous more examples that could be cited in relation to disparities and inequitable distribution of health care offered to legal residents and American citizens (Hardee et.al, 2012).

What two major areas of concern do individuals share with health-related organizations and interest groups regarding policies and the process through which they are produced?

Two major concerns often shared with health related organizations relate to health care cost. The second is healthcare accessibility. United States of America is known to have the best quality of healthcare second to Japan with respect to technology. However, most people in the country do not access that type of care due to rationing or cost. It can be argued that the healthcare system in America is stratified. This might be a system inherited since the segregation era. People of color could have received one category of health care whereby other members of the society received a far higher quality. While segregation no longer exists in the law books of the this country, it seems that with the introduction of health insurance criteria for accessibility to basic healthcare many poor in the society simply cannot afford basic health care much more quality (Institute of Medicine (US), 2011).

To change these policies voices of individuals are seldom heard by politicians because the process through which a policy is changed does not accommodate individual lobbying. For example, this country supports a democratic process. As such, the first setp is collaboration because many persons in the society must express the same concern. Politician feel that if it is just one person’s problem then it is no problem. He/she could simply be opposing due to political differences. There isa lefal side to any concern and the law must be reviewed about this problem. An example when using 11million undocumented immigrants denial of health care in America what are the human rights violation concerning this policy? The same question should be asked concern in the healthcare rationing system in United States of America (Institute of Medicine (US), 2011).

Why are these concerns more easily addressed by organizations and groups than by individuals?

The other steps in the process pertain answering the ‘why’ organizations must be involved in approaching politicians to make the policy change. The second important step is finding out who is the government official or politician responsible for the policy. Allow him/her to be accountable for the concern. Thirdly a research must be conducted to know whether the concern is already being addressed in any pending legislation before moving forward beyond a congressman/woman. Fourthly is organizing a meeting as a group. This is where the integrity of being in an organization or organized impacts legislative changes in United States of America (Institute of Medicine (US), 2011).

The other two steps briefly outline designing a proposal for the healthcare change desired and presenting it to the eligible legislator as a group. Part of the democratic processes through which concerns are tendered in United States of America require signing of petitions, which in itself is an organized manner of approaching a community concern. The strength of petitions lay in the amount of signatures they contain. These signatures emphasize the magnitude of the problem (Institute of Medicine (US), 2011).  Consequently, it is always better to address a concern from the level of an organization or group rather individually.

References

Hardee,K. Ashford, L. Rottach,E, Jolivet,R., & Kiesel. R. (2012). The Policy Dimensions of. Scaling Up Health Initiatives. Washington, DC: Futures Group, Health Policy Project

Institute of Medicine (US)(2011).Healthcare systems complexities, impediments and failures.Washington DC. National Academy Press

Kickbusch, I. (2011). Global health diplomacy: How foreign policy can influence health. BMJ 342: d3154.