Lguilford Lo7 Final

Trends in Health Policies
Learning Outcome 7 Evaluate contemporary principles of health policy,

laws, regulations, and costs in the US and other countries to better
understand the essential components of delivering health and nutrition
services in urban and other settings.
Principles of health policy can be viewed as a complicated system to
which many consumers are under informed. Is the idea of universal health
insurance a form of socialism that should not be inacted in our highly
capitalist society? Does the mandatory coverage of the Affordable Care Act
and the government subsidized Medicare and Medicaid make a difference in
the health of our nation? Do policies in healthcare prevent quality care more
than allow for it? Has the healthcare system in the US ever been proficient
at providing our citizens with the care they need when they need it at a cost
that is affordable to choose to access it? Questions about health care
coverage and its benefits have been prevalent since the late 1800s, when
the first group insurance was formed for factory workers. Trends in Health
Policies (SNHP 8000), attempts to shed some light on the questions that we
face concerning health care, as well as help us better understand the current
health system that we will all be entering as Registered Dietitians.
SNHP 8000 encouraged students, from many healthcare professions,
such as nursing, physical therapy, nutrition, and respiratory therapy to bring
our own ideals,morals, judgments, and skepticism into each class for the
purpose of discussion. SNHP 8000 was a hybrid online class, where we met
some in person but many times online where we debated for and against our
own classmates over trending healthcare issues, such as: the high costs of
healthcare vs. costs of continued increased technology. I found this subject
to stimulate a particularly interesting discussion. It seems as though we
ought to implement the latest technology to care for our patients, but at a
cost of how many billions of dollars per year? My stance focused on the fact
that the healthcare industry has put so much effort into fixing patients with
new and exciting technologies, such as stents and the artifical pancreas and
little on prevention of the diseases that cause the need for these
technologies. We need to put more money towards prevention to reduce the
need for these types of technnologies. Education and a high public media
presence for initiatives in the prevention of diseases such as Heart Disease
and Type 2 Diabetes is a way to attack the problem at its root. Discussions,
such as these, were the core of our class. Being from all different healthcare
professions, we all had different outlooks which allowed for a wider spectrum
of opinion to be heard throughout the semester.
Working on projects with other healthcare profession students
encouraged me to see that I am not alone in feeling less than adequate in
the area of understanding our healthcare system. I learned a lot from
hearing students from other countries share how healthcare works in their
country versus the healthcare system in the US. Having the freedom to
choose your doctor or have a certain procedure is much more limited in
other countries that have forms of socialized medicine. Hearing this made
me realize how important it is for our country to have our best intrests in
mind if our government regulates health care. Because of this class, I
develeoped a higher interest in the politics of our country. I believe over the
years I have been less active than I ought to be in politics. Now that I will be
working in the industry and have taken SNHP 8000, I feel that it is highly
important to advocate for Registered Dietitians and their role as the experts
on nutrition in healthcare. Laws and regulations that comprise the policies
that govern our profession must be constructed with consideration and
prevention should be the first line of defense against disease. If nutrition
services are ever going to be covered on insurance plans, Registered
Dietitians and lobbyist must proove that working with an RD as a
preventative method will only decrease healthcare spending in the long run.
If I want to see the day come when it is mandatory, not elective, for private
insurers to cover these services, then I need to be actively advocating for my
profession. I have learned through textbook reading, quizzes, and writing
assignments in SNHP 8000 that costs are usually at the root of all policies.
The costs for the insurance companies would assumingly be transferred to
the policy holders, and nobody wants to pay out more than they already do.
As I mention in the attached graded assignment , if you have to choose
between higher co-payments and food for the week, you will probably not
choose to go to the doctor for needed care. High copays can add up and
many will not utilize their benefit because of having to choose between
seeing the doctor or feeding their family. As I studied, I learned that about 3
trillion was spent on healthcare in 2014, and that number is rising
exponentially. For the cost of healthcare to ever go down, people are going
to need to become healthier. By putting funds into preventative methods of
healthcare, those numbers can be reduced. It will not happen overnight, so
government and private healthcare companies will have to sacrifice in one
area of the budget to meet the needs of the people for long term
improvement of the countries health. This is much easier said than done,
but I do have faith that with the right people in office, we can make some
headway.
In summary, the essential components of delivering health and
nutrition services to those in urban and other settings are policies that
enforce the prevention and treatment of disease. There should be a focus
put on highly effective healthcare teams in place, as well as highly effective
preventative care in place. As I mentioned in my philosophy statement,
Recognition of the benefits from medical nutrition therapy is an important component to
preventing diet related disease and is instrumental for achieving improved overall health in our
society. We must use the best tools possible to do the best job at improving the health of our
society. I believe among those tools are skilled doctors paid appropriately for their services,
insurance companies with their clients best interests in mind, and the ability for those with skills
in preventative care, such as registered dietitians and primary care physicians, to be paid for their
services accordingly. A compulsory healthcare system in place can improve health disparities in
the U.S. if it is accomplished with truly Affordable Care in mind. As I enter the field of
dietetics, I plan to use what I have learned about trends in healthcare policy by voting for
officials with agendas that benefit the people. These agendas should include preventative care
coverage and better coverage overall for the citizens.

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Trends in Health Policies

Learning Outcome 7 Evaluate contemporary principles of health policy,

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