For this project, you will select a state, national, or international policy in which the United States is involved to critically analyze, interview a stakeholder of the policy, perform substantial re

Running Head: POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS OF POLICY 1

Policy Recommendations for The Medicare Policy of 2019

Maria Williams

Southern New Hampshire University

05/24/2020

An Evaluation of the Policy’s Efficacy

The policy displays efficacy in addressing the target population’s needs by ensuring inclusion of the elderly and vulnerable groups. This group tends to be neglected by most healthcare-related services such as insurance and special treatment covers. The policy’s provision of the option of the elderly to remain in community addresses this group’s need of requiring to stay within their home environment and with their families; which makes old age much more bearable and less mentally disturbing as compared to staying in nursing homes.

Conversely, this value comes with a demerit that may water down the efficacy, as the elderly who choose to stay at home do not enjoy 24-hour care from nursing homes. They may therefore miss out on the detailed attention required in cases where their family members have to be away. Paying for Senior Care (2020) reports that participants are required to provide personal care for themselves and not wholly rely on the program for 24-hour care. The value of remaining within the community; albeit benefiting the target group-the elderly-may negatively affect the other population-the family-as they may be forced to either adjust their schedules, quit work or incur extra costs to hire a helper to stay behind on days they may be away.

Another element of the policy that meets the intended efficacy and the target group’s needs is its wide range of coverage-acceptance by 90% of America’s physicians, and availability in various Columbian states. This ensures a considerable part of the population is reached. It however has a downside as there are people who face inaccessibility based on their: location, like eligible elderlies who must be living within service areas of a PACE (Programs of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly) organization; preferred physician (in case they fall within the other 10%); status, such as immigrants; physical nature, such as the elderly disabled; and those who are compelled to pay an additional 20% to enjoy the policy. On the other hand, inclusion of all the services under one cover greatly enhances efficiency and ease of use.

Recommendations for Improvement

Among the key areas of improvement to better the policy is the geographical area coverage. The Commonwealth Fund (2020) supports the need for this improvement by stating that America’s health coverage remains fragmented, with wide gaps in insured rates across the population. As identified, only 90% of American physicians accept the policy’s cover, and there are rural areas that are not covered. The percentages may be viewed as negligible, yet they still hugely impact the total population and mortality rate. Additionally, immigrants and low-income earners are locked out due to stringent paperwork requirements, and the need to partly chip in for the cover to be activated, hence the need for improvement of these groups’ covers.

I would recommend an improvement through enrolment of more physicians, and their deployment to all corners of the country to cover all regions. Secondly, immigrants should be provided with the policy’s benefits, with less bureaucracy in documentation and verification-the cover should immediately take effects upon confirmation of meeting legal citizenship requirements. Another major improvement would be ensuring the services by partner physicians and institutions provide the highest quality healthcare to citizens. This can be achieved by attaching incentives and penalties to their payments, based on their service quality and incidences of malpractice. Goodwin (2018) also supports my recommendation by advising that quality measures are critical for improvement of patient satisfaction, and suggests a Pay-for-performance system which rewards providers for achieving or exceeding benchmarks.

I advocate for the policy, as I believe it is the key to not only improved healthcare, but also provision of the service to all, healthcare being among the basic needs a government owes its citizens. I strongly believe it already benefits the population, and with implementation of the recommendations and more in future; will upgrade to cater for all the various needs of the target population, improving the offering, lives, health and management of mortality rates.

References

Goodwin., K., B. (2018) .10 State Strategies for Improving Medicaid: Quality, Outcomes and The Bottom Line. National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).

Paying for Senior Care. (2020). Medicare PACE and LIFE programs: all-inclusive elderly care. https://www.payingforseniorcare.com/medicare/pace_medicare

The Commonwealth Fund. (2020). What is the role of government? International Health Care System Profiles-Health System Features. https://international.commonwealthfund.org/features/government_role/