Federalism in Public Health Essay
olade ogunleye
RE: Initial Discussion Post – Week 8
COLLAPSE
The New York Essential Plan (NY State policy) and the Affordable Care Act (Federal policy) are examples of two policies that address similar needs but passed at two levels of government. The Essential Plan is a NY health insurance program for state residents that do not qualify for Medicaid or the Child Health Plus Program. NY State established this program to fill the health insurance coverage gap that many residents and families have since they do not qualify for Medicaid but cannot afford full premium coverage (Gottfried, 2018). On the other hand, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) extended healthcare coverage to millions of uninsured Americans. The act required that all Americans obtain health insurance and barred insurance companies from denying coverage or charging extra to individuals with pre-existing conditions (McIntyre & Song, 2019). Federalism in Public Health Essay
The duplication of the two policies has the advantage of increasing the number of NY residents who have health insurance coverage. Besides, the duplication has made healthcare more accessible to low-income families. The NY State of Health Essential Plan also features the same ten health essentials as the ACA, and this duplication has ensured that NY residents have access to essential health care (Gottfried, 2018). The duplication of the two health policies reflects the implication of federalism since it promotes the political participation of policymakers at the state level (Gluck & Huberfeld, 2018). State policymakers established that the low- or no-cost Essential Plan would help overcome barriers to purchasing health insurance. Federalism in Public Health Essay
The Federal government should deeply be involved in healthcare policymaking by creating policies that ensure equal access to healthcare and high-quality health care across all states. Policymakers at the federal level should develop healthcare policies with input from other professionals, which will ensure all Americans across the country have equal access to healthcare regardless of their socioeconomic status (Gluck & Huberfeld, 2018). Besides, the federal government should be involved in coordinating and overseeing all healthcare policies enacted at the local and state levels. For instance, the Federal government enacted the ACA, which ensured that all Americans have access to essential healthcare services and increased the number of insured Americans in all states. Federalism in Public Health Essay
References
Gluck, A. R., & Huberfeld, N. (2018). What is federalism in healthcare for. Stan. L. Rev., 70, 1689.
Gottfried, R. N. (2018). Single-Payer Plan for New York Could Lead the Country. American journal of public health, 108(4), 452–453. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2017.304301
McIntyre, A., & Song, Z. (2019). The US Affordable Care Act: Reflections and directions at the close of a decade. PLoS medicine, 16(2), e1002752. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002752 Federalism in Public Health Essay