Health Policy Issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Health Policy Issues - Essay Example Policies and programs put into action should focus on these issues. Results from studies done in the past have shown that health institutions or hospitals with adequate and appropriate nurse-to-patient ratio provides high quality care as compared to those with inadequate staffing levels. The cost of healthcare is very high today in the US. This has been attributed to the high cost s of living that consequently elevates the cost of available services. Some individuals have also been unable to pay for their healthcare insurance. Therefore, many Americans have limited access to healthcare as individuals ought to have health coverage for them to access affordable and high quality care. There are various policy issues that affect our aging population of the United States. One of the most significant issues of concern is long term care. It is evident all over the world that there has been a persistent or constant increase in the percentage of senior citizens particularly in the US. Such an increase leads to elevated requirements whereby more individuals in the senior citizens category necessitate continuing and long-standing care. There is therefore a need to design healthcare programs geared towards increasing the quantity and quality of institutionalized care as well as care practices at the community level. Another important health policy issue facing older people’s lives is access to healthcare. A large proportion of Americans have limited access to appropriate and affordable healthcare. This is attributed to the ever increasing rates of insurance cover. An individual is necessitated to pay up his/her health insurance during his/her younger and working ye ars (Pescosolido, 2010). Therefore, those individuals unlucky in life and hence are poor heave a lot of problems when they get old. Some of them lack healthcare insurance at this crucial and vulnerable stage in their lives. There are a few challenges that face the US