Healthcare Policy Essay

Healthcare is a complicated and often controversial aspect of policymaking. Healthcare systems can range from national healthcare that is government provided to private, market based insurance systems. Access, quality, and cost are some of the most important factors to consider in creating healthcare policy. When it comes to deciding what policies are funded and provided by the government, many people agree that public libraries, parks, and public education are all responsibilities of the government to provide. However, healthcare is one of the most widely debated aspects of public policy, especially in the United States. Healthcare is often debated to be either a right or privilege. The healthcare systems in the United Kingdom and the United States are examples of how healthcare has been viewed as both a right and a privilege through the policies and systems that govern each.
The United Kingdom’s healthcare system is a shining example of a national, government funded healthcare system. The government strives to provide accessible healthcare at virtually no cost at the time of treatment. The name of the UK’s healthcare system is the National Health Service, commonly referred to as the NHS. The NHS is managed and provided by the government. Decisions on healthcare policy and legislation are dictated through Parliament and carried out through the NHS. All citizens are required to pay into the system via general taxation, such as sales and income taxes. Patients do not pay premiums or co pays under the NHS. Patients do not receive a single bill because medical treatment is considered to be a public service. The NHS was created after WW2, and it was considered to be a way in which the UK would pave the way for future policy changes t...

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...e it would not find the necessary public support to meet much approval in Congress for passage. The increase in taxes, and inability to choose whether or not the citizen wants the coverage for healthcare they do not use, such as men having coverage for feminine healthcare, would result in distress amongst the greater population. As a result of the long-standing tradition of the private sector providing insurance to the majority population in the United States, national government healthcare would cause massive job loss and require a change in the infrastructure of the country to accommodate a nationally run government insurance program. Healthcare programs in any given country often meet much uncertainty when undergoing massive changes, but the general consensus in any country is often that the existing policies can use improvements for the population as a whole.