Paper Example on State Health Policy

Introduction

Managing healthcare has proven to be a major headache in the United States over a long period. Some states such as New York have struggled over a long time to improve the quality of healthcare but their efforts have been futile as they remain among the worst nationally. However, other states have taken measures to ensure its people get quality healthcare by using the available funds from the federal and state governments efficiently. The sad state of affairs in some states may be attributed to poor management of the available resources or inefficient human resource management that leads to poor recruitment of healthcare practitioners. For a long time, Pennsylvania has been better than Florida and New York when it comes to the provision of quality healthcare.

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Florida Health Care

The table above reveals that Florida has a total population of 19,731, 000 which is greater than the two other States (KFF, 2017). Also, it has a higher population in comparison with the other states. However, its ranking is more favorable compared to New York. This is despite the fact that the State has a median household income that is lower than New York. The total number of insured persons in Florida is 85% of the total population. A majority of the population are insured by their employers followed by Medicaid and Medicare plans. The rest of the population consists of uninsured individuals who make up 15% of the population. The 15% depends mainly on their household income when seeking medical services.

The total expenditure in Florida is $160,624 million (KFF, 2017). This is lower than New York but higher than Pennsylvania. Florida has taken steps aimed at ensuring the available finances are utilized efficiently in order to provide the best healthcare services to the population. However, there have been challenges that have consistently led to its ranking amongst the worst nationally when it comes to healthcare. The fact that Florida is run by Rick Scott, who has experience as a hospital executive has not prevented Florida from ranking among the worst. Notably, Scott's company benefitted fraudulently from Medicaid and Medicare in the '90s hence it may not come as a surprise that Florida is ranked among the worst in healthcare provision (Benitez, 2015).

The average cost of health care per resident is lower than New York and Pennsylvania. This means that with more individuals being insured, the burden on the residents has reduced as most of the medical bills are catered for by the insurance companies and employers. The federal Medicaid expenditure is $13, 284 million which is lower compared to the other states. Also, the federal government has allocated $47,697 million to Medicare which is higher than the other states.

New York Health Care

New York also ranks among the worst providers of health services nationally. The State has a population of 19, 679,400 (KFF, 2017). This population is almost similar but still slightly lower than Florida's population. The poor ranking can be attributed to the fact that it is difficult to provide quality healthcare services to such a high population. The median household income is $61,437. This is higher than the other states. A higher annual income may mean that most people have stable sources of income hence they can pay for health insurance. It can also imply that they have good jobs that provide insurance to employees (Commonwealth, 2017). This has led to a higher percentage of insured people at 92%. The employers and other similar parties are more willing to provide insurance to their employees compared to other states.

The percentage of uninsured people in the population is 8% (KFF, 2017). These people depend on their disposable income when accessing health care. Depending on their annual disposable income for such services is risky because it is impossible to determine the magnitude of the healthcare needs that would befall individuals at any particular time of the year (Benitez et al., 2015). The total expenditure on health in New York is $192, 809 million. This figure is higher than the other States and exceeds Pennsylvania by quite a margin. The expenditure is understandable considering the total population of New York is very high. The federal Medicaid and Medicare expenditures are also higher than the other States.

Pennsylvania HealthCare

Pennsylvania is the best ranked among the three States. With a population of 12,627,100, it has a median annual income of $60, 979 (KFF, 2017). Only New York has a higher figure. It is clear that the higher quality of health care is partly attributed to the relatively low population of the town. It is manageable to use the available resources to take care of the needs of this population. However, the lack of maximization in healthcare provision can also be attributed to the mortality rates due to drugs and heart diseases which are prevalent in the State (Commonwealth, 2017). Pennsylvania has failed in providing healthcare that would ensure its people live longer while they have such conditions. On a positive note, the State has been among the best nationally in dealing with alcohol-related problems and Alzheimer's disease.

Insured people are approximately 92% of the population, which leaves the rest of the population uninsured. The lack of insurance may be due to a significant number of people living in rural settings. These people either see no need to access health insurance or their lack of insurance is due to ignorance. The federal Medicaid expenditure in Pennsylvania is $118, 419 million and the federal Medicaid is $27,985 million, it is clear that these amounts are lower compared to those provided to the other states. This speaks more about the fact that the healthcare condition in Pennsylvania is not as dire as the other states hence the expenditure is lower.

Affordable Healthcare

The nation can provide equal and affordable healthcare through the adoption of a pragmatic approach. This means that the nation should resist radical restructuring that has contributed to the failure of many states and instead carry on with the reality of each State's healthcare system (Benitez et al., 2015). The States should strive to maximize on the benefits of combining Medicare and Medicaid with other insurance programs to yield an affordable and competitive insurance market.

Conclusion

Overall, it is clear that Florida has been far behind Pennsylvania despite providing slightly better healthcare compared to New York. The populations of New York and Florida are far larger than that of Pennsylvania and this may be one of the factors that make it better in providing health care. Florida has suffered when it comes to healthcare despite having a former hospital executive at the helm of State leadership. He has been faced with allegations of corruption in the past hence it comes as no surprise when the state fails to perform in healthcare. These States need to collaborate with private and public entities to ensure that the quality of healthcare improves. This will be important if they are to improve in the national ranking.

Reference

Benitez, J., Coplan, B., Dehn, R. W., & Hooker, R. S. (2015). Payment source and provider type in the US healthcare system. Journal of the American Academy of PAs, 28(3), 46-53.

Commonwealth. (2017). Health Care Delivery System Reform | Commonwealth Fund. Retrieved from https://www.commonwealthfund.org/programs/health-care-delivery-system-reform

KFF. (2017). Federal and State Share of Medicaid Spending. Retrieved from https://www.kff.org/medicaid/state-indicator/federalstate-share-of-spending/?dataView=1$?tTimeframe=0&sortModel=%7B%22colId%22:%22Location%22,%22sort%22:%22asc%22%7D

KFF. (2017). Health Care Expenditures by State of Residence (in millions). Retrieved from https://www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/health-care-expenditures-by-state-of-residence-in-millions/?currentTimeframe=0&sortModel=%7B%22colId%22:%22Location%22,%22sort%22:%22asc%22%7D