UHC: Accessible and Affordable Healthcare for Everyone - Essay Sample

Introduction

Universal healthcare coverage (UHC) is a program that allows people to use preventive, curative, and palliative care services with less financial hardships. It is governed by policy models and pay-plan strategies and plans. Some of the programs identified federal agencies include the Medicare costs, Health Care Expenditure, and contributions made by the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Through these agencies, therefore, the UHC aims to provide accessible and affordable healthcare to every person. However, it does not imply that everyone will be automatically covered through the scheme. The federal and state government funds most of the universal healthcare programs. Others are privately provided through purchase.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

The projected state of the program varies from one country to the other. According to the Mercatus study, the US has expected to spend $7.65 6trillion by 2031 (Stein, 2018). On the contrary, Stein, (2018) further showed that the figure was to drop to about $7.35 trillion as per Sander's plan. The changes would then create room for savings of about $2.1 trillion. The targets and plans will only be achieved if the Federal government takes a central effect in the expansion of the program. It also targets to increase its spending on healthcare (Tummers & Bekkers, 2014). The process would increase different coverage by adopting various insurance programs. Health insurance aims to charge fewer premiums and deductibles from its members.

According to Sanders' analysis, the federal government would spend $2.8 trillion more per year in providing healthcare coverage (Stein, 2018). However, this would affect the rates of taxes that people would be required to pay. UHC targets to address diverse healthcare needs by offering social protection for health. This was identified as the primary concern after analysis that showed the highest health risks faced by the most impoverished populations in the world. Thus the program targets every person. However, it aims to allow people with low-income access to healthcare coverage by sharing resources and spreading financial risks across a given population (Stein, 2018). It, therefore, aims to use budget revenues to meet insurance premiums, cost of vulnerable people. Rural areas were importantly targeted to allow specialized interventions for the stigmatized populations.

Nurses hold a primary position in achieving universal healthcare goals. The team forms a collaborative partnership to boost Primary Healthcare access and promote quality outcomes in preventing both communicable and non-communicable diseases. Achieving comprehensive health coverage also requires a nurse to expand their scope of professional practice through technology innovation to deliver healthcare needs (Sacristan & Dilla, 2015). The nursing team continues to work closely with other healthcare members to ensure that stigmatized populations are addressed. The team of nurses identifies diverse interventions for managing healthcare issues. Such issues vary from management treatment programs and community health services. While the team has various skills in supporting the program, it has also facilitated different programs in the past. For instance, a similar case has been noted with the introduction of various programs such as Medicare and Medicaid programs (Kickbusch, 2018). Nurses continue to play a significant role in ensuring that both targeted and non-targeted populations access healthcare services.

Some of the few models and input used to achieve UHC is to have primary healthcare services provided in remote areas and villages. The nurses have a role of designing different models applicable to diverse populations and healthcare needs. Some of the examples include the approach of reaching out to the rural areas and designing roles taken by different healthcare personnel. Another crucial area is the policy design governing the program (Kickbusch, 2018). While major policies are designed according to the world health organization's provisions, the role of nurses in taking this role would boost the design of the healthcare program. Example of such policies includes accreditation and regulation of the medical and nursing entities.

The program implementation strategy focuses on different management policies. Nursing professionals provide new approaches aimed at integrating the existing policies in delivering services according to the duties required by the UHC. The roles vary between designs due to dynamics linked to different populations. Similarly, access to resources reflects on the variance existing in program implementation.

Healthcare and management teams are required to facilitate goal achievement of the program. Nurses' physicians and specialists and insurance specialists would offer a good team for the implementation of the program (Stein, 2018). The reason for having the group is to develop a competitive strategy aimed at delivering desired goals based on the set timeline. It is essential to have good leadership and management of the program. Therefore, the efforts of the healthcare personnel should focus more on managerial roles. The program requires the management of different activities and ensuring that challenges are addressed with the right models.

Conclusion

Identifying required measures and approaches for launching the program will ensure that UHC goals are achieved. The program is a crucial component in achieving sustainable development and poverty reduction. In an attempt to improve the well-being of its citizens, the government needs to prioritize the roles played by nursing professionals. Nurses have diverse skills in managing programs by focusing on the required healthcare goals. Therefore, involving them as part of the implementation teams would boost the purposes of the program.

References

Kickbusch, I. (2018) Nurses will help turn the promise of universal health care into a reality. Stat News. Retrieved from: https://www.statnews.com/2018/11/23/nurses-deliver-promise-universal-health-care/

Sacristan, J. A., & Dilla, T. (2015). No big data without small data: learning health care systems begin and end with the individual patient. Journal of evaluation in clinical practice, 21(6), 1014. Retrieved from

Stein, J. (2018) Does Bernie Sanders's health plan cost $33 trillion - or save $2 trillion? The Washington Post. Retrieved from: https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/does-bernie-sanders-health-plan-cost-33-trillion-or-save-2-trillion/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/does-bernie-sanderss-health-plan-cost-33-trillion--or-save-2-trillion/2018/07/31/d178b14e-9432-11e8-a679-b09212fb69c2_story.html

Tummers, L., & Bekkers, V. (2014). Policy implementation, street-level bureaucracy, and the importance of discretion. Public Management Review, 16(4), 527-547. Retrieved from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14719037.2013.841978