Healthcare Policies and Politics

Healthcare Policies and Politics Name Institutional Affiliation Healthcare Policies and Politics Introduction Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) has defined equitable health care as a program that ensures equal opportunity to all individuals to live healthy lives possible (Nickitas, Middaugh, & Feeg, 2020). It is essential to prepare nurses with the required competencies to become leaders in the formulation of health policies. As the role of nurses continue to evolve, advance practice registered nurses (APRN) or nurse leaders can advocate for health equity, social justice, and ethical policies within healthcare systems. This paper explores the limits of the market in healthcare provision and why the federal government often leads to the fragmentation of healthcare provision. The paper also identifies what makes policy alternatives political, physicians and corporate interests, and reasons why nurses and other healthcare providers are beginning to fine themselves with better stature in healthcare system. 1 What are the limits of the market in the provision of health services? There are a few limits of the health service market as detailed herein. The first and most significant limitation is the unpredictable nature of the health crisis. Individuals suffer a variety of ailments, some of which most health facilities are ill-equipped to handle (Nickitas, Middaugh, & Feeg, 2020). This results in individuals seeking urgent treatment in other far-reaching markets for treatment. According to Horwitz and Nichols (2011), the health market has proven incapable of duly anticipating and serving certain health issues due to the aforementioned unpredictable nature of health. Another limit is in regard to government facilities depending on funding from the federal government to supplement the treatment of people, a large number of whom do not receive proper treatment as a result of insufficient resources at the health facilities at an affordable rate. 2 Why does the federalist system of government result in the fragmentation of healthcare delivery? This fragmentation of healthcare delivery in the United States is caused by the federalist system which has introduced a mismatch in the provision of healthcare. Individuals find themselves accessing various aspects of their health by enlisting the help of several medical professionals consulted separately. This fragmentation of service, though it can provide the needed treatment, occurs in a less efficient way (Schmid et al, 2010). Individuals usually find themselves in need of a project manager to coordinate all the aspects of treatments since they are usually in emotional, financial and physical distress during the time of treatment. 3 What makes policy alternatives political in nature? Some policy alternatives like health insurance are political in nature due to their interaction with c...