Improving Health Status Through the Affordable Care Act - Essay Sample

Introduction

The health and well-being in a community is determined by the willingness of the community to respond to the health needs of the specific community. Without the goodwill, it may become impossible to improve the health situation. The Affordable Care Act is a program whose main role is to ensure that the health statuses of people remain addressed. The policy plans to develop a framework within each community to address a comprehensive approach to offering as well as improving health. It also seeks to assess the health needs of a community and determine its resources and assets to promote health and implement a strategy for action.

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Conservative Party's Stand

The Democrats have held a strong opinion on the health care of the Americans. By proposing and later implement the Affordable Health Care Act, the Democrats were communicated that health is an important issue that should be accessed by all people. Affordable Health Care Act ensures that every person has some basic security in health care.

There is need to continue funding the AHCA since it has helped reduce the health care costs. More than before, many people, even the poor, are able to access medical services with a lot of ease (Kindig, 2015). This is possible because the people are provided with a health insurance. Due to the care given to expectant mothers at child birth, ACA has helped reduce cases of birth mortality. It is estimated that more than 29.3 million people are on ACA and the number should be increased by proper funding of the program (Blackman, 2013). ACA makes it possible for people to acquire affordable health insurance outside their places of work and this will make it possible for people to take risks and also start a business. This will help them retire when they are ready and also take time out of the labor to be able to take care of their families. Therefore, it important that ACA continues to be funded for proper access to healthcare.

More funding for ACA must be aimed at making more people receive the insurance. Besides, the idea and motive behind ACA should be so cemented that even future democratic leaders will see the sense of supporting it. If well-funded, ACA is bound to cover a larger population and with time, all the citizens could get enrolled in ACA.

Liberal Party's Stand

The Republicans have expressed differing opinions on the ACA. While some are in its support, others feel that the entire ACA should be overhauled. President Trump's administration has promised to cut down the funding of ACA. This is a move that is likely to negatively affect the millions of people who are dependent on ACA. Cutting down the funding means that more than 30 million people are likely to lose support for their medical services (Blackman, 2013). ACA supports both the rich and the poor; the young and the old; women and children. It makes it possible for people from low income families to be able to access medical services (Baggott, 2011). Thus, cutting funding for this program would mean that this large population is will be cut out from accessing medical services.

Republicans should vow to support funding for the ACA since it comes with a lot of benefits. One of the major benefits of ACA is that it improves the quality of life by making as many people as possible access medical services. Through the insurance given by ACA, it is possible for one to access services such as counseling services, critical immunizations, and numerous health screening and other services at no extra cost. The plan also helps children in a great way. Children up to the age of 26 are allowed to stay in their parent's plans and access medical services at a reduced cost (Blackman, 2013). The ACA also has improved the mental health and substance use by introducing coverage for such disorders. This is a coverage that can be accessed by individuals, families as well as small businesses. Without ACA, such coverage would not be available. This is the reason that Republicans ought to realize the importance of ACA and support it fully by providing adequate funding.

The Republican's agenda on health is to improve the health conditions of people by offering the best medical services and at a lower cost. Instead of seeking to develop a new framework which could take a lot of time to implement, the Republicans should adopt the already existing ACA and push it forward. This way, it is the Americans who will benefit more. By and large, any discussion on health care must be aimed at increasing the funding for ACA.

Conclusion

In conclusion, health care is an important aspect of any nation that has the prospects of developing. Proper access to proper health care is one of the important aspects of a healthy citizenry. As such, both Conservatives and Liberals should ensure that proper funding is provided to ACA to make the program penetrate all the corners of the country.

References

Baggott, R. (2011). Public Health Policy and Politics, Second Edition. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Blackman, J. (2013). Popular Constitutionalism and the Affordable Care Act. Public Affairs Quarterly, 27(3), 179-197. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/43574519

Kindig, D. A. (2015). Can There Be Political Common Ground for Improving Population Health? Milbank Quarterly. https://nls.ldls.org.uk/welcome.html?ark:/81055/vdc_100025141735.0x00005c.