Discussion: Financing of Health Care

With coinciding concerns about health care costs and the
imperative to improve quality of care, health care providers and others face
difficult decisions in the effort to achieve an appropriate balance. Such
decisions often are addressed in the policy arena. How do policymakers evaluate
which health care services should be financed through government programs? How
do ethics-related questions and other considerations play into this evaluation
process? Is it possible to contain costs and provide accessible, high-quality
care to all, or is the tension between cost and care inherent in the U.S.
health care delivery system? These questions are central to health care
financing decisions in the United States.

For this Discussion, you will focus on the policy decision-making
process that determines what types of care are covered by public and private
insurers and the ethical aspects of such financial decisions.

To prepare:

Read the the case study “Economic Impact of States Declining
Medicaid Expansion” page 305 of the
Milstead text.

Review the information in the Washington Post article
“Review of Prostate Cancer Drugs Provenge Renews Medical Cost-Benefit Debate”
in the Learning Resources.

Consider how policy decisions currently are made about what
will and will not be paid for and what changes, if any, could improve the
process.

Reflect on how the Washington Post example illustrates the
tension between cost and care.

By Day 3

Post your analysis and assessment of the ethical and
economic challenges related to policy decisions such as those presented in the
Washington Post article. How does this type of situation contribute to the
tension between cost and care? Substantiate your response with at least two
outside resources.

By Day 6

Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different
days in one or more of the following ways:

Ask a probing question, substantiated with additional
background information, evidence, or research using an in-text citation in APA
format.

Share an insight from having read your colleagues’ postings,
synthesizing the information to provide new perspectives.

Offer and support an alternative perspective using readings
from the classroom or from your own research in the Walden Library.

Validate an idea with your own experience and additional
research.

Make a suggestion based on additional evidence drawn from
readings or after synthesizing multiple postings.

Expand on your colleagues’ postings by providing additional
insights or contrasting perspectives based on readings and evidence.