Role of the Federal Government in Health Care Policy Making
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Role of the Federal Government in Health Care Policy Making
Medicare and Medicaid are health insurance programs administered by the government in providing health coverage to its citizens. Medicare is a federal program providing health coverage for people above sixty-five years and above or under sixty-five years with disabilities. In contrast, Medicaid is a state program providing health coverage to people with low incomes. Both Medicare and Medicaid are essential to the government in that both provide health coverage to its citizens and serve two different groups of citizens at the same time. However, the duplication of both Medicare and Medicaid in providing health coverage to its citizens can impact the government in managing its resources as one can be eligible for both programs. Moreover, the duplication may favor one state than another since a state might be having more citizens required Medicaid resulting in uneven sharing of government resources (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2016). Federalism’s significant implication on healthcare policies is that different states will experience different healthcare coverage insurances since the state government cannot take away federal government rights (Gluck & Huberfeld, 2018). Besides, the federal government provides most of the financing on both Medicare and Medicaid; therefore, the state government has limited rights in enhancing its policies as they are dependent on the federal government.
References
Gluck, A. R., & Huberfeld, N. (2018). Health Care Federalism and Next Steps in Health Reform. The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 46(4), 841-845. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1177/1073110518821977
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS. (, 2016). Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Reform of Requirements for Long-Term Care Facilities. Final rule. Federal Register, 81(192), 68688. Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27731960/