Healthcare funding and coverage in the United States have been controversial issues. Massachusetts passed the nation’s first law that required residents to carry health insurance. What were some of the benefits of the law, and what were some of the challenges? How could the policy have been improved? Does the law take into account the population health approach to health and wellness? Why or why not? When responding to your classmates, evaluate their recommendations. Do you agree or disagree with their recommendations, and why? Respond to two peers Peer 1 Hey everyone and happy week 8! Massachusetts passed the nations first law that requires residents to have health insurance. With this new law comes benefits as well as challenges. Some of the benefits include the fact that people are more likely to go to the doctor for routine checkups. Preventative care is so important to maintain health or catch a disease early for an easier treatment. Another benefit is that insurance can prevent you from getting an unexpected expensive medical bill. A challenge that may come with requiring healthcare is penalties. Massachusetts can take fee’s out of residents income tax refund as a fee if they don’t have health insurance. Another challenge would be the increase in patient loads for physicians. With everyone now required to have insurance there is most likely an increase of routine appointments being made for preventative care increasing the amount of patients that these physicians care for. The policy can be improved by recruiting more physicians to Massachusetts to care for the increasing load of patients. The lower the physician to patient ratio, the better the care will be. I believe the law takes into account the population health approach to health and wellness because it pushes the residents of Massachusetts to get health insurance and receive health care. Because of this law, these residents now have a reason to go for routine checkups and receive preventative care. peer 2Hello everyone, We made it..hope you are all doing well!!The 2006 law required Massachusetts residents to have health insurance. It created a title wave that influenced other states to incorporate changes such as these. The hope was that residents would have health insurance to maintain health and prevent care. While the residents had the opportunity to obtain health insurance whether it was on their or or through their employer. The state required residents to have insurance to avoid any penalty fees for not being insured. However within the first few years the states of Massachusetts and the nation had a recession in late 2007. Which ultimately required funding and budget cuts to health programs, including wellness initiatives and prevention. While some parties stated that with this bill it seemed as public health services wasn’t as essential. And others argued that it tightened the economic times of the stated due to more than 97 percent of resident had insurance. During this time, Governor Mitt Romney hoped this would drive the state forward, which, in theory, yes, it can. However, there had been some setbacks. With the ever-increasing economy, some residents felt it was easier to pay the penalty if they didn’t qualify for the exemption due to the high cost of health insurance. While employer were mandated to provider fair and reasonable health insurance if they had ten or more employees. But some factors were missed, underline health issues which cost more for residents out of pocket, higher premium or higher cost of insurance. Along with transparency of the type of insurance and what is covered for individuals. Since than Obama care was initiated along with Massachusetts making changes to improve healthcare options for its residents. MA has increased coverage, transparency and access to care. Along with healthcare reform, and the cost and comprehensive coverage that will have an impact to improve prevent health for all residents of Massachusetts.
