Healthcare

Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health

Healthcare issues are amongst the issues that dominate campaigns every election year. The three most current presidents of the United States have handled health issues differently to create policies and advocacy for improving population health. Focusing on George W. Bush, his campaigns in the first term were characterized by aiming to widen private plans in Medicare, adding a drug benefit through private plans, allowing small-business purchasing pools, interstate shopping: deductions, tax credits, and medical savings accounts for coverage and reforming medical malpractices. In his second term, Bush’s campaigns were characterized by aiming to provide premium tax deductions and tax credits for plans connected to health savings accounts, develop association health plans, and reform medical malpractices. Focusing on Barack Obama, his campaigns in the first term concerning healthcare were centered on developing private insurance and public plan, tax credits, and other subsidies to cover all Americans. Obama advocated for reducing drug prices and an increase of capacity (DeMarco & Tufts, 2014). In his second term, his primary healthcare policy was implementing the Affordable Care Act and expanding capacity. Lastly, focusing on Donald Trump, his health priorities have been repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act with health savings accounts and tax deductions. Trump also advocated for no preexisting condition denials for individuals possessing continuous coverage, interstate shopping, reforming medical malpractices, and converting Medicare to premium support and Medicaid to state block grants (Milstead, 2019).

An evaluation of the strategies applied by the three shows that they lack a collaborative approach to advocacy and promotion of healthcare (Lamb et al., 2015). I would engage all stakeholders in the healthcare sector to formulate policies and advocate for practices that will improve all Americans’ health. This would help ensure all support the formulated health policies.