Health Policy
Name
Institution
Health Policy
1. Information
Source: The New York Times
Date: 29 August 2014
Title: Medicare will Settle Short-Term Care Bills
Author: Reed Abelson
2. Purpose of the article
The article describes the government’s solution, through Medicare, to settle the medical bills for short-term care that have arisen. The bills have caused a rift between the government and the hospitals. The government accuses hospitals of inflating the bills, which amount to hundred million dollars, by overcharging patients for small operations. On the other hand, the hospitals insist that they are charging correctly and they compare the contractors to bounty hunters who are paid for identifying any incidents of over billing
3. How it pertains to health policy
The article pertains to health policy as it shows the conflicts existing between the government and hospital administrators, which may affect the patients’ health. There is a need for the government and the hospital administrators to agree on a workable solution concerning how hospitals charge their patients. Such issues are a matter of public concern and they are important in the formation of health policy. They will enable the policy makers to determine how to counter the existing problems as this might affect the delivery of health services.
4. Aspect of politics embedded in the article
Congress and other legislatures have criticized Medicare’s decision and this signifies the politics that surround health policy decisions. In some cases, legislators do not agree on all the issues as they tend to have different ideas of how the certain problems out to be solved. They have different ideologies and this directs their response towards the existing problem. Some of the legislators do not think that Medicare should have taken such a decision
5. Research question from the article
Does government interference in
health policy decisions affect the delivery and quality of healthcare provided?
Reference:
Abelson, A. (2014, August 29). Medicare will settle short-term care bills. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/30/business/medicare-will-settle-appeals-of-short-term-care-bills.html?ref=health&_r=0