1
HCA- 255 Discussion Questions
Week 1 D 1
According to the World Health Organization a policy encompasses a broad range of laws, guidelines,
regulations, and habits necessary to maintain the health infrastructure. Identify a policy proposed or enacted
at the federal or state level. Summarize the policy and discuss how the measure works to support the health
infrastructure.
Health care policies are a necessary process to ensure to effectiveness of the health care industry. These policies are
typically plans that turn into laws and regulations to achieve futuristic health care goals within society. The policy I
chose to discuss is The Affordable Care Act (ACA) which went into effect as a federal law in 2010. The ACA
focuses on the expansion of health care coverage and insurance, the improvement of health care delivery and lastly,
the control of health care expenditures. “. A major contributor to the passage of the act was the continued rapid rise
in health care expenditures and the projections regarding the growth in those expenditures.” (Hicks, Jacobs, 2014)
One issue that seems to be a continuous struggle within the health care system is the rising costs which is a result of
many different factors such as increase in chronic illnesses, fewer insurance options, and advancements in
technology. The ACA helps to ensure health care infrastructure because its main goal is to keep the cost of health
care steady by expanding health insurance. The reason this maintains the infrastructure and keeps costs lower is
because there is more competition which means that other insurance companies are forced to lower the costs of their
premiums. With that being said, this can also help to decrease the current rise of chronic illnesses because more
people are applicable to afford health insurance since the competition among them cause’s prices to decrease.
Week 1 D 2
Now that you have practiced researching health policies, describe your experience. Was the information
readily accessible? Were you able to fully understand the intent and scope of the policy? What would be
needed in order for the general public to understand this information and become involved in the policy-
making process?
Professor Conway,
After completing my first discussion question in regards to health care policies, I would have to agree with Brooke
that it seems as though the information is out there but semi hard to find. While researching my topics, I had an idea
that I would be writing about the Affordable Care Act (ACA) because I was once opposed to it until I did my own
further research. With that being said, I was hoping to find information to discuss other policies that could
potentially interest me just as much as the ACA. Although, I did come across a few articles in which I became
familiar with new concepts, but I did not feel as though I had a competent amount of information to discuss them to
the extent of which I was able to do with the topic I did choose to discuss. So in regards to this discussion, I do feel
that the information formed around health care policies is very limited and can be quite confusing especially to those
who may not be familiar with the health care industry.
I believe that in order to provide a better understanding of health care policy to the general public would be to start
off by putting or explaining the policies in layman's terms versus the typically health care/ political terms that it is
described as now. Secondly, I would like to see not just the policy written out, but having more articles and sources
readily available to complete appropriate research on past, current, and futuristic health care policies.
Reference:
Hicks, L. L., & Jacobs, P. (2014) Economics of Health and Medical Care (6th ed.). Burlington, Massachusetts. Jones
& Bartlett learning, LLC.
Week 2 D 1
, 2
Health policy is profoundly influenced by value-driven issues that cut across the entire U.S. policy landscape.
View the "Stakeholders" multimedia presentation:
http://lc.gcumedia.com/zwebassets/courseMaterialPages/hca255_stakeholders.php
Describe the concerns presented by two of the stakeholders and discuss your position (i.e., for or against) in
the current debate regarding value-driven health policy.
After reviewing the stake-holders presentation I felt that some of the viewpoints raised many questions for me but
lacked the information for me to provide a position or opinion in that area. I did come across two stake-holds in
which I found interest in as they are areas that I have completed my own research on in other classes.
First the Health care Administrators Dialog which goes into detail regarding employees who must handle declining
reimbursements, charity medical care, and paying competitive salaries to other employees. The main concern
depicted for this dialog was the amount of uninsured people that are unable to pay for costs at a physician's facility
so they utilized the emergency room as a medical necessity for health care services. I do agree that this is an issue
that has been around in health care for quite some time and believe that this is one of the most important issues that
needs to be addressed. Although it is not favored by many people, I feel that transitioning the United States health
care system into a Universal Health care model could greatly benefit us and everyone who is currently uninsured. By
applying the Universal model, everyone would have the opportunity to have insurance which would mean that
individuals who are left utilizing the emergency room for medical necessities can now seek medical advice from
primary care physicians. In turn, this helps to create less busy emergency rooms and potentially helps to improve the
health quality in currently uninsured individuals.
The next dialog that I found interest in was that of the Nurses. This discussion focused on fixing the health care
system by applying preventative care and ensuring that the health of individuals increases in quality to not only
implicate a healthier community but to also prevent the cost of health care to continue to increase. Once again I have
with the nurses’ statements that having people take preventative measures to ensure a healthier community can
improve that health care system greatly. I believe that individuals who seek out medical advice from their primary
care physicians ultimately decrease their chances of becoming sick or contracting diseases which can also lead to
less unnecessary trips to the hospital which in turn helps the rising cost of health care to remain at a more steady
level or a slower increase. I personally believe that it should be a mandatory requirement for individuals to attend a
yearly check up with a primary care physician.
Week 2 D 2
What is your personal position on the HHS Policy for Women's Preventative Services Coverage? Does the
HHS policy infringe upon religious liberties outlined by the U.S. constitution? Why or Why not? Provide
rationale for your position.
NOTE: Rulings can be found at the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance oversight:
http://www.cms.gov/CCIIO/Resources/Fact-Sheets-and-FAQs/womens-preven-02012013.html
After reviewing the article and doing some further research my personal beliefs in regard to the HHS policy for
Women’s Preventative Service Coverage is that there are more benefits than just avoiding pregnancy in regards to
the utilization of contraceptives. These benefits can range from assisting women with iron deficiency, regulating
their cycles, and reducing the risk of cysts and cancers that can be found in both the breasts and the ovaries.
Considering how many benefits there are to using contraceptives, it would seem quintessential to make these
products more readily available and reasonably priced to all females.
On the other hand, in regards to religion it is very apparent as to why they are against contraceptive usage. Religious
views around preventive services are that it not only promotes sex before marriage but that is also prevents the
, 3
natural God given process of conceiving a child. From my personal experiences of being raised in an extremely
religious Christian household, I was taught not to engage in sex prior to marriage but due to complications of my
cycle, I was put on birth control in an effort to reduce pain and regulate my body which till this day has helped me
tremendously. From experiences of a friend who was raised in an extremely strict Mormon household, she was also
taught not to engage in sexual activity until after marriage but her family placed contraceptives in the same category
as abortion and was prevented from using any type of contraceptive or birth control. With that being said, each
religion has their own beliefs in which individuals follow if they categorize themselves with a religious viewpoint.
The United States Constitution states that “congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” (U.S Constitution) When it
comes to the employers, implying that a religiously ran company must provide contraceptives to women even
though it is against their beliefs does appear to infringe upon the religious liberties that are portrayed in the United
States Constitution because it is prohibiting the exercise of their beliefs in a company ran on religion.
References
U. S. Constitution, Amendment 1. Retrieved from https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/first_amendment
Week 3 D 1
View the video "How a Bill Becomes a Federal Law":
http://www.annenbergclassroom.org/page/the-legislative-process-how-a-bill-becomes-a-federal-law
View "The Iron Triangle of Healthcare" multimedia presentation:
http://lc.gcumedia.com/zwebassets/courseMaterialPages/hca255_triangle.php
Summarize the legislative process and describe the relationship between cost, quality, and access depicted by
the Iron Triangle.
After reviewing the video and the diagram, I have learned the following in regards to Bills to Law processes and
“The Iron Triangle of Health care”.
The process of bills becoming laws is a lengthy process but always begins as a new idea. Anyone is liable to submit
an idea but only members of congress are able to write the bill. Once the idea is submitted, congress develops the
text of the bill in order to present it to the House, where the first reading occurs. After this, the bill is then sent to a
committee who has jurisdiction over that specific area for review or also known as a markup. During this step, the
committee will debate and potentially makes amendments to the bill at which point a vote to accept or deny the
edited, proposed bill will occur within the committee. If the bill is denied through committee it will be sent back to
the House, but if the bill is approved it will then be sent through a subcommittee where the proposal will be
examined and studied as well as potentially bringing in outside experts to present their thoughts on the subject. The
subcommittee can also alter the bill if need be but again a vote occurs. If approved, the Bill is reported with each of
the amendments and explanations where it will be presented to the House floor. The bill is read and debating
roughly three times before voting occurs in the House. After voting, the bill will be sent to the Senate for a similar
voting process only if the majority of the House voted to approve the bill. Again if the majority of Senate votes to
approve the bill, it will then be sent to the President for a final vote of either passing the bill into law or vetoing the
bill. If by chance the bill is vetoed by the President, the bills veto can be countermanded by a vote of two-thirds
from both the House and the Senate to evolve the bill into a law.
“The Iron Triangle of Health care” diagram depicts that the relationship between cost (payers/insurance), access
(patients), and quality (providers) of health care is that each aspects acts as a trade off at some point or another. The
HCA- 255 Discussion Questions
Week 1 D 1
According to the World Health Organization a policy encompasses a broad range of laws, guidelines,
regulations, and habits necessary to maintain the health infrastructure. Identify a policy proposed or enacted
at the federal or state level. Summarize the policy and discuss how the measure works to support the health
infrastructure.
Health care policies are a necessary process to ensure to effectiveness of the health care industry. These policies are
typically plans that turn into laws and regulations to achieve futuristic health care goals within society. The policy I
chose to discuss is The Affordable Care Act (ACA) which went into effect as a federal law in 2010. The ACA
focuses on the expansion of health care coverage and insurance, the improvement of health care delivery and lastly,
the control of health care expenditures. “. A major contributor to the passage of the act was the continued rapid rise
in health care expenditures and the projections regarding the growth in those expenditures.” (Hicks, Jacobs, 2014)
One issue that seems to be a continuous struggle within the health care system is the rising costs which is a result of
many different factors such as increase in chronic illnesses, fewer insurance options, and advancements in
technology. The ACA helps to ensure health care infrastructure because its main goal is to keep the cost of health
care steady by expanding health insurance. The reason this maintains the infrastructure and keeps costs lower is
because there is more competition which means that other insurance companies are forced to lower the costs of their
premiums. With that being said, this can also help to decrease the current rise of chronic illnesses because more
people are applicable to afford health insurance since the competition among them cause’s prices to decrease.
Week 1 D 2
Now that you have practiced researching health policies, describe your experience. Was the information
readily accessible? Were you able to fully understand the intent and scope of the policy? What would be
needed in order for the general public to understand this information and become involved in the policy-
making process?
Professor Conway,
After completing my first discussion question in regards to health care policies, I would have to agree with Brooke
that it seems as though the information is out there but semi hard to find. While researching my topics, I had an idea
that I would be writing about the Affordable Care Act (ACA) because I was once opposed to it until I did my own
further research. With that being said, I was hoping to find information to discuss other policies that could
potentially interest me just as much as the ACA. Although, I did come across a few articles in which I became
familiar with new concepts, but I did not feel as though I had a competent amount of information to discuss them to
the extent of which I was able to do with the topic I did choose to discuss. So in regards to this discussion, I do feel
that the information formed around health care policies is very limited and can be quite confusing especially to those
who may not be familiar with the health care industry.
I believe that in order to provide a better understanding of health care policy to the general public would be to start
off by putting or explaining the policies in layman's terms versus the typically health care/ political terms that it is
described as now. Secondly, I would like to see not just the policy written out, but having more articles and sources
readily available to complete appropriate research on past, current, and futuristic health care policies.
Reference:
Hicks, L. L., & Jacobs, P. (2014) Economics of Health and Medical Care (6th ed.). Burlington, Massachusetts. Jones
& Bartlett learning, LLC.
Week 2 D 1
, 2
Health policy is profoundly influenced by value-driven issues that cut across the entire U.S. policy landscape.
View the "Stakeholders" multimedia presentation:
http://lc.gcumedia.com/zwebassets/courseMaterialPages/hca255_stakeholders.php
Describe the concerns presented by two of the stakeholders and discuss your position (i.e., for or against) in
the current debate regarding value-driven health policy.
After reviewing the stake-holders presentation I felt that some of the viewpoints raised many questions for me but
lacked the information for me to provide a position or opinion in that area. I did come across two stake-holds in
which I found interest in as they are areas that I have completed my own research on in other classes.
First the Health care Administrators Dialog which goes into detail regarding employees who must handle declining
reimbursements, charity medical care, and paying competitive salaries to other employees. The main concern
depicted for this dialog was the amount of uninsured people that are unable to pay for costs at a physician's facility
so they utilized the emergency room as a medical necessity for health care services. I do agree that this is an issue
that has been around in health care for quite some time and believe that this is one of the most important issues that
needs to be addressed. Although it is not favored by many people, I feel that transitioning the United States health
care system into a Universal Health care model could greatly benefit us and everyone who is currently uninsured. By
applying the Universal model, everyone would have the opportunity to have insurance which would mean that
individuals who are left utilizing the emergency room for medical necessities can now seek medical advice from
primary care physicians. In turn, this helps to create less busy emergency rooms and potentially helps to improve the
health quality in currently uninsured individuals.
The next dialog that I found interest in was that of the Nurses. This discussion focused on fixing the health care
system by applying preventative care and ensuring that the health of individuals increases in quality to not only
implicate a healthier community but to also prevent the cost of health care to continue to increase. Once again I have
with the nurses’ statements that having people take preventative measures to ensure a healthier community can
improve that health care system greatly. I believe that individuals who seek out medical advice from their primary
care physicians ultimately decrease their chances of becoming sick or contracting diseases which can also lead to
less unnecessary trips to the hospital which in turn helps the rising cost of health care to remain at a more steady
level or a slower increase. I personally believe that it should be a mandatory requirement for individuals to attend a
yearly check up with a primary care physician.
Week 2 D 2
What is your personal position on the HHS Policy for Women's Preventative Services Coverage? Does the
HHS policy infringe upon religious liberties outlined by the U.S. constitution? Why or Why not? Provide
rationale for your position.
NOTE: Rulings can be found at the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance oversight:
http://www.cms.gov/CCIIO/Resources/Fact-Sheets-and-FAQs/womens-preven-02012013.html
After reviewing the article and doing some further research my personal beliefs in regard to the HHS policy for
Women’s Preventative Service Coverage is that there are more benefits than just avoiding pregnancy in regards to
the utilization of contraceptives. These benefits can range from assisting women with iron deficiency, regulating
their cycles, and reducing the risk of cysts and cancers that can be found in both the breasts and the ovaries.
Considering how many benefits there are to using contraceptives, it would seem quintessential to make these
products more readily available and reasonably priced to all females.
On the other hand, in regards to religion it is very apparent as to why they are against contraceptive usage. Religious
views around preventive services are that it not only promotes sex before marriage but that is also prevents the
, 3
natural God given process of conceiving a child. From my personal experiences of being raised in an extremely
religious Christian household, I was taught not to engage in sex prior to marriage but due to complications of my
cycle, I was put on birth control in an effort to reduce pain and regulate my body which till this day has helped me
tremendously. From experiences of a friend who was raised in an extremely strict Mormon household, she was also
taught not to engage in sexual activity until after marriage but her family placed contraceptives in the same category
as abortion and was prevented from using any type of contraceptive or birth control. With that being said, each
religion has their own beliefs in which individuals follow if they categorize themselves with a religious viewpoint.
The United States Constitution states that “congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” (U.S Constitution) When it
comes to the employers, implying that a religiously ran company must provide contraceptives to women even
though it is against their beliefs does appear to infringe upon the religious liberties that are portrayed in the United
States Constitution because it is prohibiting the exercise of their beliefs in a company ran on religion.
References
U. S. Constitution, Amendment 1. Retrieved from https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/first_amendment
Week 3 D 1
View the video "How a Bill Becomes a Federal Law":
http://www.annenbergclassroom.org/page/the-legislative-process-how-a-bill-becomes-a-federal-law
View "The Iron Triangle of Healthcare" multimedia presentation:
http://lc.gcumedia.com/zwebassets/courseMaterialPages/hca255_triangle.php
Summarize the legislative process and describe the relationship between cost, quality, and access depicted by
the Iron Triangle.
After reviewing the video and the diagram, I have learned the following in regards to Bills to Law processes and
“The Iron Triangle of Health care”.
The process of bills becoming laws is a lengthy process but always begins as a new idea. Anyone is liable to submit
an idea but only members of congress are able to write the bill. Once the idea is submitted, congress develops the
text of the bill in order to present it to the House, where the first reading occurs. After this, the bill is then sent to a
committee who has jurisdiction over that specific area for review or also known as a markup. During this step, the
committee will debate and potentially makes amendments to the bill at which point a vote to accept or deny the
edited, proposed bill will occur within the committee. If the bill is denied through committee it will be sent back to
the House, but if the bill is approved it will then be sent through a subcommittee where the proposal will be
examined and studied as well as potentially bringing in outside experts to present their thoughts on the subject. The
subcommittee can also alter the bill if need be but again a vote occurs. If approved, the Bill is reported with each of
the amendments and explanations where it will be presented to the House floor. The bill is read and debating
roughly three times before voting occurs in the House. After voting, the bill will be sent to the Senate for a similar
voting process only if the majority of the House voted to approve the bill. Again if the majority of Senate votes to
approve the bill, it will then be sent to the President for a final vote of either passing the bill into law or vetoing the
bill. If by chance the bill is vetoed by the President, the bills veto can be countermanded by a vote of two-thirds
from both the House and the Senate to evolve the bill into a law.
“The Iron Triangle of Health care” diagram depicts that the relationship between cost (payers/insurance), access
(patients), and quality (providers) of health care is that each aspects acts as a trade off at some point or another. The
