Literature review
In their article, The language of health care reform, Larry Levitt (2021) analyzes the past, present, and future healthcare reforms from a public policy perspective. Namely, the author begins with an assumption that historically every administration change entailed the United States healthcare system. They later explore other healthcare reforms, including the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Medicare for All, and Bidencare or “Public Option” (Levitt, 2021). They also analyze the main goals and weaknesses of each of these healthcare programs. On a final note, the author emphasizes that the current situation with the pandemic and subsequent economic crisis has exacerbated the pre-existing problems of American healthcare. Hence, they stipulate that healthcare is essential, and in the foreseeable, it will be extensively debated depending on the political dynamic within the nation.
This source was beneficial for my previous analysis of the ACA since it provides factual and concise information on the weaknesses ACA and AHCA (American Healthcare Act) contain. Although the author does not explicitly call them ethical dilemmas, I emphasized that these weaknesses inevitably derive a moral dilemma. For instance, the source outlines the ethical considerations discerning from these programs, such as burdensome out-of-pocket costs, struggles of uninsured people, payment of physicians, among others. Thus, the essential learning takeaway from this source is the summary and analysis of the existing and planned health care reforms and problematic issues each contains.
Problem Statement
The ethical problem that the AHCA and ACA healthcare programs possess is the potential inequity towards the lower-income class. Namely, the technological change brought about by these programs can lead to the use of the cheapest, hence, often fewer quality medications and equipment for patient care. However, this aspect is inherently unjust towards impoverished people who also deserve proper medical care. On the other hand, providing affordable and quality care is a challenge. Hence, the problem of the current healthcare system is that it poses an ethical dilemma between the quality of care and affordable healthcare for lower-income individuals.
Reference
Levitt, L. (2021). The language of health care reform. JAMA, 325(3), 215-216.