Briefly compare current U.S. healthcare outcomes to the years prior to the enactment of the Affordable Care Act. What has improved, stayed the same, and worsened? Access, quality, and cost can provide you with a framework for this section.
/2.5 Compare and contrast the following measures of population health in the U.S. to comparable developed nations: (a) chronic disease outcomes, (b) hospital-related care or patient safety outcomes, (c) life expectancy, and (d) mortality rate. Address at least one of these as it relates to your specialty area.
/2.5 Compare the economics of healthcare in the U.S to comparable developed nations. Include a comparison of (a) gross domestic product, (b) healthcare expenditure per capita, (c) spending priorities, and (d) cost sharing.
/2.5 Choose and discuss one (1) of the following related to current issues in and the sustainability of our current system:
Explain how the individual mandate or the participation of healthy persons in the insurance system is critical to reduce cost in our current healthcare system.
Summarize current data on infant and maternal morbidity and mortality in the U.S. Discuss the relationship between the birth rate and the aging population on the cost and sustainability of healthcare systems.
Discuss the implications of providing basic healthcare services to non-legal immigrants in the face of immigration being one of our largest population growers.
Discuss where the U.S. healthcare system has excelled and what outcomes have benefitted, and explain the relationship between healthcare innovation and the cost of healthcare.
Compare common assumptions regarding universal healthcare to evidence on the subject, and discuss the barriers of implementing such a system in the U.S.
/2 Summarize current data on health disparities and inequities in our system. How does this compare to other developed nations? Identify some of the causes of health disparities and explain how they lead to poorer outcomes.
/2 Substantial cross post to at least one (1) other student. The cross post provides new or supplemental information to the original posting or raise additional areas for discussion. New or additional peer-reviewed references should be cited.
/1.5 Scholarship. Additional deductions for scholarship may occur up to 20%. Plagiarism, accidental or otherwise, can also result in deductions up to and beyond the 20% as well as the initiation of academic misconduct proceedings as outlined in the Lowdown. This includes submitting work or portions of work previously submitted to other courses or to this course in another semester. Direct quotes outside of providing key definitions are discouraged.
/15 Total Points
Additional Instructions for Discussions
Each student will submit an initial discussion post of approximately 1000-1500 words in the discussion. Support your discussion with at least 5 references, the majority of which should be peer-reviewed. Primary references should be published within the last five (5) years. No title page is required.
