Timeline
Analysis
Political climate has a high impact on healthcare. The first events included in the timeline, the enactment of NMHA and HBA, took place a few months after the end of the Second World War. Both decisions were implemented during the presidency of Truman, the Democrat. The goal of the political community was to gain power to prevent the spread of communism, and both events helped to strengthen the country by increasing the number of healthcare facilities and promoting mental health. National unity and the quality of care were pivotal to achieve this goal, and HBA helped to increase the number of healthcare facilitates and reduce discrimination (Kulbok, Kub, & Glick, 2017).
Truman aimed at making healthcare more socialized during his presidency, but, due to the impact of his political opponents, these attempts were unsuccessful, and the legislation creating national health insurance plans was passed only in the middle of the 1960s (Chen, Liang, & Lin, 2016). The Social Security Act of 1965 became an official law when care for older adults was widely discussed, but the necessity of preventive care was not presented in its provisions (Kulbok et al., 2017). Considering the political climate of the decade (the growth of various protest movements), it was pivotal to make vulnerable social groups more protected.
The adoption of HIPAA was among the key healthcare reform events of the 1990s (the presidentship of Clinton), and the act did not encounter significant opposition despite its predicted limitations since the political climate was relatively stable (Rechtman & Rashbaum, 2015). Being sponsored by the representatives of different parties, the act gained support of numerous insurance companies and associations. The next era in healthcare reform that started with the election of Obama involved a range of significant reform events, including PRACA. The adoption of the act was highly impacted by political reasons. After a defeat, the Democrats initiated a budget reconciliation process to get enough votes (Kulbok et al., 2017).
Unlike the discussed periods of time, the modern political climate is characterized by strengthening of Republican views, which affects healthcare legislation. For instance, in contrast to his predecessors, President Trump regards using “free market principles” as the key to better healthcare (Sharan & Aaronson, 2017, p. 30). Despite these differences, there are many recurrent trends discussed nowadays such as the population greying and racial disparities in healthcare.
In the end, healthcare is so politicalized since it has turned into a business field. More than that, political leaders can use healthcare issues to gain the support of the masses. This makes healthcare strategies an important element of political struggle.
References
Chen, W. Y., Liang, Y. W., & Lin, Y. H. (2016). Is the United States in the middle of a healthcare bubble? The European Journal of Health Economics, 17(1), 99-111.
Kulbok, P. A., Kub, J., & Glick, D. F. (2017). Cornerstone documents, milestones, and policies: Shaping the direction of public health nursing 1950-2015. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 22(2).
Rechtman, Y., & Rashbaum, K. (2015). HIPAA security rule-demystified. The CPA Journal, 85(4), 68-70.
Sharan, A. D., & Aaronson, W. E. (2017). The beginning of Trumpcare. Clinical Spine Surgery, 30(1), 30-31.