The United States health care system provides some of the best care in the world, but also fails greatly at times to provide even adequate care to some. Healthy People 2020 is an initiative that seeks to improve these discrepancies. With only four short years left to achieve its goals, it is unlikely that any will be met in entirety.
The first goal of Healthy People 2020 is to, “attain high quality, longer lives free of preventable disease, disability, injury, and premature death”. A commendable goal, but one that is difficult to achieve when not all person have equal access to the same healthcare. According to Shi and Shingh (2013), “for consistent basic and routine care commonly referred to as primary care, the uninsured are unable to see …show more content…
This goal is one that has been worked on through much of the evolution of the US health care system. Safety-net programs, like Medicare and Medicaid, have developed in the United States to assure that minorities and low-income persons receive access to care (Shi ,Singh, 2013, p. 7). While this program has helped to make healthcare accessible to many, it fails to make healthcare accessible to all. This according to Shi and Singh (2013) is often because, “availability of these services varies from community to community”(p. 8). Though this goal has not been achieved in its entirety at this point in time, the steps that have been taken so far give hope for its achievability to occur in the near …show more content…
This goal is similar to the second goal in that it has not been fully achieved yet, but good initiatives have been taken towards it. Through the development of the Public Health System we have seen initiatives that have helped to eradicate disease increasing the overall health of the general public. According to the Public Health website, “vaccines have helped save millions and millions of lives. Just a few generations ago, people lived under the constant threat of deadly infectious diseases, like smallpox, polio, and hepatitis” (Understanding Vaccines, n.d.). This is no longer the case in our day-to-day life. Another government entity, the Environmental Protection Agency, has emplaced policies to clean up the air to create a healthier environment for all. According to the EPA website, “A peer-reviewed EPA study issued in March 2011 found that the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 are achieving large health benefits that will grow further over time as programs take full effect” (Progress Cleaning, n.d.). Both agencies, and many others, are working hard to improve our social and physical environments but more time is needed than four years to see a noticeable impact on our overall
The first goal of Healthy People 2020 is to, “attain high quality, longer lives free of preventable disease, disability, injury, and premature death”. A commendable goal, but one that is difficult to achieve when not all person have equal access to the same healthcare. According to Shi and Shingh (2013), “for consistent basic and routine care commonly referred to as primary care, the uninsured are unable to see …show more content…
This goal is one that has been worked on through much of the evolution of the US health care system. Safety-net programs, like Medicare and Medicaid, have developed in the United States to assure that minorities and low-income persons receive access to care (Shi ,Singh, 2013, p. 7). While this program has helped to make healthcare accessible to many, it fails to make healthcare accessible to all. This according to Shi and Singh (2013) is often because, “availability of these services varies from community to community”(p. 8). Though this goal has not been achieved in its entirety at this point in time, the steps that have been taken so far give hope for its achievability to occur in the near …show more content…
This goal is similar to the second goal in that it has not been fully achieved yet, but good initiatives have been taken towards it. Through the development of the Public Health System we have seen initiatives that have helped to eradicate disease increasing the overall health of the general public. According to the Public Health website, “vaccines have helped save millions and millions of lives. Just a few generations ago, people lived under the constant threat of deadly infectious diseases, like smallpox, polio, and hepatitis” (Understanding Vaccines, n.d.). This is no longer the case in our day-to-day life. Another government entity, the Environmental Protection Agency, has emplaced policies to clean up the air to create a healthier environment for all. According to the EPA website, “A peer-reviewed EPA study issued in March 2011 found that the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 are achieving large health benefits that will grow further over time as programs take full effect” (Progress Cleaning, n.d.). Both agencies, and many others, are working hard to improve our social and physical environments but more time is needed than four years to see a noticeable impact on our overall