The US health care system faces significant challenges, despite being viewed by many people as the most efficient The US health care system remains one of the least efficient in the world and the most expensive (Stephen Davidson, 2010) According to a report by the Commonwealth Fund, The US health care system ranks last among eleven industrialized countries on measures of access, equity, quality, efficiency and healthy lives The study also shows that a higher percentage of Americans skip out on the medical care they need simply because it’s too expensive 37% of Americans don’t visit a doctor or seek out medical care because they are afraid of the cost, compared to a country like the United Kingdom, where only 4% of people there are reported to have skimped on healthcare for similar concerns This just shows how health care in America is expensive for the ordinary American to afford One of the reasons that worsen the situation in America is that the US doesn’t offer universal health care as compared to other countries; this leaves a huge percentage of the population uninsured and unable to pay for medical services

Discussion:The US Health care System

Discussion:The US Health care System

According to Stephen Davidson (2010), there are approximately 37 million Americans who are not insured and that’s a growing concern Prevention care is underutilized in the US which results in higher spending on complex diseases Patients with chronic illnesses like diabetes, hypertension etc don’t receive the care they need for example; drug therapies and self-management services to help them manage their conditions There have also been cases of patients receiving unnecessary and harmful treatment People with lower incomes and of different ethnic groups are the most affected since they face great disparities in health care

The biggest US health care challenge faced by the country is management challenges The health care system is always under pressure to cut costs and improve the quality of health care (Stephen Davidson, 2010) The main challenge being use of outdated and ineffective technology in some of the facilities The management of these health care facilities are also opposed to changes which is another barrier faced by the US health care system

The US health care system was in dire need of reforms so that Americans can enjoy health care system like other countries High cost of health care is one of the issues that encouraged the need for reform of American health care system There was need to reform the health care system especially because 25 million Americans were under-insured and 37 million had no health insurance or coverage This meant that most Americans would pay for health services out of their pockets which is not affordable to all

Stephen Davidson (2010) notes that, Americans were and are still not getting the effective health care that they require, the cost is too high, and thus the needs for health care reform All these challenges led to the passage of the affordable care Act of 2010 Chronic diseases in America account for seven of 10 deaths among Americans each year; this is one area that prompted the need for reform Diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and arthritis cost the American economy trillions of dollars each year Reform in such areas would help the country save a lot of money

The American health care system is still facing challenges up-to-date and there is need for continuous reforms so that all Americans can have the health care system that they deserve The cost of still too high, the population needs to be educated on areas of disease management and prevention among other areas

You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.

Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.

Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.

The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument.

 

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

Discussion Questions (DQ)

Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.
Weekly Participation

Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.
APA Format and Writing Quality

Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.
Use of Direct Quotes

I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.
LopesWrite Policy

For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.
Late Policy

The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.
Communication

Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:
Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.