MEDICAID Essays - Healthcare Reform In The United States

MEDICAID I. ANALYTICAL EXPOSITION History Medicaid is a Federal - State entitlement program that pays for medical services on behalf of certain groups of low income persons. (O'Sullivan, 1990) Title XIX of the Social Security Act provides for the medical assistance commonly known as Medicaid. (O'Sullivan, 1990) This means-tested entitlement program became part of federal law in 1965. Medicaid makes direct payments to medical providers for their services to eligible persons. It is the largest health program providing medical assistance to the poor. Eligibility In order for one to be eligible for Medicaid, one must meet very strict requirements. These requirements vary from state to state, but in this paper the Federal requirements will be discussed as well as the general state requirements The correlation between those receiving public assistance and those receiving Medicaid seems to be directly related. "Medicaid has generally been linked to actual or potential receipt of cash assistance under a welfare program. Thus, eligible individuals have to meet the welfare definitions of age, blindness, disability, or membership in a family with dependent children where one parent is absent or incapacitated." (O'Sullivan, 1990) These stringent requirements leave out part of the population such as singles, childless couples who are not elderly or disabled. Besides falling into one of the above mentioned categories, they must also meet specified income and resource criteria which vary by State. "While the link to cash assistance has been the primary way to establish eligibility, states have been able to extend coverage to children who meet the income and resources requirements, but do not meet the definition of dependency." (O'Sullivan 1990). The other group that is affected by this institutional policy are the providers. Providers can be defined as those who perform services for the Medicaid patients. They include, but are not limited to physicians, hospital, dentists, pharmacies etc. "Low medical fee schedules, relative to physicians' usual charges to other payers, are a major deterrent to participation." (O'Sullivan 1990) Recent data suggests that the gap continues to widen between Medicaid and private rates. Virtually all hospitals participate in Medicaid. However, a Medicaid patient will more than likely be transferred to a public hospital for in-patient treatment. II. CRITICAL CONTEXT Social Impact It is merely impossible to try to obtain an actual number of people affected by Medicaid. If the picture was painted with a broad brush you could say that virtually every person in the United States is affected by Medicaid. For example any person who pays taxes is affected, any doctor who accepts Medicaid is directly affected by the low fee schedule that is put into place. Any person receiving public assistance is affected as well. The amount of people who are currently receiving Medicaid will be broken down: 6.2 million or 24.9 percent adults in families with dependent children, 10.4 million or 41.8 percent dependent children, 3.5 million or 14.1 percent aged, .4 million or 13.7 percent disabled or blind, 1.4 million or 5. 6 percent fall into the category of others. (O'Sullivan 1990) The total amount of people on Medicaid is 24.9 million. It's obvious that practically everyone is affected by this program. Problems With the System The Medicaid program was one of many programs designed to help the poor and disadvantaged enjoy the benefits of receiving the type of medical care provided to those who could afford it. According to Karen Davis, author of Achievements and Problems of Medicaid, from its initiation the Medicaid program has had two major objectives: insuring that covered persons receive adequate medical care and reducing the financial burden of medical expenditures for those with severely limited financial resources. Before the introduction of Medicaid most poor persons had little or no private insurance and many went without needed care. Medicaid attempted to alleviate this situation - if not for all poor persons, at least for those on welfare and the medically needy. (Davis, 1996) A Lack Of Equality Perhaps the greatest flaw in the Medicaid program is that it does not treat people in equal circumstances equally. Davis goes on to say that the inequitable distribution of Medicaid benefits is caused in part by the joint Federal - State nature of the program and its tie to the Welfare system. As stated previously the Medicaid eligibility is linked to the

Knowledge Essays - Epistemology, Creativity, Social Psychology

Knowledge Essays - Epistemology, Creativity, Social Psychology Knowledge Suppose we grant the assumption that intuitions or ?seemings? count as evidence. Suppose we grant the further, perhaps dubious, assumption that they can tip the balance in their favor in these cases. This implies that there can be disagreements in isolation, each party to a disagreement can be reasonable. However, things are different when we turn to cases of full disclosure. To see why, compare a more straightforward case of regular sight, rather than insight or intuition. Suppose that you and I are standing by the window looking out on the quad. We think we have comparable vision and we know each other to be honest. I seem to see what looks to me like a person in a blue coat in the middle of the quad. (Assume that this is not something odd.) I believe that a person with a blue coat is standing on the quad. Meanwhile, you seem to see nothing of the kind there. You think that no one is standing in the middle of the quad. We disagree. In isolation before we talk to each other each o f us believes reasonably. But suppose we talk about what we see and we reach full disclosure. At that point, we each know that something weird is going on, but we have no idea which of us has the problem. Either I am ?seeing things? or you are missing something. I would not be reasonable in thinking that the problem is in your head, nor would you be reasonable in thinking that the problem is in mine. Consider Pro and Con once again. Each may have his or her own special insight or sense of obviousness. But once there has been full disclosure, each knows about the other?s insight. These insights may have evidential force. But then there is no basis for either Pro or Con retaining his or her own belief simply because the one insight happens to occur inside of him or her. A point about evidence that plays a role here is this: evidence of evidence is evidence. More carefully, evidence that there is evidence for P is evidence for P. Knowing that the other has an insight provides each of them with evidence. 425 In each case, one has one?s own evidence supporting a proposition, knows that another person has comparable evidence supporting a competing proposition, and has no reason to think that one?s own reason is the non-defective one. To think otherwise requires thinking something like this: ?You have an insight according to which ~P is true. I have one according to which P is true. It?s reasonable for me to believe P in light of all this because my insight supports P.? This is tenacious and stubborn, but not reasonable. Thus, the private evidence the insights or intuitions does not support the view that there can be mutually recognized reasonable disagreements, or even that there can be reasonable disagreements after full disclosure. If the insights count as evidence, once one reaches a position of full disclosure, one knows that there are insights on both sides. It is difficult to see why this evidence better supports one?s own view rather than the competing view, and just as difficult to see how it supports an attribution of reasonableness to the other person. The competing insights cancel each other out. Those who would appeal to private evidence do have a straw to grasp at. They can insist that one?s evidence that another person has a competing insight is always weaker than one?s evidence that one has an insight oneself. And this, it can be argued, justifies retaining one?s belief. If correct, this would show that there can be reasonable disagreements after full disclosure. It makes it less clear that there can be mutually recognized reasonable disagreements. The reason for this is that if one person, say Pro, is not justified in believing that Con really does have an insight, then Pro is also not justified in believing that Con?s belief is justified. One might resort to the view that Pro is justified in believing that Con does have an insight, but not as well justified in this belief as in his belief that he himself has his

Properties of the Basic Metals Element Group

Properties of the Basic Metals Element Group Several groups of elements can be termed metals. Here is look at the location of the metals on the periodic table and their common properties: Examples of Metals Most of the elements on the periodic table are metals, including gold, silver, platinum, mercury, uranium, aluminum, sodium, and calcium. Alloys, such as brass and bronze, also are metals. Location of Metals on the Periodic Table Metals are located on the left side and the middle of the periodic table. Group IA and Group IIA (the alkali metals) are the most active metals. The transition elements, groups IB to VIIIB, are also considered metals. The basic metals make up the element to the right of the transition metals. The bottom two rows of elements beneath the body of the periodic table are the lanthanides and actinides, which are also metals. Properties of Metals Metals, shiny solids, are room temperature (except mercury, which is a shiny liquid element), with characteristic high melting points and densities. Many of the properties of metals, including a large atomic radius, low ionization energy, and low electronegativity, are because the electrons in the valence shell of metal atoms can be removed easily. One characteristic of metals is their ability to be deformed without breaking. Malleability is the ability of a metal to be hammered into shapes. Ductility is the ability of a metal to be drawn into wire. Because the valence electrons can move freely, metals are good heat conductors and electrical conductors. Summary of Common Properties Shiny metallic appearanceSolids at room temperature (except mercury)High melting pointsHigh densitiesLarge atomic radiiLow ionization energiesLow electronegativitiesUsually, high deformationMalleableDuctileThermal conductorsElectrical conductors

The essence of history Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The essence of history - Essay Example Although others have criticized historians for basing their work on hearsay, in a society that expects the purposes of education to serve the general public, the aims and objectives of history can seem a bit cumbersome to define compared to other disciplines such as medicine and psychology. The subject is therefore very useful, although the historical study products are not tangible and in effect not very immediate as opposed to others such as medicine. Significance of History History is known to offer rich source of information in regard to how individuals and the society in general behave. It is very challenging to understand how people and societies operate, though numerous disciplines attempts to do so. Any efforts in knowing what transpires in the society can be hampered by relying only on current data. For instance, it is not easy to evaluate war if a nation is enjoying relative calm and peace. In order to do so, the only way possible is through digging deep into historical dat a. It is not possible to understand our geniuses such as Aristotle, the development and impact of technology as well as the role played by beliefs in determining the course of societal life (Evans, 23), Man therefore must make use of the past experiences to fully understand his environment. As evident, both social and physical scientists have tried to come up with theories to explain the behavior of human persons, but as matters stand, even the recourses needed for such studies largely depend on historical information, except for a few cases where artificial cases involving experiments can be instituted to determine the action of individuals. The main aspects of the operations in the society, namely military incursions, activities of missionaries and others cannot be instituted as laboratory experiments. However history, though riddled with imperfection must serve as the critical laboratory, thus information from the past forms the basis of the significant evidence in the quest to e xplain the many concepts. This is one of the fundamental reasons why man cannot assume the role of history as it provides the most extensive evidential parameter for the analysis and contemplation of functioning of the society. The position of history in the society cannot be underemphasized follows on the already stated significance. It is in order to note that the past determines the present and as well the future. For example, in pursuit of knowledge to get equipped with what happened a century ago, what matters first is to carefully look for what prevailed during the period. At times recent historical developments may come to the fore to offer explanations in relation to some remarkable developments, but above all, it is important to look further in the historical aspects to comprehensively identify what really transpired. It is only through historical studies that man can have substantial knowledge of the changing world, thus the full understanding of societal elements. The sig nificance of history in understanding and explaining the occurrence of change in relation to human behavior cannot be underestimated. For example, alcoholism as a human phenomenon has been a subject of discussion and research. Biological experiments have attempted to identify specific genes that are believed to cause an inclination toward addiction to alcohol in some people. Although it is a laudable scientific advance, as a social reality,

Affordable Care Act in United States Research Paper

Affordable Care Act in United States - Research Paper Example This paper illustrates that the main idea of health care is to improve and reform health care which is of great concern to individuals. Despite how much one is earning in America, there is the need for one to set aside a particular budget that can be used when one is in poor health and thus the aim of Affordable Care Act. Insurance coverage in the companies are of benefit to individuals who work in the factories and other companies since in case of an accident or any other issue related to one health, then the insurance partners can intervene and medical expenses are covered by the insurance company or the use of Affordable Care Act. The Affordable Care Act was signed into a law by President Obama in 2010 in United States federal statute where the government had to work along with health care and education reconciliation act to represent the United States interest in health care issues. The aim of Affordable Care Act is to increases the quality and affordability of healthcare making sure that those who do not have insurance coverage can get access to health insurance and thus expand public and private insurance coverage for the United States residents. The policy aims at lowering the cost of healthcare for individuals and the government as a whole where the government will have the mandate to make sure that all the residents in the United States will have the insurance coverage, subsidies will be available and insurance exchanges that are meant to increase the insurance coverage at affordable rates. The policy requires all the insurance companies to make sure that all residents are covered with minimum standards regardless of preexisting conditions or sex. The policy requires an individual to be covered by insurance from the employer-sponsored health plan and this means that one will have two insurance coverage. Failure to pay an approved insurance policy will mean that an individual will pay a penalty of 1% on income tax and thus the residents must comply with the Affordable Care Act. The policy aim is to get more than 30 million people who are going to be enrolled in the Affordable Care Act. The policy also requires low-income earners and those families with incomes between 100% to 400% federal poverty level will be considered and thus they are going to receive federal subsidies and only if the mode of purchase is through an exchange.

Social commentary Essay Example for Free

Social commentary Essay Dickens is Famous for his dramatic presentation of character and using them as a device for social commentary. Dickens is famous for his ability to craft complex plots and striking characters that capture the paranoia of English Society. In the novels such as A Christmas Carol and Oliver Twist, Dickens uses characters such as Scrooge and Bill Sykes, as a device for social commentary; Scrooge shows the audience that no amount of money can buy happiness or true friends. Whilst Bill Sykes character enforces the moral message that crime does not pay and no one can escape their punishment, no matter who they are. Great Expectations, one of Dickenss most renowned novels, features the unforgettable character Miss Havisham and uses her as a window into the Victorian era, and stiff class system. In this essay I am going to be analysing how Dickenss uses Miss Havisham for the above purpose, and why he is so successful in doing so. Dickens grew up in Victorian England, taking his inspiration from the people and places he lived side by side with. The Victorian era was characterised by rapid change and developments in nearly every sphere, but it was also known as a time of suffering, and of conflict amongst the social classes. Dickens grew up in a world dictated by which class you belonged. Victorian Society boiled down to three major classes, the working class, the middle class and the all powerful upper class to which Great Expectations Miss Havisham belonged. If like Miss Havisham, a Victorian woman belonged to the upper class, her life was control: marry early to a gentleman, of whom her family approved; have as many children as they could afford and devote themselves to the up keeping of their home whilst still keeping themselves perfectly presentable and well mannered. These were the things an upper class Victorian woman lived to accomplish, but as Great Expectation tells us Miss Havisham never got the chance to fulfil hers or societys Great Expectations. As a direct result of not meeting those expectations, were told how Miss Havisham choose to stop her life, and live if you can call it living in the past, constantly replaying the terrible pain she suffered the day her heart was broken and dreams destroyed. The first time Miss Havisham is mentioned in the novel, Dickens displays great skill, as he shadows everything were told about her in mystery and doubt; making the reader very curious and more closely examine, the details revealed about her character. Pip narrates from his own memory everything he has heard about Miss Havisham, were told that she is an immensely rich and grim lady who lived in a large and dismal house barricaded against robbers, and who led a life of seclucusion. The house can be seen as a metaphor for Miss Havisham herself, supporting the rumours about her character. The short phrase barricaded against robbers, metaphorically describes Miss Havisham decision to lock herself, her love and memories in Satis house. Along with Dickens later description of the house being barred, he creates the image that Miss Havishams home is like a prison built to keep her in, and intervention out, an image Dickens enforces throughout the novel. Its walls, protecting her against thieves who dont necessarily want to steal her belongings, but her heart, and only light, Estella. Whilst Pip is journeying up to Satis house with Estella the atmosphere is created by Dickens use of Pip senses and the effect of the weather upon them. Cold wind seemed to grow colder there, than outside the gate, and it made a shrill noise in howling in and out at the open sides of the brewery, like the noise of wind in the rigging of a ship at sea. The fact Dickens describes this as Pip passes through a gate, gives the impression that he has stepped through an invisible barrier/doorway into another world, Miss Havishams world; a place where things are all the more terrible, bitter and dangerous. This sentence uses a young boys hearing, sensitivity and imagination to begin to describe how things are in a land controlled by Miss Havisham. Dickens idea of decreasing the temperature when Pip steps through the barrier gives the impression of Miss Havishams world being frozen, as her heart is, stuck in winters grasp. Dickens later uses the word winter and the connotations with death it carries to symbolically show how Miss Havisham is near to death; an example of this is The old wintry branches, a quota in which Dickens uses a metaphor to show how Miss Havisham is aging, becoming more cold, bare and therefore closer to death. The brewerys history is also questioned by Pip, and what we learn can be linked to Miss Havisham and the man who broke her heart, Compeyson. Estella tells us Better not try to brew beer there now, or it would turn out sour, Not that anybody means to try , for thats all done with, and it will stand as idle as it is, till it falls. The beer describes Miss Havishams and Compeyson relationship, the fact it is now sour- can be related to the bitterness Miss Havisham feels towards not only Compeyson, but all men. It was Compeyson after all who persuaded Miss Havisham to buy it from her brother, and wished to hold and manage it all. So the fact Miss Havisham leaves it alone to fall, could show how she wants nothing to do with him or any of his plans; but it could also be taken as a sign that she is still waiting for him to return, keeping herself and the brewery untouched by anyone, but all the time growing more and more sour. Miss Havisham is a living ghost, and her grotesque appearance and habits make her both fascinating and repulsive. In the first few lines of Pips first face to face encounter with Miss Havisham, Dickens uses a variety of linguistic devices to really capture the readers imagination. He repeatedly uses the word white to describe Miss Havisham, her bridal gown and trinkets around her; Dickens uses white as a symbolic reference to her age. She was dressed in rich materials satins, and lace, and silks all of white. And she had a long white veil dependent from her hair, and she had bridal flowers in her hair, but her hair was white. Our narrator also notices how Miss Havisham is in an unready state, She had not quite finished dressing, for she had, but one shoe on the other was on the table near her hand her veil was but half arranged. This is an insight into Miss Havishams state of mind; she has kept herself in a condition of un-readiness, entombing her being in her own personal limbo. Half living and existing and her other side scattered around her.

The Vision of The Anointed :: essays research papers

The Vision of The Anointed When we think what the definition of Vision is we might think that vision is the ability to see the features of objects we look at, such as color, shape, size, details, depth, and contrast, and that vision is achieved when the eyes and brain work together to form pictures of the world around us. But when reading Thomas Sowell’s book, The Vision of The Anointed, one might have a different perspective. Thomas Sowell wrote this book to contest the vision of those who are the artistic activist of modern society. In chapter two that is titled, The Pattern, Sowell what is interesting about visions, what are their assumptions and their reasoning. He then discusses the various characteristics of patterns that have evolved among the anointed. The pattern of failure is then listed into four stages: The â€Å"Crisis†, the â€Å"Solution†, the â€Å"Results†, and finally the â€Å"Response†. During the chapter he talks about certain topics, such as the war on poverty and sex education, and broke each one down with the four stages. I had a particular interest on the topic of sex education. I agreed with Sowell about the â€Å"Crisis† with the sex education within schools. He mentioned hoe pregnancy and disease was done in the 60’s than it had been in the fifties. Usually when society makes a fuss, it could do the opposite affect than help the situation. It seems when sex education was permitted into schools, which more sex started to happen. Although that may have not been the intent, but unfortunately it did not help the problem, that was never a real problem. In chapter three which is titled by the numbers, Sowell discusses scientific evidence through data. He enlightens us on how to take facts and create them into valid theories. One fascinating subtopic was the â€Å"AHA† Statistics, where he describes how people find some numbers that fit their insights. In this chapter he focuses on how people get paid differently according to race, and gender. I do find this to be true. I agree that somewhere statistics by the anointed has proven that those tiny details (race and gender) have an affect on the way someone is paid doing the same work. I agree that facts and numbers are not entirely correct, but they are shaped and formed to me the anointed needs, and desires. In chapter four he discusses the irrelevance of evidence.