The Political Role of Veterans Healthcare Term Paper

The Political Role of Veterans Healthcare - Term Paper Example From this research it is clear that the Health Care Industry of the United States of America is generally composed of different legal entities. The facilities that make up the said industry are largely owned and operate by the members of the private sector whereas health care insurance have always been provided by the government. The efficiency of the American health care system, however, has always been doubted. Various calls for health care reforms have been made in view of the allegations that the health care industry is nothing but a money making scam where large insurance firms and health institutions participate in. The following problems are usually apparent with respect to the health care industry of the United States: (1) medical bankruptcy, (2) premature deaths among those who are un- and under-insured, and lastly, (3) the wasteful flows of funds that maximize the profits of insurance companies. Longman, the author of the book entitled â€Å"Best care anywhere: why VA heal th care is better than yours† cited the reforms taken in the Veterans Health Care Industry. Longman argues that the reforms in the entire American Health Care Industry must emulate the model in the Veterans Health Care Administration in view of the capacity of the latter to significantly improve and properly cater to the medical needs of the veterans. Aside from Longman, there are other scholars who have also focused on the comparison between Veterans Health Administration and other systems of care in the country. In sum, all of these studies have pointed out that the Veterans Health Administration delivers health care more efficiently as compared with the other health care systems in the United States of America (Kerr, et al., 2003; Petersen, et al., 2003; Rosenthal, et al., 2003). In this sense, these authors have highlighted the need for the health care policy makers in the United States of America to reform the other systems of health care in the country by focusing on the improvements to the Veterans Health Administration as a Model. On the other hand, however, this study focuses on the current issues that affect the Veterans Health Care Industry. Arguably, the policies concerning the Veterans Health Administration have likewise been significantly affected by the political processes concerning them. In this sense, this paper focuses on the following issues: (1) the role of political process on health care delivery, (2) the role of the demanders and suppliers of health policies, (3) how the political process affect cost of health care, human resources and various health care facilities, (4) the involvement of various levels of government in the political process and its effects on health care delivery, (5) involvement of interests groups and organizations in addressing the issues to sway modifications to policy/formation of policy, (6) strategies and recommendations and lastly, (7) the future of initiatives in health care delivery. The Role of the Po litical Process on Health Care Delivery Before going through the analysis of the different issues that currently affect the Veterans Health Administration, this section first focuses on the role of the different political processes on health care delivery. As a general rule, it was claimed that investments in health care are often employed for various political reasons rather than focusing on its benefits for the citizens. Evidently, health reform in various parts of the world, whether in developed or developing countries, is a highly political process (Benoit, 2003). In fact, other researchers even highlight the tendency for politicians to put healthcare reform at the center of their campaigns during electoral seasons. Apparently, health care reforms, as essential part of the political processes most especially with respect to campaigns focus on the following (1) the efforts as regards building better health care facil

Melting of the Arctic Glaciers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Melting of the Arctic Glaciers - Essay Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 B. Adaptation Efforts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 C. Examples of Adaptation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 3. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 4. Works Cited (Bibliography) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Introduction People had previously dismissed warnings about global warming because of claims a group of scientists tasked to study its effects had fudged or manipulated their data. But today, there is no more doubt on this topic as the glaciers in the Arctic region of the world (located in the northernmost part of the Earth) are melting away fast due to the greenhouse gases caused by the burning of fossil fuels. Oil and coal are used to produce energy and electricity but they also produce by-products which are mainly carbon dioxide and methane that trap the sun heat energy. It is su pposed to be reflected back to outer space in a process called as Albedo effect. A warmer Earth has changed the ocean's surface temperatures and also its salinity with serious effects on marine life (Ehrlich 1) and caused rising sea levels. This brief paper examines all its effects on the populations of low-lying areas of the world and what can be done about it. Discussion Even the skeptics are now convinced that global warming really exists as manifested by weather that has gone haywire, as mentioned in an article by Mr. Hertsgaard like a â€Å"fiercer heat wave, harsher droughts, heavier rains and rising sea levels† (1). The top three polluters of the world are China, America and India, in this order of magnitude. â€Å"The world pumped about 564 million more tons (512 million metric tons) of carbon into the air in 2010 than it did in 2009. That's an increase of 6 percent. That amount of extra pollution eclipses the individual emissions of all but three countries - China, the United States and India, world's top producers of greenhouse gases. It is a "monster" increase that is likely unheard of, said Gregg Marland, a professor of geology who has helped calculate Department of Energy figures in the past. This extra pollution in China and the U.S. account for more than half the increase in emissions last year.† (Borenstein 1). What is even more alarming is the observation that even if all emissions are stopped or discontinued today, global temperatures will still keep rising for 25 years. There are basically two ways or approaches by which people can deal with the global warming phenomenon: first is mitigation and the second is adaptation. Mitigation pertains to a front-end approach of reducing gas emissions to slow down the warming trend and it includes using renewable and clean energy sources, such as wind power or solar power. The other end of the equation is adaptation which are actions intended to safeguard a community or country from the il l effects of global warming, such as rising sea levels that can inundate low areas. Mitigation – everybody can contribute to reducing greenhouse gases by living simple lifestyles. The idea is to reduce a person's carbon footprint by using less fuel in daily living. It entails, for example, using the car less and walking more often, or using a bicycle for moving around. There are many ways by which one can accomplish this, such as reducing the use of manufactured products or consumer items that use a lot of energy, reducing use of electricity, or by patronizing more