Bridging health and health care

Bridging health and health care

Collection:
Health Policy and Services Research
Contributor(s):
Bipartisan Policy Center, issuing body.
Publication:
Washington, DC : Bipartisan Policy Center, September 2021
Language(s):
English
Format:
Text
Subject(s):
Health Care Costs
Health Policy
Medicare
Medicaid
United States
Genre(s):
Technical Report
Abstract:
In 2017, the Bipartisan Policy Center launched the Future of Health Care Initiative with a bipartisan group of leading national policy experts to create a consensus approach to improving our nation’s health care system, increasing access to affordable insurance coverage, improving quality of care delivered to patients, lowering costs for all Americans, and creating competition throughout the health care sector. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the leaders turned their attention to improving the nation’s public health infrastructure and preparing for the next pandemic. In January 2021, the Future of Health Care leaders released a report outlining high-priority immediate actions that the administration and Congress should take in combating COVID-19, and in June 2021, the leaders released recommendations to ensure that our public health system is well-prepared to respond to and mitigate the consequences of a future pandemic. These recommendations provide a strategic approach to bolstering our nation’s public health infrastructure. However, to fully address our vulnerability to health threats, we must confront the underlying challenge of the poor health status of the U.S. population. Compared with many other industrialized nations, the United States invests significantly less in disease prevention and social services. Rather, health care spending is directed toward the delivery of health care services to treat chronic conditions. As has been noted in previous reports, early investments in programs and services that address social determinants of health could help avert the onset of chronic conditions. Some of our leaders would like to see federal health insurance programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, play a role in preventing the onset of chronic conditions resulting from social needs. At the same time, a number of our leaders have concerns about using health insurance programs to address shortfalls in funding for social services. This report seeks to strike a balance between those two competing interests. Recognizing the need to better bridge the divide between the often-siloed worlds of health and health care, these policies are designed to better integrate, coordinate, and ultimately improve the performance and outcomes of both. Our recommendations focus on two key areas: 1) improving access to and coverage and financing of nonmedical and preventive services; and 2) the health care workforce, with a focus on increasing access to care through improvements in the supply and distribution of key practitioners who are needed to improve the health status in underserved communities.
Copyright:
The National Library of Medicine believes this item to be in the public domain. (More information)
Extent:
1 online resource (1 PDF file (35 pages))
NLM Unique ID:
9918333788506676 (See catalog record)
Permanent Link:
http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918333788506676