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Primary Health Care Topics

Health care has been a much-debated political and social topic in the first decade of the 21st century. CNN released a poll on August 17, 2010 that indicated that 80 percent of respondents on the importance of health care in November mid-term elections said it was "very or extremely important to them." There are a few primary health care topics that tend to get people talking.

  1. Health Insurance

    • Randall R. Bovbjerg and Jack Hadley noted in their article "Why Health Insurance Is Important" for the Urban Institute that uninsured people receive less-timely health care and their presence in society contributes to overall poor health conditions. President Barack Obama, citing demand from Americans for more affordable health care, made health care reform a leading topic during his 2008 election campaign. In March 2010, the Obama-backed Affordable Care Act was passed by Congress. The new law took effect on March 30, 2010 after the initial Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, according to the Federal Government run Health Care website. A major point of the act was to offer those with pre-existing health conditions access to affordable health coverage, previously not available to them through most private health insurance companies.

    Preventative Medicine and Care

    • Tony Chen of Hospital Impact noted in his October 2006 article "The most important least-talked-about healthcare topics" that preventative medicine is a topic that definitely needs to be discussed in relationship to health care improvements. Chen's notation was certainly valid, as organizations, care providers and insurance companies have attempted to emphasize preventative health maintenance in lieu of treatment required after poor health develops. Many organizations now offer release time or reimbursement for employees to participate in wellness or fitness programs. Leading health insurers have also started add-on services to help facilitate education and preventative health care programs to improve the overall health of insured people.

    Patient-Directed Care

    • The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) noted in its 2002 overview "Patients Have Important Role in Safer Health Care" that patients can and must take more control over their health care. This has certainly become more common as of 2010, as more Americans are relying on medical websites and health education to know more about preventative and treatment services they receive. The AAOS feature suggests that patients research care providers, make note of their health and sanitation practices, and educate themselves on services and equipment received during care. AAOS even advises you to seek out a health care advocate, if necessary, to stay with you during care and to advocate on your behalf with care providers.

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