Government Roles in Healthcare Essay

The government which consists of federal, state and local combined has many important roles in the U.S healthcare system. One of the roles in which the government provides is finance. It is estimated that 48% of healthcare was paid for by public dollars in 2008, which included Medicare, Medicaid, state and local health programs, CHIP, and Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs (Yesalis,Holt,& Politzer,2012). Federal and State governments jointly fund Medicaid, long term mental health services, community health centers and public health programs. The next important role that the government plays in the healthcare system is delivering healthcare to patients. Some examples of healthcare delivery would be the Department of Veterans Affairs which is a federal government operated facility which provides healthcare for veterans. There are hospitals and healthcare facilities which are located on military bases which are run by the federal government that are available for our military service members. There are also federal or state run government healthcare facilities which provide healthcare for uninsured or low income families for little or no cost. The Indian Health Service is another program which is run by the federal government that offers healthcare to American Indians as well. The government also has the role of regulating healthcare. One of the things that the federal government regulates is Medicare and Medicaid providers. State governments are usually more involved when it comes to regulation of healthcare. They regulate things such as: establishing health codes, regulating the insurance industry, and license health care personnel and facilities. The state government works alongside with local health departments to perform other functions as well. Some examples of these are vital statistics, mental health services, and environmental health. References: Yesalis, C., Holt, H., & Politzer, R. (2012). Fundamentals of U.S. Healthcare. Retrieved from http://wow.coursesmart.com/9781428317352/firstsection#