NURS 6051 Discussion Presidential Agendas
NURS 6051 Discussion Presidential Agendas
COVID-19
A novel coronavirus hit the U.S. in January 2020, and WHO declared coronavirus a pandemic (Sheposh, 2021). A new strain called Delta surfaced, and the death toll is once again increasing. When the pandemic began, there was a lot of confusion about how to handle the pandemic. Former President Trump first put the responsibility on states to deal with covid-19. As the case number increased, The White House created federal social distancing guidelines. At the same time, the COVID task force was formed with people of The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). President Trump declared a national emergency and ordered expanded supplies and test kits to be distributed in the U.S. The president was eager to reopen the company and return to normalcy. He signed the bill to help people for relief and put an emphasis on developing covid vaccines. He also decided not to fund the WHO and criticized the covid task force for their recommendations (Hart, 2021).
President Biden put the primary responsibility on the federal government and called for states to put more strict mask mandates in place. He signed the bills for more stimulus checks and called for swift distributions on vaccines. He decided to rejoin the WHO and promised the funding. He also called for a controversial vaccine mandate for federal workers.
No one predicted that this pandemic could happen in their lifetime. However, I feel the government has done a great job against this pandemic. Covid-19 is still ongoing, and new strains are being discovered. However, things are settling down, and I feel that life is returning to normal. During this pandemic, the federal government set a goal to innoculate people as much as possible and set an agenda to do so. I cannot entirely agree with the mandate of vaccines because I think that it is a violation of our rights. I’m afraid I also have to disagree with funding the WHO. I feel that Johns Hopkins University and CDC give us better statistics and accurate numbers, and also they function way better than WHO.
References
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). By: Sheposh, Richard, Salem Press Encyclopedia of
Health, 2021
Hart, J. (2021). Did the COVID-19 pandemic help or hurt Donald Trump’s political fortunes? PLoS ONE, 16(2), 1–10. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0247664
Discussion: Presidential Agendas
Rather than focus on the treatment of chronic disease, policies that influence population health tend to emphasize prevention and wellness; the reduction or elimination of waste and the eradication of health disparities based on race, ethnicity, language, income, gender, sexual orientation, disability and other factors. The reasoning is that good health belongs to the whole, not just an individual. (New York State Dept. of Health, n.d.)
Regardless of political affiliation, every citizen has a stake in healthcare policy decisions. Hence, it is little wonder why healthcare items become such high-profile components of presidential agendas. It is also little wonder why they become such hotly debated agenda items.
Consider a topic (mental health, HIV, opioid epidemic, pandemics, obesity, prescription drug prices, or many others) that rises to the presidential level. How did the current and previous presidents handle the problem? What would you do differently?
Reference:
New York State Department of Health. (n.d.). Making New York the healthiest state: Achieving the triple aim. Retrieved June 21, 2021 from https://www.health.ny.gov/events/population_health_summit/docs/what_is_population_health.pdf
To Prepare:
• Review the Resources and reflect on the importance of agenda setting.
• Consider how federal agendas promote healthcare issues and how these healthcare issues become agenda priorities.
By Day 3 of Week 1
Post your response to the discussion question: Consider a population health topic that rises to the presidential agenda level. How did two recent presidents handle the problem? What would you do differently?
By Day 6 of Week 1
Respond to at least two of your colleagues* on two different days by expanding on their response and providing an example that supports their explanation or respectfully challenging their explanation and providing an example.
Opioid Crisis and America
Opioid deaths are on the rise. It is well debated on what the contributing factors are. Current President Biden is said to believe it is the lack of accessibility to healthcare and Former President Trump is said to contribute it to the lack of enforcement of overprescribing. Both are correct and a direct correlation to the current crisis. 70,630 people dies from drug overdose in 2019 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2021). Despite many attempts to provide healthcare to all Americans, this remains an epidemic. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of HHS, remains the leading medical research agency and is helping to solve the crisis.
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NURS 6051 Discussion Presidential Agendas
Former President Trump declared the “opioid epidemic a national public health emergency” directing various agencies to use all and every appropriate emergency authority to combat the crisis (American Hospital Association, 2017). While in office, Former President Trump signed the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention That Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT Act; P.L.). The act was designed to address widespread overprescribing and abuse of opioids in the United States (Kirchhoff, 2019). Former President Trump attempted to reduce the ability to overprescribe and enhance monitoring and reporting while expanding coverage and access to treatment centers.
President Biden took a different approach by making sure people have access to quality and affordable health insurance. President Biden has interest in protecting the Affordable Care Act (ACA). President Biden believes that the ACA needs to be preserved and upheld. When the ACA was enacted, it provided many accesses to healthcare they would not have normally been able to obtain. The Biden administration’s plan included increasing access to evidence-based treatment for patients, enforcing mental health and substance- use insurance parity laws (Robeznieks, 2021).
Each administration did what they think, and thought was best for our nation. I would not have done anything different. We need policies and laws to help prevent and mitigate the current crisis. We, as Americans, need health care that will be affordable and accessible. We deserve a health care system that will be held accountable for misuse and will not back down.
References
American Hospital Association. (2017, October 26). Retrieved from WWW.aha.org: https://www.aha.org/news/headline/2017-10-26-president-declares-opioid-epidemic-national-public-health-emergency
Kirchhoff, S. M. (2019, January 2). The SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act (P.L. 115-271): Medicare Provisions. Retrieved from Congressional Research Services: https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R45449
Robeznieks, A. (2021, August 31). 4 Ways Biden administration can help cut drug-overdose deaths. Retrieved from WWW.Ama-assn.org: https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/opioids/4-ways-biden-administration-can-help-cut-drug-overdose-deaths
Trump, D. (2017). Executive Order 13784: Establishing the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis. Retrieved 8 31, 2021, from https://hsdl.org/?abstract&did=799917
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2021, February 19). What is the U.S. Opioid Epidemic? Retrieved from HHS.GOV/Opioids: https://www.hhs.gov/opioids/about-the-epidemic/index
