What public financing resources are available to individuals with this particular mental condition?
This week students will:
- Analyze the benefits and drawbacks of private and public sources of finance for the care of vulnerable persons.
- Propose alternative methods of paying for healthcare for those who are underinsured or uninsured.
- Analyze various barriers to accessing health services, while researching avenues to reduce or eliminate barriers.
Introduction
Welcome to Week Three! Thus far, we’ve covered a fair amount of ground in our analysis of vulnerable populations. Last week, we explored the continuum of care approach in an effort to better understand the varying health care need levels of vulnerable populations. This week, we will tackle the financial aspects associated with paying for this care; specifically, what payment options exist for vulnerable populations. When public or private funds are unavailable, alternative options may exist for individuals without health insurance. We’ll consider some of these issues as we delve into this week’s discussion forums. Your second written assignment for the course will give you an opportunity to assess barriers to health care access related to your selected group, in addition to considering some options to reduce or eliminate such barriers.
Required Resources
Required Text
- Burkholder, D. M., & Nash, N. B. (2013). Special populations in health care. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
- Chapter 5: Paying for Health Care
- This chapter explores funding of health care for vulnerable people.
- Chapter 6: Accessing Health Care
- This chapter delves into the barriers in accessing health care.
Articles
- La Fontaine, J. (2012). Explaining suicide: An afterword. Culture, Medicine & Psychiatry, 36(2), 409-418. doi:10.1007/s11013-012-9256-0
- The full-text version of this article can be accessed through the EBSCOhost database in the Ashford University Library.
- Williams, P. J. (2012). Tragedies in waiting. Nation, 295(9/10),10.
- The full-text version of this article can be accessed through the EBSCOhost database in the Ashford University Library.
Multimedia
- ABC News (Producer). (2003). Healthcare casualties: The underinsured mentally ill[Television series episode]. In America’s Struggling Healthcare System. New York, NY: ABC News. Retrieved from the Films On Demand database.
- To view the Privacy Policy and Accessibility Statements for this source, please view the Privacy Policies and Accessibility Statements listed in your Syllabus.
Recommended Resource
Article
- The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured. (2011).Mental health financing in the United States. Retrieved from http://www.kff.org/medicaid/upload/8182.pdf
Discussions
To participate in the following discussions, go to this week’s Discussion link in the left navigation.
- Cost of Health Care
- Our health, or the absence of such, can be very expensive. Many vulnerable populations simply do not have private funds available to pay for their care. Relating your research to individuals with mental conditions, select a mental illness of your choice and discuss your response to the following questions:
- What public financing resources are available to individuals with this particular mental condition?
- What are the eligibility requirements and restrictions to receive these funds?
- What happens if eligibility standards/requirements are not met by those with this illness?
- Research and discuss two methods of alternative funding for care for this group. What are the benefits and limitations of the methods you discussed?Your initial contribution should be 250 to 300 words in length. Your research and claims must be supported by a minimum of two scholarly sources beyond your course text. Use proper APA formatting for in-text citations and references as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.Guided Response: Review several of your classmates’ posts. Provide a substantive response (minimum of 100 words) to at least two of your peers. Are there any similarities and/or differences between available sources or alternative options? If so, please state the reasons why this may be the case.
- Barriers to CareSuicide and homicide are violent actions reported in the news daily. Individuals suffering from abuse, depression, mental disorders, or substance-abuse disorders are at an increased risk for committing suicide or homicide. Factors that contribute to the risk are age, gender, socio-economic status, and race/ethnicity. Additionally, situations that cause extreme life or job stress, such as those seen when a loved one dies or by military personnel, can contribute to the risk. Chapter 6 of your course text highlights barriers to care relating to the vulnerable and this population group in particular. For this discussion:
- Locate and share statistical data for your community on annual suicide and homicide rates.
- Identify and briefly describe one organizational barrier and one financial barrier relating to the suicide- and homicide-prone.
- Create two recommendations on ways each of these barriers can be reduced or eliminated.
- Identify two local resources available for suicide- or homicide-prone individuals. Discuss which services are offered and whether the services fully meet the needs of the population.Your initial contribution should be 250 to 300 words in length. Your research and claims must be supported by a minimum of two scholarly sources beyond your course text. Use proper APA formatting for in-text citations and references as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.Guided Response: Review several of your classmates’ posts. Provide a substantive response (minimum of 100 words) to at least two of your peers. Contrast your research to your peers’ findings in terms of barriers. Are your peers’ recommendations feasible?
Assignment
To complete the following assignment, go to this week’s Assignment link in the left navigation.
Assessment of Community-Level Barriers
For the second written assignment of the course, you will continue in the design of your proposed model program by demonstrating your understanding of your selected population’s challenges, which negatively impact this group’s health and well-being. Based on this week’s research, conduct an assessment of the barriers, limitations, and other distinguishing features, as they exist within your community.
- Prepare a recap of the model program for your community that you originally shared in the week 2 written assignment. As stated in the Week Two directions, changes to the potential program can be made as you research and develop the focus of the program.
- Analyze and discuss at least three critical barriers that impact the health and well-being of your chosen group; one must be a micro-level (individual) barrier that is financial, one must be a macro-level (community/state) barrier that relates to access and funding for care, and the third barrier may be one of your choosing.
- Discuss at least one proposed solution for each barrier. Your solution for the micro barrier must include an analysis of various potential funding options (both independent and integrated). Your solution for the macro barrier must include an analysis of financing resources for health care.
- Research and analyze the regulatory, legal, ethical, and accreditation requirements and issues for the service(s) offered in your proposed program. Discuss how each will impact the management of the program.
Your assignment should be a minimum of three pages in length (excluding title and reference pages) and should include a minimum of three scholarly sources cited according to APA guidelines as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. Please note: All assignments in this course are progressive; therefore you should use the same population selected in your Week Two assignment. The Week Two assignment’s contents do not need to be re-submitted with this assignment.