Various Government Roles in Health Care

The government performs several important roles, including financing, delivering, and regulating the delivery of healthcare. The federal government or the state government programs provides healthcare for uninsured individuals or low income families with needs. The federal government regulates programs such as Medicaid and Medicare providers. They regulate such things as health codes, the insurance industry, licensed personnel, and facilities. Important Roles 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 an d public health programs. Regulation shapes all aspects of America's fragmented health care industry, from the flow of dollars to the communication between physicians and patients.It is the engine that translates public policy into action. While the health and lives of patients, as well as almost one-sixth of the national economy depend on its effectiveness, health care regulation in America is bewilderingly complex. Government agencies at the federal, state, and local levels direct portions of the industry, but hundreds of private organizations do so as well. Some of these overseers compete with one another, some conflict, and others collaborate. Their interaction is as important to the provision of health  care as are the laws and rules they implement. (Robert I. Field)RegulationsThe state government also regulates licensing for health care personnel, facilities, and establishes health codes. The government basically controls the health industry with rules and regulations. Rangi ng from: Regulation/licensing, mental health services, vital statistics, public health issues, public health laboratories, communicable disease control programs, environmental health, maternal/child health, health planning, and health education. (Yesalis, Holt, & Politzer, 2012).