User Pays Model in Aged Care for GDP- myassignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about theUser Pays Model in Aged Care for GDP. Answer: Introduction Most Asian countries are undergoing rapid growth in the gross domestic product (G.D.P), the political atmosphere, and ways of life have also changed significantly. Recently, the countries in the eastern part of the world are experiencing improvement in life expectancy. Furthermore, the death rates have gone down; while, the fertility rates have gone up. The combination of the above factors presents countries with a more significant percentage of aging individuals. The Asian nations have meager health facilities to cater for the aging population. This essay looks at the concept of user pays system in aged care. Furthermore, the paper finds out various governments, especially the Australian administration are embracing the model to take care of the elderly. Administrations of multiple countries need to borrow a leaf from the Australian Health Sector on how to attend to the old in the community. The Model in Aged Care The Model is applied in Australia to cater for the Elderly, and other vulnerable members of the society. Three alternative modes for paying for health care exist. Firstly, persons who prefer to access medical attention through private hospitals can adopt the health assurance policy (Almgren, 2017). The individuals pay premiums regularly. Families, having elderly members pay the dividends for those that cannot afford the regular payments. The first alternative is efficient since it enables the elderly to skip long queues at the health facilities (Barrington, 2017). The Australian administration has subsidized treatment. Patients cater for a minimal fee; government incurs the remaining expenses. There is a fee that every citizen bears to enable the government to render free treatment (Chaudhary Arokiasamy, 2017). The cost is not exorbitant as most patients regardless of their age can afford the fee. Disadvantages of the Model Even after paying the dues that assist the government in subsidizing health care, the model has some flaws. Individuals, who choose public over private hospitals, find it difficult to access the right specialist for their ailments (Clough Herring, 2017). Almost 80% of the total population prefers health facilities. Long lines are the order of the day at public hospitals; hence the elderly have a difficult time in accessing treatment (Barrington, 2017). The government funding towards the health care cannot adequately cater for the bulging aging populations. Proposed solutions to the Problems The government is urging the members of the society to do the following tasks. Firstly, to desist from overly on the already crowded public sector for medical attention. Instead, citizens should apply for health assurance cards from private health facilities (Ducket Willcox, 2015). By doing so, citizens are relieving the public hospitals of the burden of overcrowding. The government is encouraging the working class to visit the private hospitals to free up space in the public hospitals for the elderly population. Furthermore, the national administration is allocating more resources to facilitate treatment at the grass root level (Yiengprusawan, 2017). The mainstream hospitals can now specially attend to the elderly and those suffering from chronic ailments. Policies Enhancing Aged Care The political class has realized that Australia has a rapidly growing population of elderly individuals. Furthermore, the people of the old, demanding for urgent medical attention has doubled in the past year (Almgren, 2017). Those that require services of a nurse in the comfort of their home have also increased (Stiglitz Rosengard, 2015). The national executive has realized that they are wasting so many resources in the health department. Moreover, the Australian government is channeling more funds to the grass root health centers (Ng, Leung Ho, 2018). The rationale behind the change in policy is to cater for the elderly. Home-Based medical attention suits them; since they cannot walk for long distances to access hospitals. In the change of policy, the government demands that relatives of an older adult should attend to them. The individual should meet the basic health demands by the elder (Henderson, Willis, Xiao Toffoli et al., 2016). Furthermore, the government is sending more nurses and other health practitioners to the grass root levels. The nurses have a duty to looks after the elderly population and provide them with any necessary medical help (McGeorge Bateman, 2017). The government has set aside a remuneration package for the relatives who look after the elderly (Barrington, 2017). The wages motivates the caretakers to look after the elderly effectively. Additionally, the Australian administration has reduced the funds that it pumps into the pharmaceutical sector (Barrington, 2017). More funds go directly into the community-based programs. The administration is encouraging the establishment of community hospitals. The government is reducing the legislation and the fees needed to establish a local health facility. The change has ensured that more community health centers are in existence (Oloughlin, Browning Kendig, 2016). Therefore, the elderly can easily access medical attention. Furthermore, the government has improved the terms of work for nurses at the local hospitals. Nurses in the urban centers are shifting allegiances to the local hospitals to enjoy the improved wages. Suggestions for Enhancement of Aged Care The various administrations in different countries need to consider the following recommendations to cater for the elderly adequately. The government should ensure that individuals have a prolonged life expectancy. The elders should be free from danger. Furthermore, people of advanced age should retain their expertise of earning a living throughout their lives. Additionally, elders should regularly do physical exercise. Whenever they feel worn out, elders should retire from rigorous activities. Elders should receive financial and social support from the community. Relatives, members of the family, and community-based self-help groups should take care of the elderly. A societal service is one that family members, friends, and the national executive offers to the older person (O'lounghlin et al., 2016). Care aids include guidance and counseling clubs, free wheelchairs for the disabled, free transportation, free food, home-based assistance, among others (Henderson et al., 2016). Local health facilities take care of sick elders who cannot afford to travel to municipality hospitals (Raval, Patel Yasobant, 2017). Members of the community need to acquire knowledge on how to look after elders. In Malaysia, the cost of treating an elderly individual is tax-free (Chaudhary Arokiasamy, 2017). Furthermore, the Malaysian government building houses for individuals of advanced ages (Clough Herring, 2017). The houses belonging to the elderly should have appropriate lights and sufficient space to suit the older. For the more former who stay close to urban areas, their dwellings should be adjacent to sources of their requirements. The means of transport should be easy to access. The elders need to move from one point to another, in search of necessities such as food. Members of the community should come up with economic activities that can suit elders. The government in collaboration with other stakeholders should construct comfortable workshops for the elders. When feeling tired, they should be free to stop working and go back home. Malaysia is advancing towards urbanization and industrialization (Ducket Willcox, 2015). The country should ask skilled elderly to train youths on useful industrial skills. The community-based health workers should encourage the old to shun health hazards. Some of the habits to avoid are alcoholism, smoking, and eating fatty foods. Finally, the nurses and other health practitioners should assume the responsibility of taking proper care of elders. They should ensure that elders have peace, and are also financially comfortable. Conclusion The Australian authorities have one of the most efficient age care systems in the world. The user pay model functions in three ways namely: payment of insurance policy in private hospitals; payment of consultation fee in private hospitals, and an additional fee to the health department to further subsidize the cost of health care. The model is expensive as the elderly cannot afford to pay insurance premiums. Furthermore, long queues at public hospitals prevent the elderly from accessing health care. The government is funding locally-based hospitals to bring health services closer to the old. Furthermore, the government has reduced the requirements for establishing a community-based health facility; hence, more facilities exist at grass root level. The Australian government has allocated more funds to community-based healthcare. The government and other health specialists should ensure that elders live a dignitary life. References Almgren, G. (2017). Health care politics, policy, and services: a social justice analysis. Springer publishing company. Barrington, R. (2017). Health, medicine, and politics in Ireland 1900-1970. Health. Chaudhary, M., Arokiasamy, P. (2017). Patterns of Frailty and Quality of Life among Older Adults: Comparative Analysis Using SAGE States of India. Journal of Population Ageing, 1-23. Clough, B., Herring, J. (2018). Introduction. In Ageing, Gender and Family Law (pp. 1-11). Routledge. Duckett, S., Willcox, S. (2015). 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