Hands ON My Healthcare Policy

One of the key trends in the nonprofit sector is changes in demographics. When it comes to health care, medical professionals and volunteers are trained to treat a variety of conditions and must not refuse care to anyone based on gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, or religion. One growing demographic change that could potentially affect nonprofits related to health is the increase in the amount of people who are living longer. As the elderly population grows, facilities that offer programs such as hospice and palliative care must grow as well. Nonprofits must figure out a way to expand their operations to meet the needs of a fluctuating population and provide services that cater to specifically them.

The city of Boston in Massachusetts is one of many to adopt the PILOT, or payment in lieu of taxes, program aimed at nonprofits who enjoy tax exemption status by the federal government as a voluntary program where those who own land but do not pay taxes for it give the city money to contribute to public services such as funding for the fire department as well as parks and recreation. However, in 2017, the city only received $32.4 million, 65% of the $49.5 million they originally requested. Time after time, the city receives smaller and smaller portions of the amounts they are requesting from nonprofits such as local hospitals. However, CEO’s at some urban hospitals make over $1.7 million a year, 1/20 of what was donated. Many believe that nonprofits should be taxed because the state looses out on millions of dollars a year from potential land taxes; however, health related nonprofits are serving the community in a way that is unique to other groups so being tax exempt aids them in achieving their public service mission.

http://www.thenonprofittimes.com/news-articles/nonprofits-worth-887-3-billion-u-s-economy/

One of the goals of economic development is increasing the participation of disadvantaged populations in the economic system. One non-traditional way individuals participate in the economy however is through spending on health care costs, more notably hospice care. Hospice care is designed to provide the maximum amount of comfort and care to individuals who are terminally ill and in the final stages of life. Focus is on comfort, not on treatment. In 2009, “Medicare paid $55 billion for doctor and hospital bills incurred during the last two months of patients’ lives”, including an average costs of $10,700 per patient in 2010. Medicare is a federally funded program that supplements health care costs for people over the age of 65 years old. However, it is possible for nonprofits to participate in the economy by also funding programs designed to administer hospice to not just the elderly, but all citizens who are terminally ill.

Universal healthcare is a highly contentious area of debate. Former candidates such as Bernie Sanders advocated for a single payer system while others such as Donald Trump rallied their base of the platform of repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, affectionately known as Obamacare. While people usually do not protests over health policy issues, many slogans such as “Hands Off My Healthcare” became popular after the current administration decided to reform the ACA in an unpopular way. Listed above are five different proposals to replace our current healthcare system, which include propositions from Senator Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy. Healthcare reform affects everyone, but not a lot of people are paying attention to it.

What do Black Lives Matter, Me Too, and Never Again have in common? They are all social movements created in response to a social problem that has been ongoing for years but only recently made it to the public forum through the use of tools such as social media to make them more prominent. What about healthcare though? Why are there no large scale protests and movements being organized to fight ability of pharmaceutical companies to lobby Congress so that doctors get paid by opioid manufactures to prescribe such addictive painkillers? Black Lives Matter, Me Too, and Never Again all substantially represent large portions of the population. However, in recent years, the war on drugs has predominantly affected white individuals and those coming from impoverished areas. Without the aid of nonprofits to help constituents form a platform, health policy issues such as this may never be changed.

Although the American Medical Association represents hundreds of thousands of doctors and medical students across the country, they are not immune to partisan rifts and petty bickering when it comes to politics. When Trump announced his desire to nominate Tom Price, a notorious right-wing, conspiracy driven former orthopedic surgeon, to be the head of the Department of Health and Human Services, heads began to roll. As a 501c(6) nonprofit organization, the AMA has the right to lobby congress and advocate for particular solutions to health crisises. However, when an issue such as this divides them, members begin to pick and choose which side of the organization they support and suddenly their power diminishes and their voice is not as strong.

The American Medical Association is a type of nonprofit organization that is classified as 501c(6) under the category of business leagues. Although it is number 12 on the top 25 list of most powerful lobbying groups in America, it has the second largest amount of revenue in 2012, right behind the National Education Association of the United States. One way nonprofits participate in politics is through mobilization. On the official Twitter page of the AMA, all 669,000 of their followers are able to track the many tips, guides, and resources the lobbyist group posts about health-related information. This allows them to keep in contact with their members and stay up to date regarding the saliency of many controversial decisions and issues.

When a city or town is crushed by a natural disaster such as a hurricane or a tornado, what is the first thing they do? What about a country as large as Haiti who is afflicted by an earthquake? Many times, the first thing that comes to mind is the devastation left behind in the form of damaged belongings, collapsed homes and buildings, and upside-down cars. However, an essential part of aid and rescue operations are volunteer nurses and doctors who travel to these afflicted areas and provide emergencies services to survivors who could be on the brink of death. We do not think about it often, but the altruism these individuals exhibit and the selflessness it takes to drop everything and give to those who have nothing is remarkable and unmatched. It takes a lot to be a professional in the healthcare field, but even more to volunteer those services away from home.

Nurses represent an integral part of the healthcare community and are vital to the efficient performance of any hospital or clinic. Despite the fact that nurses work an astronomical number of hours per week, some still find the time to volunteer, especially when there is a natural disaster and relief is imperative. However, one thing is getting in the way of nurses continuing to volunteer and that is rising healthcare costs from the federal government. Because costs are soaring, hospitals and clinics are having to channel money into resources that neglect adequate care and attention for their staff. This policy issue is preventing men and women who work in the health field from being able to take the time out of their day and aid the less fortunate. Without nurses, healthcare would not be what it is today in any regard.

Social capitol is incredibly instrumental in the process of building relationships and enhancing one’s social network. Not only does the community thrive, but the benefits from having a large network of trusted acquaintances are immeasurable and indefinite. However, how do individuals who are diagnosed with certain medical conditions thrive within a society that frowns upon disability? In order to create a level playing field, more must be done to create awareness about medical issues and disabilities such as the creation of nonprofit organizations dedicated to proving support and consciousness around the nation. Although many exist today, volunteer action or funding from the government could give them the resources they need to change more lives.

Is intermittent fasting becoming a new trend? Are Americans beginning to realize the health benefits associated with abstaining from food on a premeditated basis because their favorite celebrities are doing it or does this new trend represent a transmission of ideas and actions? Since the founding of Islam, Muslims have fasted for thirty days out of every year during the month of Ramadan to symbolize their devotion to God and their willingness to submit and demonstrate obedience. Could Americans not eating any food for fifteen hours signify their ability to integrate historically Islamic rituals into their daily lives? Although the health benefits of fasting have not been proven, this is definitely indicative of a civil society that is embedding outward into others.

There are over a million nonprofit organizations in the United States, all focused on a mission specifically oriented towards their goals. One of the many nonprofit organizations that exist in our nation today is the Kaiser Family Foundation, which is an independently run think tank that provides non-partisan, non-biased, free information to the public regarding health policy across the globe. The Kaiser Family Foundation is a significant group that educates all people on what is currently important in health news and interprets significant amount of data from polls and surveys to give the public a general estimate on the temperament of the nation. As such, this foundation is one of many that receives a tax break from the IRS as part of section 501(c)(3), so the group itself does not have to pay taxes and those that donate receive a tax cut as well. 

Attached above is a comprehensive list of the top twenty-five nonprofits hospital systems in the nation. Non-profits organizations are crucial for our communities because they provide resources and aid where the government and private sector is unable to fill. Even more beneficial is having not for profit health care systems because individuals are able to receive tailored care by professionals and organizations that do not seek their money, but their satisfaction and well being. Among the list of top non-profit hospitals is the Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Oakland, California. The Kaiser Family Foundation is a prominent think tank that provides free healthcare information to the public and is independently run.

Non-profit organizations are organizations that exist primarily to make the world a better place. Non-profits are mission driven rather than profit driven and are staffed with thousands of volunteers. It is estimated that these groups provide benefits to the nation close in monetary value to over $300 billion. One of the most well known non-profits in the healthcare field is the American Heart Association. The AHA not only provides CPR classes so individuals are able to look for the signs of heart risks, but their goal is to raise awareness for heart disease, the leading cause of death every year, especially for men.

Drops in the total number of individuals signed up for the healthcare market place could be due to a variety of factors. Because enrollment in a federal program such as this is considered a top-down approach, one of the problems with implementation could be lack the lack of recourses actors in the policy had at the lower level in order to effectively institute the program. Another problem could be an over emphasis on the national government's role and a simplification of the role state and local governments play, which could be indicated by the increase in signups with states who had their own health care market place. Maybe the federal government would benefit from combining top-down and bottom-up approaches to create a synthesis.