Healthcare Policy Comparison Between Louisiana, North Carolina and Minnesota States

Running Head: HEATHCARE 1

 

HEATHCARE 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Healthcare Policy Comparison Between Louisiana, North Carolina and Minnesota States

Nikita Warren

Political Science 309

May 16, 2020

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Healthcare Policy Comparison Between Louisiana, North Carolina and Minnesota States

Healthcare is an important aspect of human life and every state in United States works to ensure that it is at the highest possible level. Healthcare utilizes a large percentage of every state’s budget, making it an important part of every leader’s decision. Healthcare is affected by different aspects in different states and this makes its provision quite different for the states, with some of the states being much advanced in the sector compared to the others. Healthcare in the different states is affected by the geographical conditions of the state, which is determined by the occupancy of the given state, the political state of the given state and also the party contributions of the state politically. Some of the states with a good structure of healthcare system include the states if North Carolina, Louisiana and Minnesota. These three states are comparable in terms of their political structures, geographical conditions as well as the party politics which exist there. I will do a comparison of the healthcare and state systems of my state Louisiana with the systems of North Carolina State and that of Minnesota State.

Comparative Analysis of State

These three states have similarities and also differences in their political culture. Louisiana State and North Carolina State have a traditionalistic political culture, whereby the leaders in government have a major role of safeguarding and protecting the existing political orders. On the other hand, Minnesota State has a moralistic political culture. Here, the leaders who are elected work with the agenda of achieving a community good and progress by positive actions meant for the good of the State citizens (Brint, 2020). This is done without considerations of what had been done by the previous governments, provided that it is meant for the good of the common majority. This difference will provide a good comparison of healthcare state in the moralistic and traditionalist cultures.

The geographical states of the three states present some similarities as well as differences. Louisiana State is found in region three, division five which is also referred to the west south central region. North Carolina is in region three, division five, also called the South Atlantic region. Minnesota State on the other hand is in region two, division four also called the West North Central division. These states also differ in population with Louisiana State having a population of about 4.7 million, North Carolina with about 10.5 million and Minnesota with 5.6 million. One common thing with these populations is that over half of their population is urban, Louisiana State having over 80 percent of its population in urban regions, North Carolina and Minnesota states having 60 percent and 54 percent respectively of their populations living in urban areas (USA Gov, 2020).

The three states do not use citizen initiative and the legislature is responsible for approval of the ballot. By the year 2018, Louisiana State ballot had already featured 185 amendments and 75 percent of these amendments had been approved, with 25 percent of them failing. In North Carolina State, 22 measures have appeared in the ballot and 90.9 percent of them passed. To have a measure in the ballot, 60 percent of the members of each chamber must approve. In Minnesota, 10 measures have appeared and 80 percent of them passed. In this state, one of the referendum in 2011 on roundup of schools was actually voted on what seemed to be a different way where the citizens agreed on an increase in school spending and increasing their tax to fund it (Brint, 2019).

Comparative Policy Analysis

The Traditionalistic political system of Louisiana State and North Carolina State have been a challenge in improvement of healthcare in these states. This is because there is a strong attachment to the traditional ways of healthcare. However, this is being overcome with time and in both states, there is a high concern on expansion of healthcare but the challenge is the cost to be incurred in the expansion. These states have some of the lowest enrolments in Medicare which is quite newly introduced but they have the highest users of Medicaid. This shows the impact of the traditionalistic political system on healthcare. Since 2005, Louisiana State has passed five amendments to its healthcare system as a way of improving it (Louisiana Department of Health, 2020). None of such amendments have been passed in North Carolina and this shows that the health system in Louisiana is improving rapidly. This can be attributed to the change in party preference, where currently, most of the elected leaders in Louisiana State are republicans compared to North Carolina which has remained to be a democratic state. Minnesota State has one of the best healthcare system in United States and this is attributed to the moralistic political culture where the leaders major on what is good and important for the citizens.

In the three states, majority of the population live in the Urban areas. One advantage of this geographical process is that access to healthcare is quite easy in the urban centers. However, a challenge is posed in such states as Minnesota and North Carolina where over 40 percent of the population is in the rural areas. With only 20 percent of the population of Louisiana State being in the rural areas, it is a great chance for the state to improve its healthcare even more since it is easy to improve healthcare in the urban areas. The use of Medicaid by those in the urban areas should be extended to the rural areas and have all the citizens having a quick and easy access to healthcare which is a basic need for them and one of the government’s top agendas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Brint, M. E. (2019). A genealogy of political culture. Routledge.

Louisiana Department of Health (2020). Retrieved From: http://ldh.la.gov/

USA Gov. (2020). Retrieved From: https://www.usa.gov/states-and-territories