How Oklahoma is improving its healthcare systems and outcomes

Discuss state initiatives to address concerning health problems: how public resources are utilized to improve population outcomes.

            Healthcare, over the past decade has become a very contentious and polarizing issue with the United States. For one, populations are now becoming much older. As these populations are living longer, they often require a larger number of social benefits and healthcare. The strong demand for healthcare related services has helped to fuel a rapid rise in healthcare costs throughout the United States. Currently, healthcare expenditures as a percentage of GDP are roughly 18% or roughly $3.8 trillion. On a per capita basis, this is roughly $11,582 per person. Even more alarming is that these trends of increasing costs show no signs of abating. In 2020, healthcare cost rose 4.6% well more than the overall GDP growth of the country which has historically be 2% to 3%. By the year 2030, some healthcare experts predict that healthcare expenditure will rise to nearly 20% of GDP.

            With nearly 1 in every 5 dollars being allocated to healthcare by the year 2030, it should be expected that healthcare outcomes would improve. However, as compared to wealthiest 11 nations on earth, healthcare outcomes are the worst in the United States. In essence, the United States has rising healthcare costs, pays substantially more for healthcare services, but has the worst outcomes. These trends show no signs of abating and as a result requires initiatives to help stem rising healthcare costs.

            One such state that is looking to leverage healthcare innovations to help lower healthcare costs while improving outcomes is Oklahoma. Oklahoma is unique in that it ranks as one of the worst states in terms of health status. According to its latest healthcare report, the state of Oklahoma ranks 49TH in fruit consumption with just 1 fruit consumed per day. The state ranks 47th in immunizations. It ranks 47TH in physical activity among adults and rants 45th in smoking with nearly 25% of the population smoking. In addition, nearly 33% of the population is obsess. Oklahoma, much like other states are dealing with healthcare associated with poor healthcare choices which includes obesity, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and other food related illnesses. COVID-19 has only exacerbated these concerns as nearly 40,000 residents have died from COVID-19. To combat these issues, the state has created the Oklahoma Health Improvement Plan. Here the state has undertaken this initiative as a means of helping to improve the well-being of its residents. This, legislatures believe, will ultimately result in better health outcomes for residents, lowering the growth of expenditures throughout the state. These lower healthcare expenditures can thus be reallocated to other important initiatives throughout the state which includes education and infrastructure. Through the plan, the state also hopes to improve economic conditions for the state through a reduction in health-related illnesses, lower absenteeism, and heightened productivity. This increase in productivity will ultimately create more jobs, increase wages, and allow the state to become more prosperous. The state through its healthcare plan recognizes that healthcare is the foundation for all other economic elements within the state. By having a healthier population, economic activity can grow and develop (DeVol, 2007).

            The Oklahoma Health Improvement Plan is based on a foundation of four healthcare pillars. First improve population outcomes the plan looks to address tobacco use, obesity, child health and behavior health. These four pillars, experts believe will ultimately help to improve population outcomes throughout the state. To combat tobacco use, the state passes legislation banning smoking in all indoor public spaces and workplaces. In addition, the state has initiative policies to help increase the price of tobacco related products throughout the state to make usage more expensive. The state has also engaged in a multi-million-dollar advertising campaign designed to discourage the use of tobacco among adults and children (Jamal, 2014).

            As it relates to obesity the state has invested heavily in the availability of parks and other recreational facilities throughout the state. The state has also looked to target underserved populations within the African American and Hispanic populations to help target obesity efforts. These efforts include educating these populations on the consequences of poor eating habits. It has also revamped the public-school lunch system to enable a much healthier lifestyle. The idea here is to develop strong eating habits among children so that they can better prepare for a healthy lifestyle within adulthood. This also related to the state’s initiative related to children’s health, which encourages outdoor play and a healthy lifestyle (Lang, 2014).

            Finally, as it relates to behavior health, the state is looking to increase the overall health and wellness of Oklahomans by reducing the prevalence of addiction disorders. Tobacco addictions were addressed in detail earlier. Other areas include drug and alcohol abuse prevention. The state has expanded the drug court and family drug court availability. It has also improved screening efforts and expanded the referral system. Finally, the state is looking to address mental illness. Here, the state has also expanded screening tools used to identify individual with mental health disorders. It has expanded treatment options and has increased the mental health research budget by 30% as compared to last year. Finally, it has created a systems of care statewide program to help families and friends of those who are dealing with mental health issues.