The Hidden Hand of the Political System on the Healthcare System

Written by George Alfred Ochieng

The unvoiced influence of political policies on social and health systems.

A pregnant 19-year old woman, Jane is trying to survive and work toward a better future for herself and her growing child in a less desirable environment.  She lives in a low-income neighbourhood. Sidewalks are scarce, city buses do not run through her community, healthcare providers refuse to operate in her community owing to poor reimbursement rates, and the local schools are falling.

Each of these conditions was politically determined. Politicians determined whether to create and keep housing segregation in place, and whether to expand resources to build sidewalks, parks, or recreational facilities in the community so individuals can walk, play, and exercise. Politicians decided whether to create a bus route through the community to connect it with other more resourced communities or not.

Politicians also influenced decisions to cover Gynecologic, and other health services under government health insurance programs or to increase reimbursement rates to incentivize healthcare providence to serve poorer populations.

Jane’s dilemma highlights the trickle-down effect of policies put into place by elected officials who do not consider the humans who are bound to the regulations they create. These decisions made by the policy makers impact Jane’s  birth experience: Due to a lack of insurance, she gives birth to a child 9 weeks prematurely, owing to undiagnosed preeclampsia, and is not given the tools to help her or her child to thrive, and grow as a healthy family. The government systemic neglect experienced by disadvantaged communities restricts and limits their ability to control the air they can breathe, the food they can eat, and the quality of their healthcare. 

It is therefore up to the citizens who have the sovereign power to make more ethical choices and decisions, and to be cognizant of the fact that their universal suffrage choices have a direct impact on their health, because it is the government that formulates and implements health policies.