Social Policies That Have Affected Family Members

Introduction

Nowadays, people view policies differently, with one group of people accentuating the positive aspects of a certain regulation and another group not seeing any difference. Yet, it should be noted that there are both beneficial policies and those that seem to have a negative influence on people’s lives. In the life of my family, there have been specific policies that helped us in difficult moments. Among these policies are the Affordable Care Act, the Nursing Home Reform Act, The Pregnancy Discrimination Act, and the Safe Routes to School Program. The given regulations helped my family gain stability and confidence in our lives and security.

Helpful Healthcare Policies

The Affordable Care Act has had huge advantages for older people at the age gap of 55-64, who are more prone than younger individuals to suffer major, recurring health issues. Among the most meaningful influences of this policy is that it increased coverage for individuals under 65 of all ages, ethnic and racial backgrounds, educational levels, and income brackets. Before the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies had the ability to refuse coverage, limit coverage to specific health problems, or start charging extra because of a pre-existing illness (Straw et al., 2021). Insurance companies in the ACA-regulated industry are now prohibited from engaging in this strategy (Straw et al., 2021). This policy had an immense influence on my mother’s well-being since she was earlier diagnosed with diabetes. Now, with the help of the given act, as a person with modest earnings who has acquired coverage, she, like other adult individuals, has had positive health outcomes and monetary stability.

Another policy that has a positive influence on the life of our family members is The Nursing Home Reform Act (NHRA). The member that was influenced by this policy is my grandfather, who struggles with Alzheimer’s disease, and since our family cannot afford to provide him with proper care, we decided that he would receive better care from the professional facility. The Nursing Home Reform Act establishes national nursing facility quality requirements. If such a facility receives Medicare or Medicaid, it is required to satisfy certain requirements. The policy’s purpose is to ensure that elderly residents receive treatment of the highest quality. In the last two years, my grandfather had difficulties with eyesight and eventually lost vision in one eye. The policy states that such residents have to be provided with appropriate therapy and supportive equipment (Congress, 2021). Moreover, he does not move around much, and, according to the Nursing Home Reform Act, nursing home professionals must ensure that patients do not suffer from bedsores (Congress, 2021). If they do, workers must offer the required programs and care to help heal, avoid infection and the development of new wounds.

Furthermore, another policy had a major impact on my brother’s well-being due to his struggles with obesity and risks of diabetes development. The Safe Routes to Schools Program (SRTS) is an initiative that encourages students to walk or bike to school (Safe Routes Partnership, n.d.). The given program aims to enhance children’s health and safety by allowing and motivating them to commute. This program provides financing for improvements within two miles of elementary, middle, and high schools (Safe Routes Partnership, n.d.). Despite policy changes, funding for Safe Routes to School is still available under the existing government transportation bill (Safe Routes Partnership, n.d.). At the community level, people employ financing to build additional cycling lanes, walkways, and roads as well as promote and maintain the policy. The program advocates for robust municipal policies that encourage safe walking and biking. The given approach allowed my brother not only to experience a bit of autonomy and bike safely to school but maintain his health.

Additionally, in the past year, my sister experienced the influence of one of the policies due to her pregnancy and workplace discrimination. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act prohibits employers from discriminating against pregnant women. This act made it unlawful to discriminate against a woman due to pregnancy, delivery, or a medical issue connected to pregnancy or delivery (US EEOC, n.d.). Retaliation against someone who has reported a discriminatory attitude, submitted a discrimination complaint or engaged in a workplace discrimination inquiry or litigation is likewise forbidden under the law (US EEOC, n.d.). The situation with my sister involved giving her fewer tasks that involved more responsibility, which resulted in her claiming her rights.

Conclusion

Hence, many policies play an integral role in our lives, and few of them are of utmost importance in some situations. From personal experience, I see that the aforementioned regulations help protect the rights of my family members since, in many cases, they might find themselves vulnerable. The given policies cover not only the health and well-being of my family and the fundamental rights but promote equality. While there is a minority group that does not require that much aid, there is also a majority of unprotected people. The system proves to give opportunities to people, yet it is still imperfect and hopefully will provide more policies that will be able to protect others.

References

Congress. (2021). Nursing Home Reform Modernization Act of 2021. Library of Congress. 

Safe Routes Partnership. (n.d.). Safe Routes to School.

Straw, T., Cross-Call, J., Lukens, G., & Broaddus, M. (2021). Recovery legislation should build on Affordable Care Act improvements in coverage for adults over 55. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

US EEOC. (n.d.). The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978. US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.