Achieving the policy goals presented, especially universal coverage and a public option, will likely require long, persistent action. Helping elect officials that support similar plans and discussing goals with current members of Congress are important steps. However, a large part of the elected representatives and the general population holds completely antithetical views on the proper course of action. In order to unify the population and make meaningful progress, it will be necessary to have less polarizing leadership and more detailed plans from both sides. Something I noticed when reading President Trump’s proposals as well as Congresswoman Lesko’s view was that they were focused on repealing the Affordable Care Act, but didn’t offer much by means of other options. So, an important step in furthering goals will be increasing conversation between the political parties in order to get a better assessment of policy options and find common ground to move towards universal coverage. Personally, I believe protection of the Affordable Care Act and a wider appreciation for the Act’s provisions is a huge part of moving forward. Although the ACA is 10 years old now, a large amount of political conversation surrounds protecting it. If population could take a clearer stance on the legislation, it would clear the way for new plans to take focus. Hopefully, the upcoming Supreme Court decision will settle the debate over the Constitutionality of the ACA. Any efforts to build on it could otherwise be undermined if it is repealed at a later point.

Despite the amount of time I spent researching health insurance, I still feel that my understanding is only surface-level. I would like to learn more about different areas, such as value-based pricing versus fee-based pricing, the impact of the Affordable Care Act on insurance companies and consumers as whole, and the predicted economic outcomes of single-payer and public option proposals. I also would like to read some more in-depth studies on policy, as I didn’t fully complete the two I referenced, and the American College of Physician study is actually part one of three. The proposals I focused on were also more left-leaning, as they aligned more with my personal views on health care. It would be nice to find more in-depth conservative ideas other than a total repeal of the ACA. The policies were also generally related to cost and coverage, but didn’t discuss discrimination, a topical issue I’d like to learn more about. Another area that I was extremely curious about was the role of lobbying and corporate power in health care, something that was mentioned briefly in one of the articles I read (it cited 5 lobbyists for every member of Congress) but that I didn’t have time to fully research.

Seeing as my peers are all approaching the age where they will be employed or unable to use their parents’ health insurance, I think it is very important to share information on the basics of health insurance. The system is incredibly confusing—a huge portion of my research time was spent simply trying to understand basic terms and practices—and so an early start could prove very helpful. From colloquial experience, it also seems like there are many preconceived notions about health care. I personally had assumptions on the validity of policy based solely on the people who promoted them and the language they used to do so, despite knowing virtually nothing about health care. To combat this, sharing information about the true definitions of some of the laws and proposals that are commonly discussed, such as Obamacare, Medicare for All, and the public option could be helpful. Unfortunately, the complexity of health care makes it easy to spread misinformation or imprecise facts. Overall, one of the most important messages I think I could promote is that there are no simple, widely agreed upon solutions to the problems Americans face—each policy has a wide range of possible implications, and so it is necessary to be diligent when making claims about the right way to address the issues.

I would love the opportunity to dive deeper into current legislation that is actually being debated. This would allow me to compare the proposals of unelected experts to the proposals of politicians, and have more concrete action requests for my congressional representatives. I would also like to make the public website more comprehensive and easy to follow. In the beginning, I was very conscious of the simplicity of my wording, and made sure to add pop-up definitions for confusing terms. As I became more accustomed to the language used in different articles, I think I became less focused on being clear in my explanations. Incorporating more multi-media aspects, like charts or videos, to help explain some of the concepts more clearly would also be a helpful feature. The number of issues and policy goals I researched was also lacking—though I tried to cover the main points, the issues are more complex than what I included in my product, and deserve more research and explanation. Finally, I think the project would benefit from more expert input. I would like to interview doctors, insurers, patients, public health experts, or government officials to see how the systems affect real-world function.

Though frustrating and extremely confusing at times, I have learned an enormous quantity of information from this project. While it may not seem like it from the website, it took a great deal of background reading (and conversation with my parents) to even comprehend the basics of the insurance system. This information is, of course, important to being an informed citizen. However, it will be even more applicable as I get older and need to evaluate my own health care options. Due to the daunting nature of health care, I don’t know that I would have taken the time to research it properly had it not been for this project, and my new understanding will help with purchasing my own insurance plan, planning for health care costs, and supporting different politicians. The project also opened my eyes to the difficulties other Americans face. While I have been lucky to have the same doctor my whole life, whom I visit on a yearly basis, I hadn’t considered that primary care might be a huge issue for others. I also didn’t realize that having health insurance doesn’t fix all of the problems—something striking for me was a story I read about a woman who feels relieved to have it in case of emergency, but as a result visits the doctor less often, as she is no longer eligible for uninsured discounts. Thanks to this experience, I now have a more nuanced perspective on the lives of others, as well as the true challenges of public health policy. While partisanship certainly plays a role, the truth is that even a politically well-supported and seemingly comprehensive effort could leave major holes in the system, due to the sheer amount of factors to consider and the diversity of health care needs.