...Significance Of Nursing In The Implementation Of Health Care Reform Abstract The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act provides for new professional roles and educational opportunities in nursing. As the number of insured Americans increases, so will patient numbers. Increased insureds will increase demands for nursing care as this legislation is fully enacted. The ways in which nurses can provide solutions for enacting the legislation and caring for the millions of newly insured Americans are discussed. The act also provides for professional training and development of advanced practice nurses to meet the demands of increased care and increased patient load. Keywords: healthcare reform, nursing education, nursing roles Significance Of Nursing In The Implementation Of Health Care Reform Healthcare reform has captured our time and attention during the past few months, it has been a long and heated discussion. As the healthcare and its underlying payment system evolve in the face of the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; healthcare for all, a long time dream of many nurses, will be realized. This act requires all Americans to be covered by health insurance by 2014. Goals of the act are to not only enhance access to affordable care but also focus on wellness and prevention,...
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...Care Act and Nursing April 7, 2013 Policy Issue Analysis: The Affordable Care Act and Nursing Problem Identification Healthcare costs are soaring in the United States today. More people than ever before are uninsured or underinsured. In 2006-07, there were 46 million people uninsured (Gulley, Rasch, & Chan, 2011), and 9 million children also did not have health insurance (Coddington & Sands, 2008). A change in how healthcare is managed and financed is greatly needed to avoid worsening of this situation. Background The cost of healthcare and the number of uninsured individuals has become a critical issue today. Healthcare spending in the U. S. has grown faster than the economy, by about two to three percent per year since the end of World War II (Brown, 2009, p. 1). If nothing changes, Medicare will cost as much as the sum of all federal income taxes in about 75 years (Brown, 2009, p. 2). Healthcare premiums have become so unaffordable, that many families do without. The lack of insurance has a direct effect on poor health outcomes, increasing morbidity and mortality, which also contributes to increased healthcare costs (Coddington & Sands, 2008, p. 1). The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), also known as Obamacare, was signed into law on March 23, 2010, and the Supreme Court made a final decision to uphold the law on June 28, 2012 (U. S. Department of Health and Human Services). The PPACA is an attempt at healthcare reform...
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...addressed, also, equity of healthcare needs to be improved (American Nurses Association, 2014). For these reasons, according to the American Nurses Association (2014), although there are differences in opinions, most Americans agree that the healthcare delivery approach in the U.S. needs to be significantly reconstructed for improvement (American Nurses Association, 2014) . Sorrell (2012), makes an inquiry for the reason that, one would wonder that despite these common goals for the well-being of society, why is reform of the healthcare system such a debated...
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...uninsured and does not have the healthiest citizens. The lack of universal healthcare coverage in the United States has been a forefront issue. With the overwhelming amount of uninsured Americans and the past unsuccessful efforts of health care reform, the possibility of universal health care seemed to be very unlikely. The new healthcare reform bill that was recently passed under Obama’s administration anticipates covering 30 more million of the uninsured (Riegelman, 2010). However, this bill does not offer universal healthcare. While excellent medical care is available in the United States, the rising cost and the U.S. health care delivery system present many challenges for the consumer and lawmakers. This paper addresses four dimensions that are pivotal to the successes and failures of the system: cost, efficiency, quality. The cost of the U.S. health care system is higher than any country in the world. Its efficiency is also under heavy scrutiny. If it were not an emergency most physicians would require insurance verification. Therefore, patients would be delayed of treatment. Moreover, The healthcare system in the U.S. should be redesigned in terms of prevention rather than treatment when people are already sick. Insurance should not go higher for people that have pre-existing conditions or with more health risks. Prevention and portability of coverage are the main important aspects of the new health care reform. Current health care system in the United States compared to other...
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...University Healthcare Reform Healthcare reform has been a highly controversial subject. A major change was made to healthcare March 23, 2010 when then President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, making it a law. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is also referred to as simply the Affordable Care Act or as others affectionately refer to it as “Obama Care”. This was the first major healthcare reform since 1965 when Medicare and Medicaid was introduced. This healthcare reform act attempts to address the healthcare needs in the United States. Even with the introduction of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, healthcare reform is still a hot button subject for many people. Healthcare Reform 101 was written by Rick Panning and was published in the spring of 2014 in the Clinical Laboratory Science publication. In this article Panning discusses healthcare reform and how it was affected by the passing of President Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. In this paper we will explore the writings of Panning, 2014 touching on the strengths and weaknesses of his article....
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...Barbara Baxter Professor Bajwa Microeconomics May 10, 2010 Health Care Reforms: What They Mean to Me and the United States Can anyone accurately predict the outcome of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010? At this point it is all just speculation. The Federal Government, mainly the Democrats and the Department of Health and Human Services, paints one idealistic picture of the reform. The Federal Government envisions healthcare for all Americans at minimal expense to the consumer. The funding for this would come from a mixture of sources, including taxes on “rich” people, a new tax on expensive insurance, fees on healthcare industries, a tanning tax, and cuts on Medicare spending. Insurance companies are required to be more efficient and the increased competition should also decrease the cost of insurances policies. In theory, this all sounds great and would benefit me, my family, and other Americans with preexisting conditions but the critics are skeptical that all will go as planned. The Republicans and big business are predicting the worst outcomes of the new law. Even the Chief Actuary of the Medicare Program has now made some dire predictions on the actuality of the law, including an increase in spending. Critics predict that businesses may cut employee healthcare and pay the lower cost penalties instead. The cuts to Medicare Part A may put hospitals in debt and threaten access to care...
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...Healthcare Reform Melissa Benavides GE175 – American Government June 29, 2011 Mr. M. Sedam Healthcare Reform Healthcare reform has been an issue in the United States for quite some time. A number of citizens believe the government should pay for our healthcare. Others believe the government should not have any say in our healthcare and it should be paid for by private insurance companies or out of the individual’s pocket. While others still argue that medical costs are on the rise and it is becoming impossible to afford while the economy is folding in on itself. As an unmarried individual, healthcare can get quite costly for me. For those who are unemployed healthcare is most likely a pipe dream and they suffer through sickness or aches and pains. On March 23, 2010 the Affordable Health Care Act became a law. This meant that insurance companies would no longer stand between consumers and their healthcare providers. They could no longer dictate what services would be limited, and the need for seeking approval before receiving emergency care at a facility outside the plan’s network. This new law also enabled people under the age of 26 to stay on their parent’s health plan where as before, the cap age was 21. New regulations require insurance companies to cover children with pre-existing medical conditions. Lifetime limits have been abolished and companies have been made to use 80-85% of the consumer’s money they pay into the insurance for their healthcare...
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...Affordable Care Act research topics 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 [...] Universal Health Care, A Moral Duty This 11 page research paper offers a current overview of the issues associated with the topic of universal healthcare provision and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Universal health care as a moral and ethical duty is stressed. Bibliography lists 11 sources. Minimum Wage, Healthcare Reform A 3 page research paper that covers two topics. The first half of the paper presents the history of the federally mandated minimum wage, and the second half discusses the Supreme Court's announcement that it will rule on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act's required mandate for all Americans to purchase health insurance. Bibliography lists 2 sources. ESRD in NC, Access to Care for Underprivileged A 4 page research paper that examines the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) and how it impacts care for underprivileged patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD). Bibliography lists 2 sources. Health Care Changes Resulting from the PPACA In a paper of ten pages, the author writes about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The author of this paper considers four changes within health care as a result of the act including changes of private insurance, changes for the state regulations, the individual mandate provision, also age related coverage and preexisting conditions. There are three sources cited in this paper. Healthcare Reform Policy...
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...Planning in an Era of Health Care Reform Strategic Planning in an Era Of Health Care Reform ‘Volume to Value’ Abstract The White House and the current administration of President Obama made the passage of Health Care Reform a top priority and signed the bill into law March 23, 2010. There are two laws that make up the reform package; the first is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act. Critics both in support and opponents claim the bills do little to alter healthcare inflation or uneven delivery of care (Ferman, 2010). The goal of the bill is to change a volume based model in to a value based business model. A comment by Moody’s Investor services exclaimed that the reform will undoubtedly require healthcare leaders to focus even more on multi-year strategies to ensure long term financial stability (Kim, Majka, & Sussman, 2011). Leaders will have to establish a long range plan that includes financial projections and goals, long range capital expenditure requirements, debt capacity, capital position analysis, capital shortfall analysis and sensitivity and risk analysis (Kim, Majka, & Sussman, 2011). There will be substantial increases in the number of newly insured that will place a tremendous amount of stress and unknown consequences on an already burdened healthcare infrastructure (Tyson, 2010). The objective of this paper will attempt to examine the implications of reform on strategic planning of health...
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...How will the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act change healthcare? Christine Grandfield Professor Joannah Bruscell CAP480 – Arts and Sciences Capstone December 9, 2012 Healthcare reform is taking place in this country whether we want it or not! Now that the 2012 election is over, more changes will start to take place throughout the next few years. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act became a law on March 23, 2010 (Glass, 2012). The purpose of this project is to persuade any individual that will read my paper that we, as a country, will not be better off with new healthcare reform. Our president has been re-elected for a second term, healthcare reform will be enforced and made into laws, which will affect our lives, as we know it today. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will change the way healthcare organizations conduct business. There are those that say things will be better, but I do not see that happening. Healthcare costs are already rising because companies do not know what to expect. We are already paying too much for healthcare. I do not want to pay more, do you? According to Humana (2012), healthcare in the United States did not gain ground until the late 1930s when Blue Shield insurance and Baylor Hospital in Dallas created a system - now known as Blue Cross Blue Shield – in which Blue Shield established a way for “doctors to protect their interests and their payments” along with Baylor helping people pay their hospital bills...
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...with only one prepaid fee (a deductible). Years later, there were other health and medical insurance companies who started offering coverage, such as, Kaiser Permanente and others. With both companies they offer each individual/families the same medical plan with a prepaid fee for coverage for the medical care they received (National Healthcare Reform Magazine, 2012). Over the years from the 1980’s and the 1990’s, even more organization started up, changing the microeconomic and macroeconomics of healthcare. The first one is Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO). HMO’s offers individuals a low monthly fee for coverage, which includes a little to no co-pay for service and medical visits. The way HMO works, the company pays whatever they decide they want to pay, and the patient has to pay the remaining balance of what’s left. Those carriers had the power to put restrictions on the more expensive services. These carriers could decide that a service was a risk and decide not to pay for the service for the covered individual. The HMO carrier offered low cost health care and offered plans to the individual with a cost savings (National Healthcare Reform Magazine, 2012). With HMO plans that only cover low risk level treatment, some individuals started to turn to another plan, Point of Service (POS). This plan was a mix of the HMO and the Preferred...
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...Health Care Reform For The United States COM 220 4/18/2010 Natasha Brown Health care reform for the United States Even though it will cost taxpayers a small amount more, Americans have the right to free health care. There are forty seven million Americans are without health insurance and the bill will stop insurance companies from denying Americans from coverage. What the government is trying to pass is a new health insurance reform legislation that will give coverage to many Americans who desperately need it. The benefits for the people would be that everyone would have coverage. This legislation would also hold insurance companies accountable and keep soaring insurance premiums down. This would also reduce the deficit and better the economy over time as well as reducing the cost that businesses have. What is Health care reform? Health care reform is a legislation that President Obama has signed into law to improve the United States by offering basic health care to every American. “The Affordable Health Care for America Act is a piece of legislation that will provide stability and security for Americans who have insurance; quality affordable options for those who don’t; and bring down the cost of health care for families, businesses, and the government while strengthening the financial health of Medicare. And it is legislation that is fully paid for and will reduce our long-term federal deficit ” (Obama, 2009, Statement of President Barack Obama on House Passage of...
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...United States Main article: Health care reform in the United States Health care reform in the United States Healthcare reform in the US Debate over reform History Latest enacted legislation Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Senate bill - H.R. 3590) Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (H.R. 4872) preceding legislation Social Security Amendments of 1965 Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (1986) Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (1996) Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (2003) Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act (2005) [show] More information -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This box: view· talk· edit See also: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Maximum Out-of-Pocket Premium as Percentage of Family Income (Source: CRS) In the United States, the debate regarding healthcare reform includes questions of a right to health care, access, fairness, sustainability, quality and amounts spent by government. The mixed public-private health care system in the United States is the most expensive in the world, with health care costing more per person than in any other nation, and a greater portion of gross domestic product (GDP) is spent on it than in any other United Nations member state except...
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...Health Care Reform Healthcare has a long and detailed history in the United States. Since the beginning 20th century it has been a major source of political debate. Both federal and state governments have made efforts in trying to take steps toward a universal health care system. Early reform poured the foundation for today’s government healthcare programs. The United States witnessed social movements that demanded access to the American dream. People who were viewed as second class citizens banded together and demanded reform on their behalves. The largest of these movements was a demand for universal healthcare. American’s greatest issue was sickness and missing work. When working individuals missed work due to “sickness” they lost their wages. The loss of income made sickness the leading cause of poverty. Reformist saw a need for national healthcare and the campaign began. Health insurance that would protect the worker against wage loss and expenses incurred from medical treatment. In 1906, the American Associaltion of Labor Legislation (AALL) became active in the push for national health care. They created a committee that concentrated on healthcare insurance, and in 1915 drafted a bill that gave limited coverage to the working class and to anyone that earned less than $1200 a year. This draft included sick pay, death, and maternatiy benefits. The proposal was meet by opposition (Palmer, 2010). Although the American Medical Association offered its support...
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...Health care reform in the United States has a long history. Reforms have often been proposed but have rarely been accomplished. In 2010, landmark reform was passed through two federal statutes enacted in 2010: the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), signed March 23, 2010, and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 , which amended the PPACA and became law on March 30, 2010. Future reforms and ideas continue to be proposed, with notable arguments including a single-payer system and a reduction in fee-for-service medical care. The PPACA includes a new agency, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, which is intended to research reform ideas through pilot projects. ------------------------------------------------- History of national reform efforts Here is a summary of reform achievements at the national level in the United States. * 1965 President Lyndon Johnson enacted legislation that introduced Medicare, covering both hospital and general medical insurance for senior citizens paid for by a Federal employment tax over the working life of the retiree, and Medicaid permitted the Federal government to partially fund a program for the poor, with the program managed and co-financed by the individual states. * 1985 The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) amended the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to give some employees the ability to continue health insurance coverage after...
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