Benchmark-Population Health Policy Analysis

 Select a current or proposed health care policy that is designed to improve a specific population’s access to quality, cost-effective health care. In a paper of 1,000-1,250 words, include the following:

Explain the policy and how it is designed to improve cost-effectiveness and health care equity for the population. Is the policy financially sound? Why or why not? How does the policy account for any relevant ethical, legal, and political factors and the nursing perceptive one must consider when implementing it?
To what state, federal, global health policies or goals is this particular policy related? How well do you think the policy is designed to achieve those goals?
Finally, discuss the advocacy strategies you would employ on behalf of your population to ensure they have access to the benefits of the policy. Explain, from a Christian perspective, the professional and moral obligation of advanced registered nurse to advocate for and promote health and prevent disease among diverse populations.
You are required to cite five to 10 sources to complete this assignment. Sources must be published within the last 5 years and appropriate for the assignment criteria and nursing content.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

Benchmark Information

This benchmark assignment assesses the following programmatic competencies:

MS Nursing: Public Health

MS Nursing: Education

MS Nursing: Acute Care Nurse Practitioner

MS Nursing: Family Nurse Practitioner

MS Nursing: Health Care Quality and Patient Safety

2.1: Examine financially sound health care policy that incorporates the nursing perspective and relevant ethical, legal, and political factors.

2.2: Determine advocacy strategies for improving access, quality, and cost-effective health care for diverse populations.

4.2: Integrate appropriate state, federal, and global health policies and goals into the design of equitable health care for populations.

4.3: Examine the professional and moral obligation of master\'s-prepared nurses to respect human dignity and advance the common good through working to promote health and prevent disease among diverse populations from a Christian perspective.

Diabetes-related morbidity and mortality are relatively high among racial minorities, especially African Americans in the US. This rate is twice that of the non-Hispanic whites. According to Noonan et al. (2016), approximately 12.6% and 7.1% of African American and non-Hispanic whites’ adults, respectively, were diagnosed with diabetes by 2014. Benchmark-Population Health Policy Analysis. Thus, the number of minorities who are hospitalized due to diabetes-related complications is relatively higher than that of other ethnic groups. In most cases, hospitalization is due to retinopathy, lower, end-stage renal disease, and extremity amputations, among other complications associated with diabetes. Therefore, some intervention measures are required to address the issue of health disparities among racial minorities. In particular, healthcare disparities among the minority groups can be resolved through the formulation and implementation of health care policies that cater to the care needs of this population group. Specifically, culturally tailored interventions will be useful in addressing the matter. These interventions will be developed from a collaboration of the public, healthcare system, and the community who understand the health disparities among the minorities and their impact on their care services’ quality and access. The high disease burden is anticipated to be addressed by improving health outcomes through effective disease management (Davy et al., 2015). While so many policies have been implemented in the healthcare sector, the affordable care act plays a significant role in improving the quality of healthcare services accessed by African Americans in the US at a reasonable cost to improve the management of diabetes among this patient population. Benchmark-Population Health Policy Analysis.

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How is the Affordable Care Act Designed to Improve Cost-Effectiveness and Population’s Health Care Equity?

The Affordable Care Act is a comprehensive health care reform law enacted in March 2010 during the reign of President Barack Obama. It is also referred to as ACA, Obamacare, or PPACA. The Affordable Care Act provides subsidiaries to the consumers to access healthcare services at relatively low and affordable costs. This policy applies to households whose income level ranges from 100% to 400% of the country’s federal poverty level. The Affordable Care Act focuses on increasing healthcare coverage for individuals with low income, mainly the minorities, including the African Americans. This policy is financially sound since it is stable, secure, and focuses on increasing the access to care services of the minority groups. This policy constitutes of some critical features of the law, including the federal subsidies. Its primary goal is to expand Medicaid eligibility to Americans with an income level of up to 138% of the country’s national poverty level. Additionally, the policy has enabled citizens whose income ranges from 100 to 400% of the poverty level to afford medical covers by setting aside some large premium subsidies (Sommers et al., 2015). This policy’s implementation resulted in a substantial decline in the number of uninsured African Americans in 2014 (Kominski et al., 2017). Benchmark-Population Health Policy Analysis. Consequently, the healthcare system’s operations have been improved significantly by the enforcement of the affordable care act in the country. Care providers mainly pay attention to the critically ill patients who require immediate medical attention. Thereby, this policy has lowered the cost of care services. On the contrary, it has led to a substantial improvement in the quality of care since care providers are compensated based on the provided care quality.

This healthcare policy accounts for legal and ethical factors. This policy’s legal aspect involves using tax payer’s money to improve the quality-of-care services provided to the citizens with low-income levels in the country. On ethics, the policy promotes the provision of quality care to individuals with low income, especially the minority. Benchmark-Population Health Policy Analysis. Therefore, individuals with low socioeconomic status can access quality care despite their economic status. A nurse must ensure that patients’ rights, such as quality care services and the freedom to make decisions regarding treatment, are considered during care delivery.

Global Health Policies related to the Affordable Care Act

Some states who are members of WHO focus on improving the quality-of-care services delivery to the patients. For this reason, WHO developed a framework to promote people-centered health services to meet their care needs (World Health Organization, 2018). This policy is related to the Affordable Care Act, which focuses on improving the quality and access to care services for individuals with low-income levels in the US. I think this policy is well designed to meet the healthcare policy set by WHO since it promotes quality care services to people with low-income levels, especially the minority in the US.

The Advocacy Strategies

Some advocacy strategies are required to ensure that the population benefits from the Affordable Care Act. First, one can advocate for the population’s rights by communicating individuals’ care needs to the elected officials. Sharing opinions and views regarding the health care reform with the elected officials will trigger them to take appropriate action to ensure that policy covers individuals with low-income in the society, especially those living below the poverty level. Benchmark-Population Health Policy Analysis. Consequently, people with low socioeconomic status can access quality care services despite their financial situation. Additionally, a person can advocate for the population’s interests and rights by joining an advocacy organization. The organization will provide a platform for the people’s airing care needs, thus initiating an appropriate action to be taken to improve the quality and access of care for the population.

Additionally, advanced nurses have a God-given duty to advocate for the care needs of the patients. The professional nursing standards require the nurses to support and promote quality and competent patient-centered care among the diverse population (Oldland et al., 2020). Therefore, nurses should be knowledgeable, competent, and skilled. Provision of quality care prevents disease and promotes health among the members of these diverse populations. Promoting quality care of all people irrespective of their ethnicity is similar to God’s universal love to humankind. Additionally, advanced nurses have a moral obligation to advocate for and promote diverse populations’ health to prevent an outbreak of diseases. Benchmark-Population Health Policy Analysis. According to Haddad and Geiger (2018), healthcare providers have an ethical responsibility to prioritize patient care. Thus, advanced nurses advocate for the patients’ rights by urging nurse practitioners to provide quality and safe care to all patients without considering their ethnicity.

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Overall, the Affordable Care Act has resulted in cost-effective health care for individuals with low-income levels, especially the minorities. Access to quality care services has played a significant role in reducing the high burden of diabetes among African Americans. In other words, improved care has lowered the high morbidity and mortality rates associated with this condition. Additionally, advanced nurses have professional and moral obligations to advocate for their patients’ interests and rights to ensure that they benefit from the Affordable Care Act.  Benchmark-Population Health Policy Analysis. 

References

Davy, C., Bleasel, J., Liu, H., Tchan, M., Ponniah, S., & Brown, A. (2015). Effectiveness of chronic care models: opportunities for improving healthcare practice and health outcomes: a systematic review. BMC health services research, 15(1), 1-11.

Haddad, L. M., & Geiger, R. A. (2018). Nursing ethical considerations. Europe PMC. https://europepmc.org/article/nbk/nbk526054

Kominski, G. F., Nonzee, N. J., & Sorensen, A. (2017). The Affordable Care Act’s impacts on access to insurance and health care for low-income populations. Annual review of public health, 38, 489-505.

Noonan, A. S., Velasco-Mondragon, H. E., & Wagner, F. A. (2016). Improving the health of African Americans in the USA: an overdue opportunity for social justice. Public health reviews, 37(1), 1-20. Benchmark-Population Health Policy Analysis.

Oldland, E., Botti, M., Hutchinson, A. M., & Redley, B. (2020). A framework of nurses’ responsibilities for quality healthcare—Exploration of content validity. Collegian, 27(2), 150-163.

Sommers, B. D., Maylone, B., Nguyen, K. H., Blendon, R. J., & Epstein, A. M. (2015). The impact of state policies on ACA applications and enrollment among low-income adults in Arkansas, Kentucky, and Texas. Health Affairs, 34(6), 1010-1018.

World Health Organization. (2018). Improving the quality of health services: tools and resources. file:///C:/Users/Magdah/Downloads/9789241515085-eng%20(1).pdf . Benchmark-Population Health Policy Analysis.