NURS 6050 Healthcare Program/Policy Evaluation Analysis Paper
Affordable Care Act Policy Evaluation Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Healthcare Program/Policy Evaluation Analysis Template
Use this document to complete the Module 6 Assessment Global Healthcare Comparison Matrix and Narrative Statement
| Healthcare
Program/Policy Evaluation |
Evaluation of The Affordable Care Act (ACA)Policy |
| Description | Patient protection and Affordable Health Care Act, also popularly known as ‘Obama Care’ is a health policy that was signed into law by President Barrack Obama on 23rd March, 2010. At the moment, the policy stands out as the most extensive in the United States’ healthcare system since the approval of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965.
The impacts of the policy have been vast and wide. The most significant element of the policy is that it provides subsidies which makes healthcare insurance affordable (Blumenthal et Al., 2015). Another aspect of the policy is that it emphasizes on preventive care by improving legislations that govern how the care itself is delivered. |
| How was the success of the program or policy measured? | The success of the ACA policy can only be effectively measured by considering how much it reduces the number of uninsured people and if it improves the quality of care, whose availability will be at a low cost. Its success will also be quantified by reviewing the federal and state budget |
s which will take several tears to be noticeable. Basically, it can be said that the policy has been successful at availing affordable care to millions of Americans. This is because, following its introduction, more than 20million people have been able to access healthcare insurance with more medical coverage. In addition, those where poorly insured get a chance to access quality medical insurance at a relatively low cost.
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How many people were reached by the program or policy selected? How much of an impact was realized with the program or policy selected? |
Before the implementation of ACA, may people were uninsured due to the loopholes in the public insurance system, and inaccessibility to affordable health insurance. The ACA policy has demonstrated the largest gains in coverage in the history of United States’ healthcare. The policy extended medical coverage to low income earners and provided subsidies to the people below 400% of poverty. For instance, after it was signed in 2010, the number of uninsured elderly people reduced from 44 million in 2013 to 27 million in 2016. |
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What data was used to conduct the program or policy evaluation? |
Evaluation of a healthcare policy involves a thorough activity of gathering, examining, and the use of evidence based data to come up with answers to some fundamental questions arising from the policy. Policy evaluations may be of various types such as process and outcome evaluations, cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness evaluations, and formative and summative evaluations. In terms of cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness, the ACA demands for all insurance companies to scrap off annual and lifetime limits and cover all costs to reduce the unnecessary catastrophic costs for individuals (French et Al., 2016). |
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What specific information on unintended consequences were identified? |
Healthcare providers continue to utilize several strategies to adapt and remain compliant to the requirements of the ACA policy. However, as the policy continues to take root, it yields to unintended consequences. These include continuity of care whereby different organizations are unable to offer consistent care, which often arises from transferring patients from system to system (Dubois, 2015).
Another consequence is the outpatient treatment. The policy advocates for 60% outpatient care and 40% in patient, which is a disadvantage since most patients view hospitals as safer places of in case of adverse reactions, a sense of security that they may not have with outpatient facilities. |
| What stakeholders were identified in the evaluation of the program or policy? | The main stakeholders in the ACA policy are patients, insurance companies, healthcare providers, and the government (Weiner et Al., 2017). The patients benefit most from ACA because it minimizes the rise in healthcare costs making it accessible even to low income earners. |
| Who would benefit | |
| most from the results | |
| and reporting of the | |
| program or policy | |
| evaluation? Be | |
| specific and provide | |
| examples. |
| Did the program or policy meet the original intent and objectives? Why or |
The policy has certainly met its original intent by a considerable percentage. A lot of reforms are evident in the healthcare sector courtesy of the ACA policy. For instance, the number of uninsured people has relatively reduced from 44 million in 2013 to 27 million in 2016 |
| why not? | |
| Would you recommend implementing this | I would recommend implementation of some of the provisions of the ACA policy like improving communication when dealing with low literacy patients. This assist in improving patient care, and satisfaction thus promoting a good public reputation for the institution. |
| program or policy in | |
| your place of work? | |
| Why or why not? | |
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Identify at least two |
As a nurse, I would compare the financial input and outcomes in the organizations utilizing the ACA provisions. I would also look at the labor costs to establish if the healthcare facilities incur positive or negative financial impacts. Secondly, I would also have a look at the patient outcomes before and after implementation of ACA policy provisions. |
| ways that you, as a | |
| nurse advocate, | |
| could become | |
| involved in evaluating | |
| a program or policy |
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after one year of implementation. |
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| General Notes/Comments |
The ACA policy has generally improved the health sector of the United States in terms of accessibility and affordability. Health facilities are encouraged to continue implementing the provisions of the policy to improve patient care ad satisfaction. |
NURS 6050 Healthcare Program/Policy Evaluation Analysis Paper References
Blumenthal, D., Abrams, M., & Nuzum, R. (2015). The affordable care act at 5 years.
Dubois, R. W. (2015). The Affordable Care Act: how can we know whether the intended consequences are occurring and the unintended ones are being avoided?. Clinical therapeutics, 37(4), 747-750.
French, M. T., Homer, J., Gumus, G., & Hickling, L. (2016). Key provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA): a systematic review and presentation of early research findings. Health services research, 51(5), 1735-1771.
Weiner, J., Marks, C., & Pauly, M. (2017). Effects of the ACA on Health Care Cost Containment. LDI issue brief, 24(4), 1-7. https://ldi.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Effects-of-the-ACA-on-Health-Care-Cost-Containment-PennLDI-ACA-Impact-Series.pdf
Healthcare Program/Policy Evaluation Analysis Template Sample 2
Use this document to complete the PA005 Assessment.
| Healthcare Program/Policy Evaluation |
The Affordable Care Act |
| Description |
The Affordable Care Act is a comprehensive healthcare reform policy that offers subsidies for individuals to lower healthcare insurance costs and whose goal is to ensure more people have health insurance coverage and improve the quality of healthcare for US citizens. The policy implementation was intended to improve US citizens’ health insurance coverage and the corresponding access to quality healthcare services.
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| Describe the healthcare program/policy outcomes.
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The outcome of the policy was an increased number of insured individuals with access to healthcare services. The program was a success because over 20milion US citizens are now insured under the policy, decreasing the socioeconomic healthcare disparity (Griffith, Evans, & Bor, 2017). The policy does not discriminate, and thus, any individual can access health insurance with lower premiums. Insurance has increased access to healthcare services because individuals are no longer prevented from accessing healthcare services by funds (Courtemanche et al., 2018). It has thus saved many lives. The policy has also led to healthcare systems reform to reduce healthcare costs and improve services quality. The policy has standardized care and collaborates with other policies such as Medicaid and Medicare to ensure the healthcare organizations maintain high-quality health standards. In addition, the Act has minimized racial and ethnic healthcare disparities. Statistics show a decrease by 51% of the gap between uninsured whites and African Americans in states that have adopted the Act (Collins, Gunja, & Doty, 2017). The gap between the uninsured rates among the Hispanic and non-Hispanic whites has decreased by 45% in states that adopted the Act (Lipton, Decker &Sommers, 2019). A decrease in the disparities is a success in ensuring a healthy community. Generally, the outcomes of the policy outcomes are far-reaching and widely recognizable. It has achieved its intended goals and set objectives despite the opposition it received right from the beginning of its implementation. |
| Explain how the success of the healthcare program/policy was measured in the evaluation.
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The success of the program was evaluated using hospital data and data from healthcare insurance firms. Hospitals provided data on the number of patients accessing healthcare services using the act provisions. The health insurance forms provided data on the prevalence of new insurance users and the healthcare spending for the policy’s work period. Relevant population characteristics such as age, race, and gender were vital data sources. Society data also provided statistics on the insured and uninsured individuals.
The data collected was compared to the data from previous years when the Act was not functional. Analysis of the data helped denote areas that changed, and the differences provided the information necessary to determine the policy’s success.
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| Identify how many people were reached by the healthcare program/policy based on the healthcare program/policy evaluation you selected.
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The healthcare program targeted all vulnerable US citizens. According to ACA statistics, the policy program reached about 20 million uninsured people in society, and they secured healthcare insurance coverage with the benefits of subsidized premiums (Levy, Ying, & Bagley, 2020). In addition, more than 38 states have adopted, implemented, and continue to enjoy the benefits of the healthcare policy. The majority of the beneficiaries are the geriatrics, the poor, and the physically disadvantaged. However, the ACA does not discriminate, and any citizen can enjoy the benefits of decreased health insurance premiums. |
| Describe at what point the healthcare program/policy evaluation occurred.
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Program evaluations are based on the structure, process, and outcomes measured against the expected results. The program evaluation utilized outcome key process indicators, and it was evaluated after implementation and adoption into the population health policies. The report encompasses the program’s evaluation in the last ten years.
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| Describe the sources of data that were used to conduct the healthcare program/policy evaluation.
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There were three primary sources of data for the project evaluation. The first society was society and where data about the insured and uninsured individuals were readily available. The second source of data was the healthcare institutions’ electronic health records. The records provided data on the changes in healthcare access and the number of patients who accessed healthcare services through services provided by the affordable care act.
The third crucial source was data from insurance firms. Data necessary was on the rate and number of enrolled clients in the healthcare firms. The data from these firms is essential to determine which part of the insurance coverage among the US citizens uninsured population is remaining.
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| Explain at least one potential added benefit and one potential unintended consequence of the healthcare program/policy, based on the results of the healthcare program/policy evaluation. Be specific and provide examples.
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The health policy implementation had both positive and negative impacts. The first positive impact was a decrease of the uninsured in society to 15% (Lantz & Rousenbaum, 2020). This ACT requires all employees to be insured and also enhances individuals’ access to health insurance at affordable rates, which drove the insurance coverage of millions of American citizens.
ACA has also reformed healthcare systems by improving the quality of care they provide and minimizing healthcare costs. Thus, individuals receive quality care at a standardized price. Another benefit was increased access to healthcare services to disadvantaged in society (those who could not pay the premiums before ACA). Insured patients and their families increased their hospital visitation rates following a reduction in healthcare costs. Funds are a significant issue affecting healthcare access and the healthcare-seeking behavior among US citizens (Griffith, Evans, & Bor, 2017). Some unintended consequences are that the low prices compensation of the health insurance firms drives out private health institutions, which reduces competition in the healthcare sector. Driving out private institutions can dilute healthcare quality due to a lack of competition in the healthcare sector. Another unintended consequence was access to a limited number of healthcare services offered by the complying healthcare institutions.
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| Explain which stakeholders were approached or involved in conducting the healthcare program/policy evaluation. Which stakeholder would benefit most from the results and reporting of the program/policy evaluation that was conducted? Be specific and provide examples.
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The stakeholders were the state and federal governments, healthcare organizations, insurance firms, employers, political leaders, and the general public. Federal and state governments familiarize the public with the policy and issues directives regarding it. Political leaders were integral in influencing people to comply with the Act. Employers should provide employee details and ensure their employees are insured. Insurance firms were expected to comply with the laws, standardize insurance rates, and make the services available to all citizens.
he general public primary role was to cooperate with health insurance coverage requirements. The stakeholders contribute differently to the success of the program and also share the benefits in varying degrees. The program’s primary beneficiaries were the general public—however, the state and federal governments’ major beneficiaries of the results and reporting on the policy. The data collected will be integral in future healthcare planning. It shall also help them make decisions on the implementation of the policy by weighing the costs and the benefits policy and determining the way forwards.
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| Explain whether the healthcare program/policy successfully met the original intent of the outcomes that were identified. Was the healthcare program/policy successful? Why or why not?
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ACA successfully ensured that a majority of US citizens are insured and have access to quality healthcare services. During the first year of its implementation, The number of uninsured in society dropped significantly. The number of uninsured citizens has significantly decreased, and the citizens have more access to healthcare services; thus, the policy successfully achieved its original intentions.
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| Explain whether you would recommend continuing or implementing this program/policy in your place of work. Be specific and provide examples.
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I would recommend continuing this policy program. Some citizens continue to suffer due to poor access to healthcare services. Most of them cannot pay for the pre-existing premiums. By subsiding the costs of healthcare services, these people can access healthcare services, improving the health of the communities. People with fund restrictions often refrain from seeking healthcare and only seek healthcare services at the advanced stages of their disease, which leads to higher healthcare costs and poor patient outcomes. ACA will contribute to healthier communities with decreased disease complications. The Act is also indiscriminate, and anyone can access it hence equality in healthcare services. |
| Describe at least two ways that you, as a nurse advocate, could become involved in evaluating a program/policy after one year of implementation. Be specific and provide examples.
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As a nurse advocate, participating in collecting data for the evaluation of policies is integral. The nurse can be an active research team member in data collection to ensure accurate, timely, and consistent data collection and prevent collecting unreliable data that leads to poor conclusions and interventions (Abbasinia, Ahmadi, & Kazemnejad, 2020).
As a nurse, I can also advocate for the protection of patient privacy during data collection to ensure the human dignity and ethics of research are duly met during the research studies and data collection. A nurse advocate would thus prevent the exploitation of patients during data collection for evaluating a program (Abbasinia et al., 2020). Nurses are good sources for the implementation of a program/policy. They are the professionals closest to the patient and thus contain important information about interventions that produce a change in patient status and those that do not. Thus nurses can provide reliable information as research subjects during project evaluation aiding in the success of the project evaluation.
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| General Notes/Comments | The US affordable care act was an essential program in improving the quality of life for US citizens by ensuring better access to healthcare insurance and healthcare equity (Lantz & Rosenbaum, 2020). The policy achieved its objectives and expected outcomes, and thus it was a success.
However, it also led to some undesirable effects, such as factoring out some healthcare organizations, especially in the private sector, and thus reducing competition which has led to diluted quality healthcare services. However, the policy has been integral to the healthcare of US citizens.
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References
Griffith, K., Evans, L., & Bor, J. (2017). The Affordable Care Act reduced socioeconomic disparities in health care access. Health Affairs, 36(8), 1503-1510. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2017.0083
Courtemanche, C., Marton, J., Ukert, B., Yelowitz, A., & Zapata, D. (2018). Effects of the Affordable Care Act on health care access and self-assessed health after 3 years. INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing, 55, 0046958018796361. https://doi.org/10.1177/0046958018796361
Lipton, B. J., Decker, S. L., & Sommers, B. D. (2019). The Affordable Care Act appears to have narrowed racial and ethnic disparities in insurance coverage and access to care among young adults. Medical Care Research and Review, 76(1), 32-55. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077558717706575
Collins, S. R., Gunja, M. Z., & Doty, M. M. (2017). Following the ACA Repeal-and-Replace Effort, Where Does the US Stand on Insurance Coverage? Findings from the Commonwealth Fund Affordable Care Act Tracking Survey, March–June 2017. Issue brief (Commonwealth Fund), 2017, 1-21. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28880062/
Lantz, P. M., & Rosenbaum, S. (2020). The potential and realized impact of the Affordable Care Act on health equity. Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, 45(5), 831-845. https://doi.org/10.1215/03616878-8543298
Levy, H., Ying, A., & Bagley, N. (2020). What’s left of the Affordable Care Act? A progress report. RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, 6(2), 42-66. https://doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2020.6.2.02
Abbasinia, M., Ahmadi, F., & Kazemnejad, A. (2020). Patient advocacy in nursing: A concept analysis. Nursing ethics, 27(1), 141-151. https://doi.org/10.1177/0969733019832950