Benchmark – Population Health Policy Analysis: NUR 550

Sample Answer for Benchmark – Population Health Policy Analysis: NUR 550 Included After Question

Select a current or proposed health care policy that is designed to provide equitable health care for a diverse population. Create a 12-15-slide PowerPoint presentation discussing the health care policy and how it improves a specific population’s access to quality, cost-effective health care. Create speaker notes of 100-250 words for each slide. Include additional slides for the title and references.

Include the following in your presentation:

Describe the policy selected.
Discuss the diverse population that will be affected by this policy.
Explain how the policy is designed to improve cost-effectiveness and health care equity for the diverse population.
Discuss why the policy is financially sound and explain how the policy incorporates the nursing perspective and relevant ethical, legal, and political factors. Provide rationale to support your explanation.
Describe what state, federal, global health policies, or goals the policy is related to and explain the degree to which each helps achieve equitable health care for the diverse population.
Discuss advocacy strategies for improving access, quality, and cost-effective health care for the diverse

population selected.
Discuss 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.
You are required to cite eight peer-reviewed sources to complete this assignment. Sources must be published within the last 5 years and appropriate for the assignment criteria and nursing content.

Refer to the resource, “Creating Effective PowerPoint Presentations,” located in the Student Success Center, for additional guidance on completing this assignment in the appropriate style.

While APA style is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected, and documentation of sources should be presented using APA formatting guidelines, which can be found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.

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

You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. A link to the LopesWrite technical support articles is located in Class Resources if you need assistance.

Benchmark Information

This benchmark assignment assesses the following programmatic competencies:

MBA-MSN; MSN-Nursing Education; MSN Acute Care Nurse Practitioner-Adult-Gerontology; MSN Family Nurse Practitioner; MSN-Health Informatics; MSN-Health Care Quality and Patient Safety; MSN-Leadership in Health Care Systems; MSN-Public Health Nursing

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.

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?

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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. Benchmark – Population Health Policy Analysis

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

You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Please refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.

A Sample Answer For the Assignment: Benchmark – Population Health Policy Analysis: NUR 550

Title: Benchmark – Population Health Policy Analysis: NUR 550

Racial or ethnic minorities continue to suffer from diabetes-related mortality and morbidity which is relatively twice as higher as compared to the non-Hispanic whites. Among those, 12.6% of African American adults have been diagnosed with diabetes as compared to that of all the non-Hispanic whites at 7.1% (Berkowitz et al., 2015). consequently, minorities have a higher tendency of being hospitalized as a result of diabetes-related complications including diabetes retinopathy, lower extremity amputations, and end-stage renal disease. However, in order to address the challenges that contribute to several health disparities among ethnic or racial minorities effectively, several interventions will need to be formulated with the utilization of multifactorial approaches including health care policies.

According to most research findings, culturally tailored interventions which involve the collaboration of the public, community and healthcare system to reduce health disparities, improve disease management and improve health outcome are well suited to solve the problem of disease burden among populations that are underserved such as African Americans (King, Moreno, Coleman, & Williams, 2018). This is precisely true for diabetes as the decisions that impact diabetes self-management comprises the importance of regular physical exercise and a healthy diet, which are greatly influenced by infrastructure and support provided by the government or the community. This paper focuses on the affordable care act as a healthcare policy designed to improve the quality of healthcare at an affordable cost for the management of diabetes among the African American population.

            The Affordable Care Act was formulated to help improve access to healthcare services by expanding insurance coverage. In as much as some aspects of the affordable care act applied to people from all socioeconomic strata, key features of the law were focused in increasing healthcare coverage among people with low income who were the ethnic minorities such as the African Americans (Buchmueller, Levinson, Levy, & Wolfe, 2016). These key features of the law include federal subsidies which are aimed at expanding eligibility for Medicaid to every American citizen with an income of up to 138% of the federal poverty level, and for those with income of between 100 to 400% of poverty, who are able to purchase insurance on the recently created exchange, large premium subsidies have been set aside.

In 2014, the number of uninsured African American citizens reduced significantly as a result of the affordable care act as compared to the whites (Schmittdiel et al., 2017). Generally, the affordable care act has greatly reformed the healthcare system by boosting primary care as providers are more focused on aligned attention to the sickest, “high need, high cost,” as these patients account for most of the national health spending, making the policy financially sound. The policy has also reduced the cost of healthcare while improving the quality as clinicians are paid for their outcome (quality) rather that their workload (quantity).

In June 2012, the supreme court upheld the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) policy which was aimed at providing guidance to the state, employers, insurers and consumers on what is expected of them when implementing the ACA, to avoid ethical, legal or political disparities (Griffith, Evans, & Bor, 2017). The PPACA comprises of reforms such as expanding Medicaid eligibility, preventing insurers from repudiating coverage for pre-existing health conditions, giving incentives for enterprises to provide health care benefits and subsidizing insurance premiums. When implementing the policy, the nursing perspective of not dropping a client in case they become ill by insurance companies is also included in the PPACA (Islam et al., 2015). As a nurse, it is important to ensure that the policy ensures ethical rights of the patient such as, improved quality of health, freedom of choice for the patient on “who”, “when”, and “where” they can access health care, and affordability of healthcare.

With the emergence of the Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), under the ACA, healthcare organizations have incentives to prioritize on population-centered health and collaborate with providers, clients and other healthcare personnel’s in the public health, social service sector, and community, to broaden the impact of the health system, control health costs, and promote quality in healthcare so as to reduce the burden of chronic diseases such as diabetes and improve healthcare outcome (Myerson, & Laiteerapong, 2016). Given that the burden of chronic diseases such as diabetes is increasing especially among ethnic or racial minorities, the policy is aimed at creating evidence-based interventions to address diabetes management in both community and healthcare settings to achieve the goal of ending disease burden among ethnic minorities such as African Americans.

A Sample Answer 2 For the Assignment: Benchmark – Population Health Policy Analysis: NUR 550

Title: Benchmark – Population Health Policy Analysis: NUR 550

Policy Description and its Implications on Health Delivery

The burden of chronic diseases such as diabetes is becoming enormous therefore necessitating the development of policies and effective approaches to address them at the local, state and federal levels. The cost of diabetes management and treatment was estimated to be $245 billion in 2012 and it is postulated that it may continue to increase (Herman & Cefalu, 2015). Implementation of the Affordable Care Act policy meant to improve public health by increasing the access to health services by the population. The policy was developed in 2010 with the purpose of improving access to care, enhance quality of care delivery, reduce medical costs and provide new consumer protection. The policy resulted in the expansion of the Medicaid program. The design in this step was to fill gaps in the Medicaid eligibility and this means that the number of people benefiting from the program would significantly increase.

The cost projection for the ACA was $940 billion for the period between 2010 and 2019. In this plan, the health budget deficit would be reduced by $143 billion (Blewett, Planalp, & Alarcon, 2018). The insurance plan would reduce the cost of medication and make preventive healthcare affordable to the American populations (Herman & Cefalu, 2015). Importantly, patients suffering from chronic conditions such as diabetes require regular healthcare check-up and monitoring. With this program, the majority of the populations are able to access medical services as expected and this leads to improved prognosis. From the cost-effective aspect, the policy is financially sound.

The level of access to healthcare services depends on various factors including the socio-economic status. The ACA works to bridge the existing gaps between the rich and poor patients presenting with diabetes in terms of access to healthcare services. From an ethical perspective, the policy promotes equity. Healthcare professionals including the nurses are expected to serve the patients with equity and fairness. On the other hand, financial limitations may hinder the realization of such a goal and perspective in nursing practice. However, with the implementation of this policy, the disparity in health access is addressed. With the expansion of the Medicaid, the states would get 100% federal funding for the first three years after which, it would be reduced to 90% (Herman & Cefalu, 2015). Furthermore, various strategies have been incorporated under the policy to ensure that healthcare providers deliver the most beneficial and high-quality services to the patients.

The Scope of the Policy

Initially, the states administered the Medicaid programs as guided by the federal policies; though, they were mandated to determine the eligibility, provider payment levels, and the benefits. The income levels for the eligibility were strict compared to the provisions in the new policy. Furthermore, no special considerations were made for patients with disabilities, elderly without dependent children and the non-pregnant women (Schembri & Ghaddar, 2018). Therefore, the policy was developed with collaboration between the state and the federal government. However, most of the regulations would be done by the federal government. For example, the states that failed to expand Medicaid to accommodate more people would lose federal funding. A larger portion of the healthcare funding would come from the federal government under the new policy.

The design and scope of the policy are well developed to meet the intended goal. The insurance agencies monitor the activities of the healthcare providers to ensure that they are giving their best in terms of quality service delivery. Various parameters such as the readmission within 30 days, number of days patient stay in the hospital and nosocomial infection rates among others have been used in monitoring the performance of the healthcare facilities (Hilliard, Liebenberg, Liebenberg, & Ruhland, 2018). Therefore, all institutions are obliged to comply with the provisions by offering high-quality care services to the patients and in the process improve their outcomes and minimize their spending.

With the implementation of the new policy, the number of patients with diabetes covered in the Medicaid program increased significantly. This indicates that diabetes care would improve and the financial barriers limiting their access and utilization of the healthcare services reduced. On the other hand, despite the introduction of the policy, the number of people going for health screening has remained significantly low (American Diabetes Association, 2016). As a result, the measures to improved health outcomes for diabetes patients are thwarted because the number of undiagnosed diabetes patients is likely to remain high.

The Advocacy Strategies to Promote Access to the Benefits of the Policy

The realization of the benefits of the policy requires the provision of education to the public. Majority of the populations fail to go for health screening and testing because of the lack of knowledge on the importance of such an exercise. Provision of education is an important strategy for ensuring primary, secondary and tertiary health promotion (Konchak, Moran, O’Brien, Kandula, & Ackermann, 2016). First, educated populations are likely to embrace quality lifestyles that will limit the incidences of diabetes cases. Secondly, the education will aim at encouraging testing and screening behaviors among the populations to enhance the identification and early management of the diabetes conditions. Studies have shown that people from low-income regions and are covered with the Medicaid programs are more likely to be diagnosed with chronic illnesses and their conditions treated in time thus improving their prognosis.

From a Christian, professional and moral perspective, advanced registered nurses ought to advocate for and promote health as well as prevent diseases among the populations. By engaging in translational research, evidence-based practice measures are developed and customized to address specific health needs. Diseases are considered as the dissonance between an individual and their surroundings that affect the body, mind, and spirit. Holistic and biomedical approaches can be integrated to guide health promotion activities among nursing professionals. From the biblical perspective, health is a vital component of human life and that is why only whole animals would be offered for sacrifice in the Old Testament (McDermott-Levy, Leffers & Mayaka, 2018).

From the ethical and professional perspective, the nurses ought to comply with the ethical principles of nonmaleficence and beneficence among others. The ethical principles require that advanced registered nurse practitioners to engage all possible interventions in ensuring the most beneficial outcomes to the patients (Bastable, 2017). Health promotion activities aimed at promoting public health by minimizing diseases and suffering among the people. In the process, healthcare providers must understand the specific health needs of the defined populations. For example, the diabetes patients are in great need of the self-care skills which included proper adherence to the medication and observing an appropriate lifestyle. Benchmark – Population Health Policy Analysis NUR 550

Conclusion

            Therefore, the ACA has played an integral role in ensuring that diabetics in the United States receive high quality care. The scope and design of the policy is such that both the federal and state governments participate in the implementation of the ACA. The entire process has influenced the role of Advanced Practice Nurses as they work to promote it and advocate for its implementation.

References

American Diabetes Association. (2016). 1. Strategies for improving care. Diabetes Care, 39(Supplement 1), S6-S12.

Bastable, S. B. (2017). Nurse as educator: Principles of teaching and learning for nursing practice. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Blewett, L. A., Planalp, C., & Alarcon, G. (2018). Affordable Care Act Impact in Kentucky: Increasing Access, Reducing Disparities. American Journal of Public Health, 108(7), 924–929. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2018.304413

Herman, W. H., & Cefalu, W. T. (2015). Health policy and diabetes care: is it time to put politics aside?. Diabetes Care, 38(5), 743-745.

Hilliard, J. I., Liebenberg, A. P., Liebenberg, I. A., & Ruhland, J. (2018). The Market Impact of the Supreme Court Decision Regarding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: Evidence from the Health Insurance Industry. Journal of Insurance Issues, 41(2), 135–167

Konchak, J. N., Moran, M. R., O’Brien, M. J., Kandula, N. R., & Ackermann, R. T. (2016). The state of diabetes prevention policy in the USA following the affordable care act. Current diabetes reports, 16(6), 55.

McDermott-Levy, R., Leffers, J., & Mayaka, J. (2018). Ethical Principles and Guidelines of Global Health Nursing Practice. Nursing Outlook, 66(5), 473-481.

Schembri, S., & Ghaddar, S. (2018). The Affordable Care Act, the Medicaid Coverage Gap, and Hispanic Consumers: A Phenomenology of Obamacare. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 52(1), 138–165. https://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12146

Benchmark – Population Health Policy Analysis: NUR 550 Rubric

Course Code Class Code Assignment Title Total Points
NUR-550 NUR-550-O101 Benchmark – Population Health Policy Analysis 160.0

Criteria Percentage Unsatisfactory (0.00%) Less than Satisfactory (80.00%) Satisfactory (88.00%) Good (92.00%) Excellent (100.00%)
Content 70.0%
Financially Sound Health Care Policy That Incorporates the Nursing Perspective and Relevant Ethical, Legal, and Political Factors (2.1) 20.0% A discussion of financially sound health care policy that incorporates the nursing perspective and relevant ethical, legal, and political factors is not included. A discussion of financially sound health care policy that incorporates the nursing perspective and relevant ethical, legal, and political factors is present, but it lacks detail or is incomplete.

A discussion of financially sound health care policy that incorporates the nursing perspective and relevant ethical, legal, and political factors is present. A discussion of financially sound health care policy that incorporates the nursing perspective and relevant ethical, legal, and political factors is clearly provided and well developed. A comprehensive discussion of financially sound health care policy that incorporates the nursing perspective and relevant ethical, legal, and political factors is thoroughly developed with supporting details. Benchmark – Population Health Policy Analysis NUR 550

Integration of Appropriate State, Federal, and Global Health Policies and Goals Related to Equitable Health Care for Populations (4.2) 20.0% A discussion of appropriate state, federal, and global health policies and goals related to equitable health care for populations is not included. A discussion of appropriate state, federal, and global health policies and goals related to equitable health care for populations is present, but it lacks detail or is incomplete. A discussion of appropriate state, federal, and global health policies and goals related to equitable health care for populations is present. A discussion of appropriate state, federal, and global health policies and goals related to equitable health care for populations is clearly provided and well developed. A comprehensive discussion of appropriate state, federal, and global health policies and goals related to equitable health care for populations is thoroughly developed with supporting details.

Advocacy Strategies for Improving Access, Quality, and Cost-Effective Health Care for Diverse Populations (2.2) 10.0% A discussion of advocacy strategies for improving access, quality, and cost-effective health care for diverse populations is not included. A discussion of advocacy strategies for improving access, quality, and cost-effective health care for diverse populations is present, but it lacks detail or is incomplete. A discussion of advocacy strategies for improving access, quality, and cost-effective health care for diverse populations is present. A discussion of advocacy strategies for improving access, quality, and cost-effective health care for diverse populations is clearly provided and well developed. A comprehensive discussion of advocacy strategies for improving access, quality, and cost-effective health care for diverse populations is thoroughly developed with supporting details. Benchmark – Population Health Policy Analysis NUR 550

The Professional and Moral Obligation of Advanced Registered 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 (4.3) 15.0% A discussion of the professional and moral obligation of advanced registered 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 is not included.

A discussion of the professional and moral obligation of advanced registered 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 is present, but it lacks detail or is incomplete. A discussion of the professional and moral obligation of advanced registered 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 is present.

A discussion of the professional and moral obligation of advanced registered 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 is clearly provided and well developed. A comprehensive discussion of the professional and moral obligation of advanced registered 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 is thoroughly developed with supporting details. Benchmark – Population Health Policy Analysis

Required Sources 5.0% Sources are not included. Number of required sources is only partially met. Number of required sources is met, but sources are outdated or inappropriate. Number of required sources is met. Sources are current, but not all sources are appropriate for the assignment criteria and nursing content. Number of required resources is met. Sources are current, and appropriate for the assignment criteria and nursing content. Benchmark – Population Health Policy Analysis NUR 550

Organization and Effectiveness 20.0%

Thesis Development and Purpose 7.0% Paper lacks any discernible overall purpose or organizing claim. Thesis is insufficiently developed or vague. Purpose is not clear. Thesis is apparent and appropriate to purpose. Thesis is clear and forecasts the development of the paper. Thesis is descriptive and reflective of the arguments and appropriate to the purpose. Thesis is comprehensive and contains the essence of the paper. Thesis statement makes the purpose of the paper clear.

Argument Logic and Construction 8.0% Statement of purpose is not justified by the conclusion. The conclusion does not support the claim made. Argument is incoherent and uses noncredible sources. Sufficient justification of claims is lacking. Argument lacks consistent unity. There are obvious flaws in the logic. Some sources have questionable credibility. Argument is orderly, but may have a few inconsistencies. The argument presents minimal justification of claims. Argument logically, but not thoroughly, supports the purpose. Sources used are credible. Introduction and conclusion bracket the thesis. Argument shows logical progressions. Techniques of argumentation are evident. There is a smooth progression of claims from introduction to conclusion. Most sources are authoritative. Clear and convincing argument that presents a persuasive claim in a distinctive and compelling manner. All sources are authoritative.

Mechanics of Writing (includes spelling, punctuation, grammar, language use) 5.0% Surface errors are pervasive enough that they impede communication of meaning. Inappropriate word choice or sentence construction is used. Frequent and repetitive mechanical errors distract the reader. Inconsistencies in language choice (register) or word choice are present. Sentence structure is correct but not varied. Some mechanical errors or typos are present, but they are not overly distracting to the reader. Correct and varied sentence structure and audience-appropriate language are employed. Prose is largely free of mechanical errors, although a few may be present. The writer uses a variety of effective sentence structures and figures of speech. Writer is clearly in command of standard, written, academic English. Benchmark – Population Health Policy Analysis NUR 550

A Sample Answer 3 For the Assignment: Benchmark – Population Health Policy Analysis: NUR 550

Title: Benchmark – Population Health Policy Analysis: NUR 550

There exist different healthcare policies meant to enhance the delivery of quality healthcare. Some of the current healthcare policies include Affordable Care Policy, Medicare program, Medicaid, Children’s health insurance program, Patient Safety, and Quality Improvement Act. The main purpose of healthcare policies and procedures is to facilitate standardization in healthcare operational activities. Healthcare policies are critical or essential in providing correct procedures to be followed when dealing with issues as well as activities that are important to health and safety. The Affordable Care Act is one of the major current healthcare policies that has transformed the healthcare industry. The Affordable Care Act was passed and signed into law in the year 2010 (Barr, 2016).

The policy aimed at providing affordable health insurance coverage to the entire American population. Affordable Care Policy was also created to protect healthcare consumers from costly private insurance companies and would sometimes put restrictions on the healthcare services for the patients. Over the years, millions of Americans have been able to benefit from the Affordable Care policy. Millions of Americans have experienced a significant reduction in healthcare costs. Before the implementation of the Affordable Care Policy, poor Americans could not get effective insurance coverage.  The purpose of the paper is therefore to examine the ACA and its attendant cost-effectiveness, relationship to other policies and advocacy strategies.

How the Affordable Care Policy Was Designed to Improve Cost-Effectiveness

And Health Care Equity for the Population

The Affordable Care Act was designed to enhance healthcare equity. The affordable Care policy was mainly designed to significantly reduce the differences in health outcomes among ethnic, racial, as well as primary language groups (Eichten, 2018). In other words, the policy was meant to address disparities in healthcare delivery and enhance the provision of healthcare to all the population irrespective of the level of income. The major goals of the Affordable Care Act included a reduction in healthcare costs, expansion of healthcare coverage, general improvement in healthcare quality, and population health. These factors were incorporated to reduce health disparities. With the reduced costs and expansion of coverage, ACA was meant to achieve healthcare equity for all the population. Different provisions of the Affordable Care Act directly impact insurers who have been forced to expand the number of people under the cover as well as the conditions under coverage.

To expand healthcare coverage and ensure reduced costs, Affordable Care Act created marketplaces called exchanges where people from different social-economic statuses could purchase health insurance and define their financial aid or assistance eligibility. There are three major types of marketplaces in ACA (Glied & Jackson, 2017). These marketplaces include state-based marketplaces, federal-based marketplaces, as well as state-partnership marketplaces. Since its inception in the healthcare industry, millions of Americans have been able to obtain medical services at a reduced cost. Also, the treatment of some diseases has been fully covered by Obamacare.

Financial Sustainability

Affordable Care Policy is financially sound. Before implementation, it was estimated that Obamacare would reduce the national debt by $140 billion. Also, it was established that the whole policy cost $940 billion considering all the factors that were to be included (Laureate Education, 2018). After the analysis, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office established the policy was effective given its ability to reduce the national budget. Also, The Healthcare and Education Reconciliation Act passed Obama taxes as well as budget cuts in different areas, which generally generated more funds for implementing ACA.

Given the effective balance of the budget, there were more funds available to offset the cost of the plan. Affordable Care policy accounts for relevant ethical, legal, and political factors as well as nursing perspectives. All these considerations need to be put in place during the implementation. Specifically, the policy advocates for quality healthcare delivery, application of research and evidence-based practices in the treatment processes, as well as dignity and racial sensitivity in the treatment processes. Through continuous legislations, the policy account for the political factors as well as nursing perspectives. All these issues ought to be considered in the implementation process.

Significance of Affordable Care Policy

The Affordable Care Act is related to different state, federal, and global health policies or goals that have been created over the years. In particular, the Affordable Care policy is related to the Global Health Policy (GHP). Global Health Policy mainly facilitates the allocation of resources in different nations and organizations to ensure access to quality healthcare services. Global Health Policy was formulated to address health challenges for the interdependent nations, sectors, and regions with multiple cultures and races, various levels of development, coexistent values, and a variety of capacities.

In other words, Global Health Policy was formulated to address disparities when it comes to the management of population health. Similarly, the Affordable Care Policy was formulated to address disparities in the healthcare delivery processes. Also, both the Affordable Care policy and Global Health Policy aimed to improve healthcare delivery quality through research and innovation (Béland et al., 2019). The two organizations are more concerned with the qualification of healthcare professionals. During the formulation of ACA and GHP, there were considerations of different challenges in the healthcare systems, including costs and emerging diseases. Affordable Care Act is also related to the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act (PSQIA), a federal policy passed in the year 2005. Just like PSQIA, the Affordable Care Policy was meant to protect both patients and healthcare workers who are likely to report unsafe conditions. Affordable Care Policy was meant to address the goals of GHP and PSQIA through the allocation of enough resources and an increase in access to healthcare systems.

Advocacy Strategies

To ensure that the entire population benefit from the Affordable Care Policy, there is the need to create awareness and inform potential patients and healthcare professionals about the policy’s benefits. Giving patients a voice by informing them about their rights to healthcare services ensures that they can benefit from ACA. Besides, educating patients on the healthcare insurance policies will enable them to understand the requirements in the Affordable Care Policy and how they can benefit from it. In most cases, patients lack knowledge about different insurance policies, especially how they can draw benefits from them (Scott & Scott, 2020).

From a Christian perspective, nurses have the responsibility of creating awareness geared towards ensuring quality health outcomes. Also, there is the need for patients from all races to have just and affordable healthcare services. An advanced registered nurse’s professional and moral obligation to advocate for and promote health and prevent disease among diverse populations. When it comes to the provision of quality care geared towards preventing diseases, nurses need to act as advocates to ensure equal treatment and benefits for all. Therefore, through advocacy, patients or different populations will be able to benefit from the Affordable Care Policy.

Conclusion

The Affordable Care Act is one of the major current healthcare policies that has transformed the healthcare industry. The Affordable Care Act was passed and signed into law in the year 2010. Affordable Care policy was mainly designed to significantly reduce the differences in health outcomes among ethnic, racial, as well as primary language groups. In other words, Affordable Care Act was meant to address disparities in healthcare delivery and enhance the provision of healthcare to all the population irrespective of the level of income. Affordable Care Policy is financially sound. Before implementation, it was estimated that Obamacare would reduce the national debt by $140 billion. To ensure that the entire population benefit from the Affordable Care Policy, there is the need to create awareness and inform potential patients and healthcare professionals about the policy’s benefits.

References

Barr, D. A. (2016). Introduction to US Health Policy: the organization, financing, and delivery of health care in America. Johns Hopkins University Press.

Béland, D., Rocco, P., & Waddan, A. (2019). Policy feedback and the politics of the Affordable Care Act. Policy Studies Journal, 47(2), 395-422. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/psj.12286

Eichten, Z. (2018). Poison Pills: How Subtle Differences in Processes, Public Opinion, and Leadership Doomed the American Health Care Act and Passed the Affordable Care Act. https://digitalcommons.csbsju.edu/honors_thesis/56/

Glied, S., & Jackson, A. (2017). The future of the Affordable Care Act and insurance coverage. American journal of public health, 107(4), 538-540. https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10.2105/AJPH.2017.303665

Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). Introduction to Health Policy and Law with Joel Teitelbaum [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Scott, S. M., & Scott, P. A. (2020). Nursing, advocacy and public policy. Nursing Ethics, 0969733020961823. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0969733020961823

A Sample Answer 4 For the Assignment: Benchmark – Population Health Policy Analysis: NUR 550

Title: Benchmark – Population Health Policy Analysis: NUR 550

Similar to other states, Minnesota has high prevalence of African-Americans with cardiovascular diseases. A major policy that helps reduce the burden of these diseases in the United States is the Strategic Policy Agenda 2017-20, which is supported by the American Heart Association. This policy promotes access to cardiovascular care for all. In the past, the American Heart Association has partnered with an organization to evaluate the impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Medicaid expansion on insurance coverage for health care. The finding was that at least seven million people from the United States are at risk of or with cardiovascular disease got health insurance courtesy of the ACA. Indeed, the number of adults aged between 18 and 64 years without health insurance at risk of cardiovascular disease decreased by at least 6.2 million or 20% from 2013 to 2014 (American Heart Association, 2017). These measures resulted in improvements across ethnic and racial groups, but the biggest impact was on African-Americans.

Description and Analysis of the Policy

Under its Strategic Policy Agenda 2017-20, the AHA serves as a voice for the millions of people with cardiovascular disease who have low social economic status and who may otherwise not afford cardiovascular disease care. Through various efficacious programs and funding, the Strategic Policy manages to provide cost-effectiveness healthcare equity for the African-American population.

In its endeavor to ensure cardiovascular care for all, the American Heart Association runs several programs, the first of which is support for Medicaid Expansion. Medicaid program provides health to millions of Americans with low incomes, even though this group is at a high risk of cardiovascular disease (Serakos & Wolfe, 2016). By September 2016, thirty-one states in the U.S. had implemented Medicaid expansion. Even though this is a great accomplishment, there are still many American adults at risk of cardiovascular disease who are yet to get health insurance in states that have not expanded the Medicaid program. In Minnesota, most young people aged between 26 and 34 years are likely to have no insurance coverage. African Americans are the third most likely community whose people do not have health insurance (Minnesota Public Health Data Access, 2019). As many as 14.6 million Americans are still uninsured (American Heart Association, 2017). With its policy, the American Heart Association (2017) plays a role in state advocacy. This advocacy makes the policy effective in promoting equity and quality in care provision.

The American Heart Association is also engaged in the promotion of the use of pulse oximetry, a procedure that has proven efficacious in the reduction of mortality risk and diagnostic gaps associated with congenital heart defects. The procedure is carried out in many clinical settings and the majority of physicians – in 43 states – have endorsed it. It is mandatory for newborns in these states to undergo the test (Klausner, 2018); (American Heart Association (2017). The other program that can benefit African-Americans at risk of cardiovascular disease is standards for competitive foods and meals set by the National School Lunch Program. This program reaches about 30 million kids every day in at least 98,413 schools and other institutions. Many kids get reduced-priced or free meals. Together with a breakfast program, this plays a critical role in reducing incidence of obesity (Benjamin et al., 2018).

The policy by the American Heart Association is cost-effective for various reasons. First, the organization is not for profit and is funded by private contributions, implying it does not produce a burden to the taxpayer or the federal government (Giving Matters, 2019). It implements cost-effective strategies to preventing stroke and heart diseases. The American Heart Association works with about 2,200 community organizations in every state. It has at least 3.6 million people who offer to fight cardiovascular diseases for free, which is the top cause of death in the country (CDC, 2019). Since 1949, the organization has contributed at least $1 billion for cardiovascular research. It is engaged in informing Americans how they can reduce the risk of CVA and cardiopathy. The American Heart Association is also seeking funding from the CDC, the National Institutes of Health, CMS, among others. The organization uses a preventative approach to reducing disparities in the provision of cardiovascular care, implying that its policy is efficacious in ensuring quality and cost-effective care.

The policy considers ethical factors because it contributes to the reduction of suffering among low-income populations. It considers political factors because public health, particularly regarding cardiovascular disease, is an important subject for America’s political sphere. It accounts for legal factors because some of the programs that it supports like the Medicaid expansion are provided for in the law.