Health Care Reform Law : Effect On Nursing

Registered nurses are an integral part of the healthcare system, and make up the largest number of healthcare professionals. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2015) “The employment rate for registered nurses is expected to grow by 16% between 2014 and 2024”. This is more than double the average rate of growth for a profession. The rapid growth rate can be attributed in part to better management of chronic diseases and the baby boomer generation. The growth in the nursing profession is paramount, however the demographics of the nursing population does not mirror the demographics of the population served.

The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare or ACA, was signed into law in March 2010 with the goal to expand insurance coverage to millions of Americans over a period of several years. Since its enactment six years ago, there have been millions of Americans that have gained access to coverage. The most notable of this population would be the disabled, mentally ill, and impoverished. In order to continue to provide quality outcomes for patients, especially patients of vulnerable populations, extra focus must be given to ensure access to healthcare, decreasing disparities, and harvesting improvement in areas such as preventative care, education, and maximizing quality of life. With this influx of people entering the healthcare field, the role of nurses and nurse leaders is also expected to change. Nursing scope of practice and education will be expanded to create an elite healthcare provider. This will include maximizing knowledge in areas of holistic care, education, and preventative care. The incorporation of the ACA into healthcare for vulnerable populations will have several implications for nurses including expanding leadership roles, changing the healthcare delivery model, and providing a broad range of care.

Health Care Reform, Policy and Advocacy. (2017). The American Nurses Association (ANA). Retrieved August 20, 2017.

The Institute of Medicine’s 2010 report on The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health acknowledges the changing healthcare sector in the US and describes future vision of healthcare and the role of nurses to fulfill that vision. The United States always strives to provide affordable and quality healthcare to the entire population of the country. In order to achieve this goal an overall restructuring of the healthcare system was necessitated. Nurses are considered to be the central part of the healthcare system to provide high quality and safe patient care. Nursing in the US is the single largest segment of the healthcare workforce with almost 3 million nurses working in different areas across the county. The changing

Over the last five years, the United States has implemented a new policy in which Americans will receive their health care benefits. This policy is known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act which was implemented in 2010 through United States federal statue and signed into law by President Barack Obama. The intentions of the reform is to insure that all Americans have affordable access to health care benefits without struggling to afford the cost associated. The reform is broken down into nine title sections that affect all aspects of health care and changes that will be associated. In this paper, I will be discussing each of the title sections and how the changes will affect the field of nursing.

The Affordable Care Reform Act was passed to bring changes and improvement in the nursing field and health care system. There are many reasons that influenced the execution of the health care law. Many citizens from low-income families were unable to cater for their medical expenses. There was a shortage of nurses that were necessary to meet the high demands of the growing population. It is observed that the implementation of the Affordable Care Act has brought significant effects and changes to the practice of public health and community health nursing (Koh & Sebelius, 2010).

Moreover, insurers are mandated to cover and provide certain preventive services such as vaccinations without additional charge. The ACA is projected to provide an estimated 32 million uninsured Americans access to health care insurance resulting in more people seeking medical care. As a result of this policy, the demand for nurses is projected to grow at a higher rate (Spetz, 2014). In addition, nurses are confronted with critical changes in health care such as providing efficient and high quality care while keeping the cost affordable. According to Vincent & Reed (2014), the policy plans to enhance the role and expand opportunities in nursing. The law provides funding to expand the number of advance practice nurses and providers. Some experts claim that the growing number of people seeking medical care will not become an issue with the projected nursing workforce due to the many opportunities for expansion as part of the ACA’s provision. In another view, the shortage of Registered Nurses (RN) is projected to intensify as the Baby Boomers age and the need for health care rises in addition to the increasing number of uninsured people that have access to health insurance. Therefore, the increase of patient load due to the extension of health care coverages to millions of previously uninsured people as a result of the ACA will be unmanageable for nurses.

Drafted by congress under the recommendation of president Barack Obama, signed into law on March 23, 2010 by President after long legislative debates, the Affordable Care Act 's main purpose is to provide access to affordable and comprehensive health coverage to millions uninsured Americans who do not have coverage or adequate coverage, those who would be denied coverage under the previous insurance practice either base on pre-existing condition, gender or age, while controlling the cost of health care. (New York Time, October 26, 2014) The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of the Affordable Care Act, examine the nine titles of the law, their effectiveness as well as their impact on the nursing practice today

In 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or PPACA gave many Americans the opportunity to have health care coverage that previously may have not been available to them. The reform is primarily aimed at decreasing the number of uninsured and underinsured Americans. The landscape of health care is changing and nursing is evolving alongside it. This health care overhaul gives nurses a vital role in leading the reform revolution. With more than three million strong, nursing is the biggest sector of the nation’s health care labor

Historically, the nursing field is one that has consistent positive job outlooks, as there is typically a continued shortage. Healthcare is the backbone of most communities, not just for its services, but also for the jobs it provides and the economy stimulation. Jill Bernstein, author for “Changes in Health Care Financing and Organization” states, “The health care industry is a critical component of the national, and most regional and local economies of the United States” (4). The nursing field has suffered challenges due to the economic, social, and the political downturn of the U.S. Nevertheless, there is still some noticeable growth taking place and opportunities available. This shows encouraging signs for new nursing graduates.

The social system becomes more and more demanding, needing us to deal with social and government resources, once we learn the newest of trends. We need to be emotionally supportive when these occur and often hold patients while they die and cry along with their families and loved ones. Budgets are becoming tighter, requiring us to work with less and less resources to function effectively in our jobs. There is an increase in demand for professors in the nursing schools, requiring nurses to achieve higher nursing degrees to qualify them to teach. Nursing schools today have long waiting lists due to the fact that there are inadequate instructors to have adequate teacher-student ratios in the classroom.

In 2010, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law by the United States government and is the largest health care reform since Medicare and Medicaid were established in 1965. With this new legislation, there will be a huge transformation of the health care system we know today. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) is an organization that is independent of government and provides unbiased advice used in making informed legislative decisions about health care. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), the largest philanthropy in the United States, collaborated with the IOM to evaluate and transform the nursing profession in order to provide

Healthcare Reform has been and still is a highly debated controversial political issue in this country. It has been a hot topic of past presidential campaigns, with many proposed solutions, none of which were enacted upon by Congress. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed in 2010. This law or Obamacare, as it is commonly called, was designed to cover the 48 million Americans, including about 1 million in New Jersey who did not have health insurance. It is envisioned to provide seamless, affordable, quality care that is accessible to all. Great emphasis will be placed on transforming our current “sick care” hospital system into a community “health care” system of prevention and health promotion. This paper discusses the evolving and future roles of nurses under the new system. It also examines the proposals of a joint committee made up of members of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), as an initiative to help nurses in their new leadership roles to a healthier nation.

There are over three million nursing professional in United States and they make the largest segment of nation’s health care workforce. Nurses can play a vital role in helping to realize the objectives set forth in the 2010 affordable act, legislation that represents the broadest health care overhaul since the 1965 creation of Medicare and Medicaid program (IOM 2010). Due to the restricting barriers nurses were not able to respond effectively to the changing health care systems. In 2008, The

“Throughout the last decade, policymakers and practice leaders have recognized that education makes a difference” (Impact of Education, n.d.). Hospitals are also trending towards preferred hiring of bachelors prepared nurses for their workforce. Even national organizations are jumping on the bandwagon requiring “all nurse managers and nurse leaders to hold a baccalaureate or graduate degree in nursing by 2013” (Impact of Education, n.d.), likewise the Institute of Medicine has also recommended that all hospitals have at least 80% of their nursing staff with a BSN or higher by the year 2020 (Impact of Education, n.d.).