NUR 550 Translation Research and Population Health Management Week 8 Assignment Benchmark – Population Health Policy Analysis
NUR 550 Translation Research and Population Health Management Week 8 Assignment Benchmark – Population Health Policy Analysis
NUR 550 Translation Research and Population Health Management Week 8 Assignment Benchmark – Population Health Policy Analysis
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.
NUR 550 Translation Research and Population Health Management
Week 8 Assignment
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.
You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Please refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.
ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS
Discussion Questions (DQ)
Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.
Weekly Participation
Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.
APA Format and Writing Quality
Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.
Use of Direct Quotes
I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.
LopesWrite Policy
For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.
Late Policy
The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.
Communication
Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:
Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.
