Health Policy Issues affecting the Current State of Healthcare Delivery

Healthcare costs are projected to reach 19.3% of the country’s GDP in 2023 (APHA,
2018) . This increase in spending is attributed to increased demand and the increased costs
associated with healthcare delivery. Some of the healthcare policies in effect, such as the
Healthcare Quality Improvement Act of 1986 (HCQIA) and the Patient Protection
Affordable Care Act (ACA) are riddled with issues that affect different dimensions of care.
For instance, the HCQIA was enacted to reduce the number of litigations hospitals faced as
a result of incompetent physicians (Willner, 2017) . This is one of the most misunderstood
and misused policies in the industry and attracts a plethora of issues pertaining the peer
review system. When certain large groups of physicians dominate certain areas and
intentionally denying other physicians medical staff privileges, it becomes difficult for
advanced nurse practitioners to offer comprehensive services.
Critical aspects in nursing, including care coordination and the integration of health
information technology in nursing practice are some of the initiatives that affect advanced
nursing practice. While health technology has enabled healthcare provides to seek better
care coordination, issues related to healthcare policies like HIPAA and HCQIA mandates
can bring inefficiencies. As a result, it is important for policy makers to factor in key issues
that may affect patients’ access to prompt and efficient healthcare services. In addition,
issues pertaining the ACA might place specific patient populations at a disadvantage my
limiting the type of healthcare services available, and while some opponents express
concerns over the unjust systems propagated by ACA (NurseJournal, 2021) , healthcare
providers need to establish protocols to deal with such issues and still afford the best care to
patients.
Advanced practice nurses play a crucial role in impacting health policy, including
implementation and ability to influence decision making to promote better patient

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outcomes. As advanced practice nurses are at the frontline of healthcare delivery,
translating big-scale healthcare policies and protocols into one-on-one nurse-patient
interactions is often a priority, therefore, improving health policy by eliminating
inefficiencies, proposing improved policies, and meeting with administrators and policy
makers would be helpful in ensuring that policies support a better healthcare environment
for all stakeholders.
Moreover, the ACA impacts day-to-day nursing activities as it enables nurses to see
patients from different socioeconomic and demographic backgrounds. The ACA improves
healthcare access to low-income families, who are oftentimes at a disadvantage with the
current high cost of medical care and drugs (NCSL, 2022) . In addition, the ACA has also
led to an increased demand for healthcare services as more citizens are covered, which
places even more pressure on already existing poor nurse-to-patient ratios in many hospitals
across the country. Therefore, it is not uncommon for nurse burnout to be linked to health
policies that are bombarded with inefficiencies. To mitigate this, more nurse practitioners
are needed and should be actively sought after.
Although decision-making at the state and federal level significantly influences the
way advanced nurse practitioners do their job, a strong educational background and training
in their areas of specialty are paramount to efficient health policies (APHA, 2018) . For
instance, this Masters program is a key player in nurse education, particularly health policy,
legal, and ethical issues that form the most important care frameworks in the country.
Undoubtedly, these frameworks play a significant role in influencing health policy at all
levels.

References

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APHA. (2018). Achieving Health Equity in the United States. Retrieved from American
Public Health Association: https://www.apha.org/policies-and-advocacy/public-
health-policy-statements/policy-database/2019/01/29/achieving-health-equity
NCSL. (2022). Health Disparities Overview. Retrieved from National Conference of State
Legislatures: https://www.ncsl.org/research/health/health-disparities-overview.aspx
NurseJournal. (2021). The Nurse’s Guide to the Affordable Care Act. Retrieved from
NurseJournal: https://nursejournal.org/resources/affordable-care-act-nursing-
guide/#:~:text=hospital%2C%20Weatherspoon%20explains.-
,The%20Affordable%20Care%20Act%20and%20Its%20Impact%20on%20the%20N
ursing,(NPs)%20has%20also%20increased.
Willner, R. (2017). Health Care Quality Improvement Act (HCQIA) of 1986. What is it? Why
was it established? Retrieved from Peerreview.org:
http://www.peerreview.org/articles/HCQIQ.htm