NURS 6050 Discussion Politics and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act SAMPLE

Walden University NURS 6050 Discussion Politics and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act SAMPLE-Step-By-Step Guide

 

This guide will demonstrate how to complete the Walden University NURS 6050 Discussion Politics and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act SAMPLE assignment based on general principles of academic writing. Here, we will show you the A, B, Cs of completing an academic paper, irrespective of the instructions. After guiding you through what to do, the guide will leave one or two sample essays at the end to highlight the various sections discussed below.

 

How to Research and Prepare for NURS 6050 Discussion Politics and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act SAMPLE                     

 

Whether one passes or fails an academic assignment such as the Walden University NURS 6050 Discussion Politics and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act SAMPLE depends on the preparation done beforehand. The first thing to do once you receive an assignment is to quickly skim through the requirements. Once that is done, start going through the instructions one by one to clearly understand what the instructor wants. The most important thing here is to understand the required format—whether it is APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.

 

After understanding the requirements of the paper, the next phase is to gather relevant materials. The first place to start the research process is the weekly resources. Go through the resources provided in the instructions to determine which ones fit the assignment. After reviewing the provided resources, use the university library to search for additional resources. After gathering sufficient and necessary resources, you are now ready to start drafting your paper.

 

How to Write the Introduction for NURS 6050 Discussion Politics and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act SAMPLE                     

The introduction for the Walden University NURS 6050 Discussion Politics and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act SAMPLE is where you tell the instructor what your paper will encompass. In three to four statements, highlight the important points that will form the basis of your paper. Here, you can include statistics to show the importance of the topic you will be discussing. At the end of the introduction, write a clear purpose statement outlining what exactly will be contained in the paper. This statement will start with “The purpose of this paper…” and then proceed to outline the various sections of the instructions.

 

How to Write the Body for NURS 6050 Discussion Politics and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act SAMPLE                     

 

After the introduction, move into the main part of the NURS 6050 Discussion Politics and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act SAMPLE assignment, which is the body. Given that the paper you will be writing is not experimental, the way you organize the headings and subheadings of your paper is critically important. In some cases, you might have to use more subheadings to properly organize the assignment. The organization will depend on the rubric provided. Carefully examine the rubric, as it will contain all the detailed requirements of the assignment. Sometimes, the rubric will have information that the normal instructions lack.

 

Another important factor to consider at this point is how to do citations. In-text citations are fundamental as they support the arguments and points you make in the paper. At this point, the resources gathered at the beginning will come in handy. Integrating the ideas of the authors with your own will ensure that you produce a comprehensive paper. Also, follow the given citation format. In most cases, APA 7 is the preferred format for nursing assignments.

 

How to Write the Conclusion for NURS 6050 Discussion Politics and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act SAMPLE                     

 

After completing the main sections, write the conclusion of your paper. The conclusion is a summary of the main points you made in your paper. However, you need to rewrite the points and not simply copy and paste them. By restating the points from each subheading, you will provide a nuanced overview of the assignment to the reader.

 

How to Format the References List for NURS 6050 Discussion Politics and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act SAMPLE                     

 

The very last part of your paper involves listing the sources used in your paper. These sources should be listed in alphabetical order and double-spaced. Additionally, use a hanging indent for each source that appears in this list. Lastly, only the sources cited within the body of the paper should appear here.

Stuck? Let Us Help You

 

Completing assignments can sometimes be overwhelming, especially with the multitude of academic and personal responsibilities you may have. If you find yourself stuck or unsure at any point in the process, don’t hesitate to reach out for professional assistance. Our assignment writing services are designed to help you achieve your academic goals with ease. 

 

Our team of experienced writers is well-versed in academic writing and familiar with the specific requirements of the NURS 6050 Discussion Politics and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act SAMPLE assignment. We can provide you with personalized support, ensuring your assignment is well-researched, properly formatted, and thoroughly edited. Get a feel of the quality we guarantee – ORDER NOW. 

Politics has a variant of definitions; the definition of politics by Milstead and Short (2019) is “the process of influencing the allocation of scarce resources” (p. 38). During election time, politicians support or oppose legislation on economic and social issues using various strategies to get the political support of voters. President Obama implemented the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010 to provide Americans with improved and expanded access to healthcare coverage through Medicaid and private insurance companies. Since the enactment of the ACA, the Republican and Democratic parties have had diverse stances on the matter. It continues to be a topic during the electoral and re-electoral process to gain public support, as adequate coverage for health insurance still needs to be improved to meet the demand.

     President Trump attempted to repeal and replace the ACA in 2016 with the American Health Care Act (AHCA), which created a more significant divide between the Democratic and Republican parties due to eliminating Essential Health Benefits (EHB) (Willison & Singer, 2017). As a result, this hurt the momentum of support for repealing the ACA due to the loss of EHB and a sufficient replacement program. At the same time, the Biden administration has continued to build on the framework of the ACA that was put into place in 2010 by working on expanding language access to promote enrollment. In 2023, the Biden administration invested nearly 100 million into the Navigator grand fund to help assist with coverage enrollment and promote marketing (Keith, 2021). These changes allow for the protection and expansion of healthcare coverage for minorities with difficulties with English as their primary language, allowing for greater health literacy. Reviewing the actions of President Biden and Trump and see how different the two political parties’ actions are on the ACA. The Biden administration continues expanding coverage, and the Trump administration pushed for repeal and replacement. 

     The citizens of the United States play an essential role in how legislative leaders form policies. As politicians gather support, many strategies are in progress, almost as if they are playing a game by aligning or opposing policies to obtain public votes (Milstead & Short, 2019).  A policy feedback loop is measurable to evaluate the influences participation and affects political attitudes and support toward candidates (Mettler et al., 2022). An example regarding the ACA is that those who gained from the positive benefits of the ACA are more likely to participate in voting. They risk losing their coverage, risking the candidate’s likelihood of being elected. With the upcoming 2024 election, the ACA will continue to play a significant role in each candidate’s campaign.

Sample Answer for NURS 6050 Discussion Politics and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act SAMPLE Included After Question

The suppliers of legislative benefits are legislators, and their primary goal is to be re-elected. Thus, legislators need to maximize their chances for re-election, which requires political support. Legislators are assumed to be rational and to make cost-benefit calculations when faced with demands for legislation. However, the legislator’s cost-benefit calculations are not the cost-benefits to society of enacting particular legislation. Instead, the benefits are the additional political support the legislator would receive from supporting legislation and the lost political support they would incur as a result of their action. When the benefit to legislators (positive political support) exceeds their costs (negative political support) they will support legislation. (page 27) NURS-6050, week 3 discussion. Politics and the patient protection and affordable care act

Source: Feldstein, P. (2006). The politics of health legislation: An economic perspective (3rd ed.). Chicago, IL: Health Administration Press.

To Prepare:

Review the Resources and reflect on efforts to repeal/replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Consider who benefits the most when policy is developed and in the context of policy implementation.
By Day 3 of Week 3
Post an explanation for how you think the cost-benefit analysis in the statement from page 27 of Feldstein (2006) affected efforts to repeal/replace the ACA. Then, explain how analyses such as the one portrayed by the Feldstein statement may affect decisions by legislative leaders in recommending or positioning national policies (e.g., Congress’ decisions impacting Medicare or Medicaid).

By Day 6 of Week 3
Respond to at least two of your colleagues* on two different days by expanding on their explanation and providing an example that supports their explanation or respectfully challenging their explanation and providing an example.

Click on the Reply button below to reveal the textbox for entering your message. Then click on the Submit button to post your message. NURS-6050, week 3 discussion. Politics and the patient protection and affordable care act

A Sample Answer For the Assignment: NURS 6050 Discussion Politics and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act SAMPLE
Title: NURS 6050 Discussion Politics and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act SAMPLE

Affordable Care Act (ACA) was enacted in 2010, and it considerably changed the U.S. health care landscape. The goals of the ACA were to make insurance coverage more affordable, reduce the number of uninsured, and expand access to care. To attain these goals, the ACA expanded eligibility for Medicaid and established new marketplaces where Americans without employer coverage could purchase policies directly from insurers (Oberlander, 2017). The ACA faced strong opposition from Republicans, who described it as unrealistic because it required every American to have medical insurance (Oberlander, 2017). When the Trump administration took power in 2017, the president and Congress members of the Republican Party vowed to replace the ACA. However, one year after taking office, Republicans could not agree on whether to repeal the ACA immediately, repeal right away and replace it later, or repeal it later after establishing a replacement strategy (Oberlander, 2017).  Although the Republicans repealed parts of the ACA, including the budgetary and fiscal provisions, they did not replace it.

The Senate Republicans’ failure to honor their promise of passing a bill to replace ACA, can be attributed to the unpopularity of this bill to the public. The legislators had to assess the political impact of repealing the ACA with no replacement on their chances of being reelected (McCarthy, 2017). They had to perform a cost-benefit analysis on the cost of repealing the ACA on the future chance of being reelected and the benefits of repealing it. For instance, if the Senate replaced the ACA right away, with no replacement, the number of uninsured Americans would increase drastically, which would be opposed by their voters (McCarthy, 2017). This would negatively affect the public view of the lawmakers on their constituents, and lower their odds of being reelected if they did not have a better plan to replace the ACA.  Besides, the cost-benefit analysis can explain why the Republicans had two canceled votes in March 2017 and had to introduce a new amendment to the American Health Care Act to unite the party behind the bill (McCarthy, 2017). The failure to replace the ACA as promised shows that lawmakers can be unwilling to support bills that are a potential threat to their election results in upcoming elections.

Legislative leaders’ decisions regarding recommending or positioning national policies are often influenced by their voters’ views. Voters are known to influence legislators’ policy choices and are at times forced to compromise their choices including partisan politicians (Pacheco & Maltby, 2017). Lawmakers have to consider their voters’ views before making a policy decision that affects their constituents to maintain a positive public image (Pacheco & Maltby, 2017). In the case the voters’ views contradict a legislator’s decision regarding a policy, the lawmaker is forced to compromise their position on the policy and move to the center.

Failing to take the voters’ views can have negative consequences on the law maker’s future elections. Furthermore, to continue supporting and voting for a legislator in future elections constituents must remain convinced that their lawmaker is listening to them and consider their views (Pacheco & Maltby, 2017). For instance, members of congress had to assess the voters’ view on repealing the ACA provisions that would cut funding for Medicaid or change Medicaid to a block grant program. Since many Americans benefited from the expansion of Medicaid, it affected Congress’ decision to pass bills that would hinder their voters’ access to the program and ultimately affect their public image.

NURS 6050 Discussion Politics and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act SAMPLE References

McCarthy, M. (2017). U.S Republican attempt to repeal and replace Affordable Care Act collapses. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.j3508

Oberlander, J. (2017). Repeal, replace, repair, retreat—Republicans’ health care quagmire. New England Journal of Medicine, 377(11), 1001-1003.

Pacheco, J., & Maltby, E. (2017). The role of public opinion—does it influence the diffusion of ACA decisions?. Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, 42(2), 309-340.https://doi.org/10.1215/03616878-3766737

The U.S. Federal Government is made up of three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. To ensure the government is effective and citizen’s rights are protected, each branch has its powers and responsibilities, including working with the other branches. The legislative branch is made up of the House and Senate, known collectively as the Congress. Among other powers, the legislative branch makes all laws, declares war, regulates interstate and foreign commerce, and controls taxing and spending policies. (United States House of Representatives, n.d.).

A Sample Answer For 2 the Assignment: NURS 6050 Discussion Politics and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act SAMPLE
Title: NURS 6050 Discussion Politics and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act SAMPLE

Click here to ORDER NOW FOR AN ORIGINAL PAPER ASSIGNMENT ON NURS 6050 Discussion Politics and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act SAMPLE

The members of the house are elected every two years. In general, the elected officials usually have much passion and want to make good policy during their terms. Many come to their respective legislative bodies because they want to make a difference and be part of good government (National Council for the Social Studies, n.d.). NURS 6050 Discussion Politics and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act SAMPLE

One of the most essential policies enacted by the legislators is the ACA (Affordable Care Act), famously known as Obamacare, a comprehensive care reform law enacted in March 2010. The three main goals of the ACA (Affordable Care Act) are: to make affordable health insurance available to more people, enhance Medicaid programs, and support innovative medical care delivery methods designed to lower the costs of health care (Health Care, n.d.). However, some conservatives objected to the policy. It is because of the increase and high insurance premiums that we need to pay for Obamacare. They also think that it may have adverse effects on the quality of care. According to Laureate (2018), the ACA (Affordable Care Act) passed without Republicans’ signatures. After it was passed and implemented, half of the states, led by either Republican governors or legislatures, are actively challenging or ignoring the law. So it is clear that obviously, politics is playing a significant role in both the design at the outset and now the implementation of the ACA (Affordable Care Act). During Trump’s administration, the republicans tried to replace the ACA (Affordable Care Act) with AHCA (American Health Care Act). The AHCA (American Health Care Act) ensures more affordable health by not requiring everyone to buy the insurance and not paying penalties if they decide to buy later. However, the AHCA (American Health Care Act) has not to get the majority of the vote and has not become a law. According to a national poll done by Quinnipiac University, 56% of American voters disapproved of the AHCA, and 46% of voters said they would be less likely to vote for their representative if they supported the AHCA. If doing the right thing wasn’t enough to get Republican representatives to oppose the bill, knowing that they could lose their seats in the next election sure was (Iyamah J., 2017). NURS 6050 Discussion Politics and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act SAMPLE

The number one job of a legislator is to be re-elected. Legislators want to remain in office or at least leave on their terms. In order to find the support to be re-elected continually, legislators must be aware of not only the political climate but also how specific votes will affect their ability to stay in office. They must consider the will of their constituents, the needs of their state, and the desire of their party (National Council for the Social Studies, n.d.). Once legislators win a seat, they are expected to make good decisions on whom they support and what advocacy they champion. In a cost-benefit analysis, the making of policy and law should pass a stringent process. They need to influence other legislators with their arguments. Sufficient data and research should support a bill to pass a debate and move to the Senate. The bill needs the majority of the votes in order for it to be a policy. If a legislator did not re-elect, the policy they make or amends could be dismantled. In order for a bill to be a policy, a legislator needs support from the officials. The policy should cover the greater good of the population. The re-election of a legislator means continuity of the policy they started or a chance to repeal a current policy.

NURS 6050 Discussion Politics and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act SAMPLE References

Health Care.gov (n.d.). Affordable Care Act (ACA). Retrieved from https://healthcare.gov/glossary/affordable-care-act/

Imayah, J. (2017). Why did the American Health Care Act Fail?. Friends Committee on National Legislation. Retrieved from https://fcnl.org/updates/2017-04/why-did-american-health-care-act-fail

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

National Council for the Social Studies. (n.d.). How Legislators Make Decisions. Retrieved from https://socialstudies.org/advocacy/how-legislators-make-decisions

The White House. (n.d.). The Legislative Branch. Retrieved from https://whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/our-government/thr-legislative-branch/

United States House of Representative. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2018, from https://www.house.gov/

Unites States Senate. (n.d.). Senate organization chart for the 115^th Congress. Retrieved September 20, 2018, from https://www.senate.gov/reference/org_chart.htm

A Sample Answer 3 For the Assignment: NURS 6050 Discussion Politics and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act SAMPLE
Title: NURS 6050 Discussion Politics and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act SAMPLE

The concept of cost benefit analysis plays a major role in helping leaders and policymakers, especially in Congress, to make better decisions on distribution of resources at the federal level. The technique is effective at evaluating if a program, like the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), is cost-effective in attaining its expected goals (Bussing et al., 2020). The use of the concept depends on the legislators running for office and their personal views as well as political position on healthcare system in general. For instance, if a legislator or candidate believes that resources used for the ACA could be utilized or allocated somewhere else for better use, then this could have an effect on their idea to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

The case of ACA and efforts to repeal and replace demonstrate how legislators and Congress can apply the cost-benefit approach to save a program that has a fundamental effect on the health of millions of Americans. The ACA was enacted to reduce the cost of care, increase access to care, and improve quality of care for millions of Americans, especially those from low-income households. The Trump administration was determined to repeal and replace the ACA; implying that over 25 million Americans could have lost their health and medical insurance. These include the aged and individuals with preexisting conditions who benefit from expanded Medicare and Medicaid programs (Nadash et al., 2018). Therefore, after conducting a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis, many legislators, especially leaning towards Trump and the Republican Party, withdrew their support and realized the proposal to repeal and replace ACA would hurt the American voters. Therefore, this would cost them by hindering their re-election to Congress.

The cost-benefit analysis allowed the legislators to determine if actions or opinions would impact their re-election to office in a negative or positive way. Therefore, many who supported the need to repeal and replace ACA lost their re-election while others withdrew their support for the same to enhance their re-election based on public opinions as many Americans hailed Obamacare, especially those with preexisting conditions (Milstead & Short, 2019). The legislators’ views and support to repeal and replace the ACA impacted voters’ decisions concerning their re-election and this means that a cost-benefit approach is essential in healthcare reforms.

NURS 6050 Discussion Politics and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act SAMPLE References

Bussing, A., Patton, W., Roberts, J. M., & Treul, S. A. (2020). The electoral consequences of roll

            call voting: Health care and the 2018 election. Political Behavior, 1-

21. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11109-020-09615-4

Milstead, J. A., & Short, N. M. (2019). Health Policy and Politics: A Nurse’s Guide (6 ed.).

            Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning

Nadash, P., Miller, E. A., Jones, D. K., Gusmano, M. K., & Rosenbaum, S. (2018). A series of

unfortunate events: Implications of Republican efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act for older adults. Journal of aging & social policy, 30(3-4), 259-

281. DOI: 10.1080/08959420.2018.1462683.

A Sample Answer For 5 the Assignment: NURS 6050 Discussion Politics and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act SAMPLE
Title: NURS 6050 Discussion Politics and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act SAMPLE

Affordable Health Care Act

Every time a policy is developed and implemented, certain people benefit. This was evident in the case of the 2020 Affordable Care Act (ACA). The Obama government launched the ACA to improve healthcare accessibility by lowering the number of US citizens without medical insurance (Zhao et al., 2020). Hence, to achieve this aim, the legislation came with different provisions, for instance, affordable insurance exchanges, premium credits to qualified families and people, employer requirements, health insurance reforms, and individual mandates. However, after Trump was elected, his administration wanted some ACA provisions to be repealed, for instance, the individual mandate. Nonetheless, these efforts were undermined since there were not enough legislators.

Repeal and Replace the Affordable Care Act

After doing a cost-benefit analysis, many legislators denounced their support of the new repeal because they felt they would make the ordinary voter suffer. Several Republican legislators began seeing minimal chances of being re-elected if they supported repealing and replacing Obamacare. Hence, the cost-benefit analysis made the legislators understand their political reputation concerning how voters viewed them (Woolhandler et al., 2021). This was because of the severe negative impacts of repealing and replacing Obamacare. For instance, the new policy would deny many Americans affordable healthcare accessibility, which the ACA addressed.

In conclusion, The American Academy of Family Physicians opposed the newly proposed AHCA as they noted it would increase health insecurity among people. Specifically, the vulnerable population would feel the financial burden, which would not afford the insurance costs. The new policy increased costs and denied sick people coverage based on their socioeconomic status, health status, or age. In addition to making healthcare expensive, the new legislation aimed to remove employer and individual mandates.

Indeed, the recent global experience can be used to summarize the current crisis in access to mental health services and other healthcare issues; “During the past 2 years, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, there are more individuals suffering from depression, anxiety, substance abuse, social isolation, and interpersonal conflicts. There are more deaths by accidental drug overdose than ever in our history. More and more people every day cannot access the mental health treatment they so desperately want due to long waits for an evaluation, a lack of resources, and an underfunded mental health infrastructure. We need more psychiatrists, more PMHNPs, more psychotherapists, more mental health clinics, more psychiatric hospital beds, more partial hospitalization programs, more resources for the homeless suffering from mental illness, and more reforms to release individuals with serious mental illnesses from incarceration due to minor offenses, often directly related to the consequences of lack of treatment” (Kuntz, 2022).

Looking at what is happening in the healthcare setting, Nurses at all levels need to promote and educate the masses on the Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the need to promote the ACA and support the reelection of any legislators that promote ACA. Yes, I believe your statement that “engaging NPs in political efficacy, they can advocate and influence change in the state rules and regulations which would allow them full practice.” According to our study material, “According to the Federal Elections Commission, as of November 28, 2016, the healthcare sector had contributed $236,399,000 to campaigns during the 2016 election cycle, with approximately 60% of that total going to Republican candidates” (Milstead & Short, 2019).

Thus, healthcare providers can influence the legislators and help in campaigning for those legislators that will promote healthcare bills. I remember when Trump’s presidential campaign promised to repeal and replace the ACA but finally made some changes. Indeed, repealing and replacing the ACA will be of negative impact on society. Indeed, if more nurses advance in becoming qualified PMHNPs and functioning at the highest level of their education and scope of practice, in that case, it will go a long way in making healthcare affordable. The quality of care will improve, and legislators will seek opinions from nurses before making any policies that will affect the healthcare sector. Thanks a million for your contribution.

Reference

Kuntz, L. (2022). Psychiatric Care in the US. Psychiatric Times, 39(4), 1–4.

Milstead, J. A., & Short, N. M. (2019). Health policy and politics: A nurse’s guide (6th ed.). 

        Jones & Bartlett Learning. Chapter 3, “Government Response: Legislation” (pp. 37–56)

The Affordable Care Act (ACA), more commonly known as Obamacare, was created in an effort to provide universal healthcare by making health insurance more affordable for all Americans. This career defining piece of legislation was signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010. The law would reduce the number of uninsured and expand access to healthcare for millions of Americans.  

            The ACA had both negatives and positives. Some positives were that it covered 10 essential health benefits, let children stay on health coverage until 26, gave coverage to preexisting conditions, and helped slowed the rise of health care cost (Amadeo, 2019). Some negatives were that it raised the income tax, taxed individuals who did not have health insurance, and people were losing their private insurance through their companies. If you decided you did not want insurance the ACA would take it out of your taxes regardless (Milstead & Short, 2019). Also, some private health insurance companies decided to drop their coverage for employees due to it being cheaper to pay the tax rather than insure workers. The ACA is still at the top of President Trump’s list of objectives, but this may come at the cost of the presidency or be felt later by conservative Republicans in the mid-term congressional elections in 2022 (Brownstein, 2019). The Affordable Care Act also wanted to expand Medicaid programs so that individuals falling below 138% of the federal poverty level could be covered with insurance (Affordable Care Act (Aca), n.d.).  Medicaid cuts were one reason for the replacement attempts being largely unsuccessful. 

            In conclusion, money and policy development are at the top of politician’s agenda. Milstead and Short (2019) argue that the supporters and critics of ACA include the members of Congress whose main objective is to be re-elected during the election cycles. Politicians will often campaign health care policies to gain the attention of their audience and voters. 

  

References 

Affordable Care Act (ACA). (n.d.). Healthcare.gov. Retrieved March 10, 2020, from https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/affordable-care-act/ 

Amadeo, K. (2019). Pros and Cons of Obamacare. Retrieved from https://www.thebalance.com/obamacare-pros-and-cons-3306059

Brownstein, R. (2019, March 21). President Trump still wants to repeal Obamacare: The 2020  

            healthcare debate won’t just be about single payer. The Atlantic. Retrieved fromhttps://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/03/trumps-health-care-plan-will-

            influence-2020-debate/585442/ 

Milstead, J.A., & Short, N.M. (2019). Health Policy and Politics: A nurse’s guide (6^thEd.)  

            Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett learning. 

Sample Answer for POLITICS AND THE PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT NURS 6050

Sasha Shaheen  

RE: Discussion – Week 3 

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) is a revolutionary policy. This Act wanted to address social injustices in the American healthcare system. However, this policy has met stiff opposition from Republican legislators who openly opposed it. When Donald Trump came to power, repealing ACA was one of his number one priorities. They, however, did not get the requisite number to repeal ACA since other legislators felt like many Americans would be affected. Many Republican lawmakers started seeing that they may not get reelected if they continued to support the repeal of ACA. 

In May 2017, the House of Representatives passed the American Health Care Act (Jost, 2017). This was the first attempt at repealing ACA. The Trump administration wanted to use this act to repeal ACA.  However, this Act would make millions of Americans lose health insurance coverage. AHCA proposed that tax credit be based on age, which would increase healthcare costs. This Act also created the Patient and State Stability Fund, which would reduce premiums by 25% after 2026 (Jost, 2017). This would increase healthcare costs for Americans with preexisting comorbid conditions. 

A cost-benefit analysis by Republican lawmakers revealed that they would not get reelected because of the negative effects of repealing. Repealing ACA would lead to millions of Americans losing insurance coverage (Straw & Aron-Dine, 2020). This was the main reason for implementing ACA. ACA aimed to increase insurance coverage to millions of Americans and reduce healthcare costs (Sommers, 2020). Due to reelection purposes, the Senate Majority Leader McConnell found it hard to garner support for AHCA. To protect their political interest, the US senators came up with another proposal known as the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017 (Smith & Gibbs, 2017). 

Members of Congress and Senators are elected leaders who must be voted for by the public. Due to this, their positions on policies such as Obamacare are influenced by how their electorates feel. Because of this, their interest is reelection and not ACA. 

References 

Jost, T. S. (2017). House passes AHCA; HHS acts on regulations. Health Affairs, 36(6), 982-983.   

Smith, K., & Gibbs, T. E. (2017). The APHA PHACT campaign in action in Delaware. Delaware Journal of Public Health, 3(4), 6-11.   

Sommers, B. D. (2020). Health insurance coverage: What comes after the ACA? Health Affairs, 39(3), 502-508.   

Straw, T., & Aron-Dine, A. (2020). Commentary: ACA Repeal Even More Dangerous During Pandemic and Economic Crisis. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. https://www.cbpp.org/research/health/commentary-aca-repeal-even-more-dangerous-during-pandemic-and-economic-crisis 

Sample Response for POLITICS AND THE PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT NURS 6050

Sasha, 

The last statement of  ”….their interest is re-election and not ACA.” This statement highlights the level of politics within politics. Interest groups spend resources on trying to remove legislators who do not share in their intentions. Americans would be better served by policy-motivated committees that dissect and evaluate the benefit of a bill before allowing it to be considered (Lorenz, 2020). Everything boils down to the dollar. I understand health care and politics are as much of a business as anything else. However, it is unfortunate the system is overly saturated with misguided interests, and how does this benefit me. Personal experiences weigh heavily on attitudes toward the government and health care policies within contemporary societies (Larson, 2020). Lobbyists aid in providing and identifying agendas; these “agenda setters” would be more likely to perform in the public’s best interest if a policy-motivated committee was the influence behind new bills (Lorenz, 2020).  

Larsen, G. (2020. Personal politics? Healthcare policies, personal experiences and government attitudes. Journal of European Social                       Policy. https://doi.10.1177/0958928720904319

Lorenz, G. (2020). Prioritized interests: Diverse lobbying coalitions and congressional committee agenda setting. University of Chicago Press Journals. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/705744

Sample Response for POLITICS AND THE PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT NURS 6050

Sasha, 

I love that you kept the explanation of the health care acts and attempted repeal short and simple but explained it all perfectly. It is a shame that in recent times, politician’s true colors have shown. They are making it more transparent that some, unfortunately most, do not always have the American people’s best interest in mind. With legislators being driven with the primary goal of being re-elected and not solely for the benefit for its constituents (Milstead & Short, 2019), I am grateful we live in a country that allows us to be a part of a democracy in order to have some control in how our amazing country is ran. According to Dr. Nwogu, “democracy is a system of government with four key elements: a system for choosing and replacing the government through free and fair elections, active participation of the people, as citizens in politics and civic life, protection of the human rights of all citizens and a rule of law in which the laws and procedures apply equally to all citizens” (2015). I genuinely believe, if we allowed these elements to guide our country, the government wouldn’t be viewed as corrupt, and we wouldn’t have to analyze how politicians balance cost vs benefit for their gain instead of the American people like it was originally intended way back when. 

References 

Milstead, J. A., & Short, N. M. (2019. Informing public policy: An important role for registered nurses. In Health Policy and Polictics: A nurse’s guide (6^th ed., p. 40). Jones and Bartlett Learning. 

Nwogu, G. A. I. (2015). Democracy: Its Meaning and Dissenting Opinions of the Political Class in Nigeria: A Philosophical Approach . Journal of Education and Practice, 6(4). Retrieved 2021, from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1083739.pdf. 

Sample Answer for POLITICS AND THE PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT NURS 6050

Amber McCarter  

Legislators Influence On Health Care 

            The Affordable Care Act, also known as ACA or “ObamaCare”, was enacted in March 2010 by the Obama Administration. According to HealthCare.gov, the health care reform law has three primary goals; “make affordable health insurance available to more people, expand the Medicaid program to cover all adults with income below 138% of the federal poverty level, and support innovative medical care delivery methods designed to lower the costs of health care generally” (“Affordable Care Act (ACA)”, n.d.). This health care law was enacted in order to move towards the end goal of universal health care and provided as a right vs a privilege (Teitelbaum, 2018). According to Economic Policy Institute, approximately 29.8 million people would lose their health insurance and approximately 1.2 million would lose their jobs (“Repealing the ACA”, n.d.). With the repeal prospectively affecting that many Americans, you would assume this would play a large role in the legislative leader’s position in congress. We as a democracy, can influence those in the position to place laws and policies that impact our day to day lives. With the impact this repeal would have, I think it would be safe to say, the legislative leaders would have to rebuttal in order to save face and protect their position within congress. Once legislators found how many Americans would be affected by the repeal, the Trump Administration proposed the Better Care Reconciliation Act in 2017. This act would provide more help to cover out-of-pocket costs, health savings accounts, allocating additional resources to combat the opioid epidemic, providing more options for Americans to buy lower premium plans, as well as tax and Medicaid revisions (Senate Budget Committee, 2017). By providing these alterations to the Affordable Care Act, I feel that the legislative leaders were able to secure their position in congress and I can only hope their intentions are to continue to implement laws, policies and acts to better American lives across the nation. 

References 

Discussion draft – better care reconciliation act (BCRA). U.S. Senate Committee On The Budget. (n.d.). Retrieved December 13, 2021, from https://www.budget.senate.gov/bettercare. 

HealthCare.gov. (n.d.). Affordable care act (ACA). Affordable Care Act ACA. Retrieved December 13, 2021, from https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/affordable-care-act/. 

How would repealing the Affordable Care Act Affect Health Care and jobs in your state? Economic Policy Institute. (n.d.). Retrieved December 13, 2021, from https://www.epi.org/aca-obamacare-repeal-impact/. 

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

Sample Answer for POLITICS AND THE PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT NURS 6050

Tamika Robinson  

RE: Discussion – Week 3 

The cost-benefit analysis in terms of legislators being reelected affected efforts to repeal/replace the ACA (Obama Care) is a very interesting topic in healthcare. The impact can either help or hurt some of us. The goal for the legislator is to be reelected, so the decision must be supported throughout society. From my point of view, making ACA affordable, having access to healthcare, and making sure those without insurance are insured. Repealing the ACA keeps health insurance which make it appealing for some of us, while on the other hand, replacing the ACA can make it unappealing. This far, ACA has been very effective, and affordable, so let’s just keep it. On the other hand, if the ACA was replaced, many Americans would pay millions for prescription drugs, like medications that could save lives. According to the NCBI, the public debate focuses not on such important and difficult questions as how to discount future benefits or how to estimate cancer rates but on whether it is proper (or, as some contend, sinful) to “put a price tag on human life (National Research Council (US) Steering Committee on Valuing Health Risks et al., 1990). 

The decisions by legislative leaders could affect low-income families currently benefiting from Medicaid expansion would be at grave risk of financial catastrophe and more likely to take out debt in the event of a health emergency if they were to lose their coverage (Cusick Director et al., 2021). Legislatives invests nearly $1 trillion over the 2010–2019 time period aimed at making coverage affordable, the Act more than offsets these expenditures through curbs on Medicare and Medicaid spending, new taxes on high-cost plans, and tax shelters used most heavily by affluent families (Rosenbaum, 2011). Replacing the ACA with (the American Health Care Act – AHCA) can cause significant changes like age of the client, cost, and the lack of coverage. The decision is normally made by voters that have the most votes. The end goal is protecting families and their health.        

References 

Cusick Director, J., Cusick, J., Director, Director, S. H. A., Hananel, S., Director, A., Seeberger Director, C., Seeberger, C., Oduyeru Manager, L., Oduyeru, L., Manager, Gordon Director, P., Gordon, P., Shepherd Director, M., Shepherd, M., Director, J. P. D., Parshall, J., Director, D., President, L. R. V., … Simpson, E. (2021, November 7). The chaos of repealing the Affordable Care Act during the coronavirus pandemic. Center for American Progress. Retrieved December 13, 2021, from https://www.americanprogress.org/article/chaos-repealing-affordable-care-act-coronavirus-pandemic/. 

National Research Council (US) Steering Committee on Valuing Health Risks, Costs, & Decisions, and B. for E. (1990, January 1). The politics of benefit-cost analysis. Valuing Health Risks, Costs, and Benefits for Environmental Decision Making: Report of a Conference. Retrieved December 13, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK235528/. 

Sample Response for POLITICS AND THE PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT NURS 6050

Hi Tamika Robinson  

Legislators must conduct a cost-benefit analysis on repealing Obamacare. The objective of any legislator is to be reelected. The mandate of electing leaders lies with the general public. I agree with your point of view; repealing ACA may negatively affect healthcare costs and access to healthcare services. Since its inception, ACA has increased the number of Americans insured (Silberman, 2020). The decision by legislators can thus affect low-income families who are Medicaid beneficiaries. Legislators will follow what the electorates say to protect their positions to ensure they get reelected. 

References 

Silberman, P. (2020). The Affordable Care Act: Against the odds, it’s working. North Carolina Medical Journal, 81(6), 364-369. https://doi.org/10.18043/ncm.81.6.364