Introduction

The following presentation will focus on the Affordable Care Act as the selected healthcare policy.
Elements of the presentation will include:
Description of the policy
A description of the diverse population impacted by the policy
How the policy is designed to achieve cost-effectiveness and health equity.
Other related policies or goals
Advocacy strategies, and
The professional and moral obligation of a master-prepared nurse from a Christian perspective.

The Policy Selected

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010.
The policy is a comprehensive national healthcare reform that aimed at
Expanding health insurance coverage and
Improving access to care in the country.
President Obama passed and signed the policy into law in 2010 but took effect in 2014.

The Diverse Population Impacted by the Policy

The selected diverse population to be impacted by the policy is older adults.
Medicaid expansion has increased access to older adults above 65 years.
Older adults are a significant population due to the high risk of comorbidities and the development of chronic illnesses.
Older adults from racial and ethnic minorities or low-income households have greater risks of health issues and limited access to care (Buchmueller & Levy, 2020).

How The Policy Is Designed to Improve Cost-Effectiveness and Health Care Equity

The ACA was designed to lower financial barriers to care, increasing healthcare equity.
The policy improves cost-effectiveness and healthcare equity by:
Expanding coverage
Through insurance market reform (McIntyre & Song, 2019).
Prioritization of preventive care has been a cost-effective move
The ACA has also been associated with new payment methodologies, which are cost-effective.

Why The Policy Is Financially Sound

By increasing access to healthcare services, the policy serves another goal of protecting against the financial consequences of poor health.
The policy improved household financial security by increasing eligibility for low-income Americans.
The policy has also been associated with increased productivity- individuals who were earning little can earn more and still qualify for Medicaid (Campbell & Shore-Sheppard, 2020).
The policy has been viewed as an incentive for Americans to work in jobs that do not offer health insurance.

State, Federal, and Global Health Policies, Or Goals the Policy Is Related To

Professional And Moral Obligation of Master’s Prepared Nurses to Respect Human Dignity and Advance the Common Good

Buchmueller, T. C., & Levy, H. G. (2020). The ACA’s impact on racial and ethnic disparities in health insurance coverage and access to care: An examination of how the insurance coverage expansions of the Affordable Care Act have affected disparities
related to race and ethnicity. Health Affairs, 39(3), 395-402.
https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/abs/10.1377/hlthaff.2019.01394
Campbell, A. L., & Shore-Sheppard, L. (2020). The social, political, and economic effects of the Affordable Care Act: Introduction to the issue. RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, 6(2), 1–40. https://www.rsfjournal.org/content/rsfjss/6/2/1.full-text.pdf
Catalyst, N. E. J. M. (2018). Hospital readmissions reduction program (HRRP). NEJM Catalyst. https://catalyst.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/cat.18.0194
Haddad, L. M., & Geiger, R. A. (2021). Nursing Ethical Considerations. In StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526054/