Affordable Care Act Impact

The Impact of the Affordable Care Act

Tiffany E. Snowden

Walden University

NURS 5050/6050 Section 06, Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population Health

January 4, 2015

The Impact of the Affordable Care Act
“Three important concepts that form the framework for health policy discussions are quality/safety of care, access to care and the cost of care” (Milstead, 2013). In March of 2010 the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed. The focus of this paper is to explain the ethical, financial, and quality of care aspects surrounding the ACA.
Impacts of the Affordable Care Act on the Affected Population
The many aspects of the ACA are intended to expand insurance coverage to uninsured Americans highlighting
With this lowering of the deficit, our nation’s income will be increased as well as living standards. Financial burdens from healthcare services seem to be inevitable. Whether it is the government, employers or individuals paying the costs, the financial aspect of healthcare seems to be on a steady rise. “The (health reform) legislation has no immediate effect on the underlying structural factors that drive health care costs” (Kovner & Knickman, 2011). With the Affordable Care Act in place there has to be an implementation to cover the economic aspect of the act. “Key provisions of the ACA that intend to address rising health costs include providing more oversight of health insurance premiums and practices; emphasizing prevention, primary care and effective treatments; reducing health care fraud and abuse; reducing uncompensated care to prevent a shift onto insurance premium costs; fostering comparison shopping in insurance exchanges to increase competition and price transparency; implementing Medicare payment reforms; and testing new delivery and payment system models in Medicaid and Medicare” (The Affordable Care Act: A Brief Summary,
Although there is much to be debated regarding the ACA, many will be helped with the implementation of this law. Legal matters will be handled by the government but there will always be ethical matters that will remain unsolved.

References:
Milstead, J. A. (2013). Health Policy & Politics: a Nurses Guide (4th Ed.). Burlington: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Anderson, A. (2014, March 18). The Impact of the Affordable Care Act on the Health Care Workforce. Retrieved December 28, 2014, from http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2014/03/the-impact-of-the-affordable-care-act- on-the-health-care-workforce

Kovner, A. R., & Knickman, J. R. (2011). Health Care Deliver in the United States (10th Ed.). New York: Springer Publishing Company.

The Affordable Care Act: A Brief Summary. (2011, March 1). Retrieved December 28, 2014, from http://www.ncsl.org/portals/1/documents/health/hraca.pdf

Key Features of the Affordable Care Act By Year. (n.d.). Retrieved December 28, 2014, from http://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/facts/timeline/timeline-text.html

Furman, J. (2014, February 6). Six Economic Benefits of the Affordable Care Act. Retrieved December 29, 2014, from http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2014/02/06/six-economic-