Law and Ethic in Healthcare
Week 6 Discussion
What Have We Learned from Health Reform Efforts?
In 2020, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), now known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), achieved its 10-year milestone. Since the inception of PPACA/ACA, many changes have occurred in the way health care is delivered and purchased by consumers amid controversy related to the effectiveness of the act. However, it is important to note that this act shares a long history of health reform in the United States.
This week gives you an opportunity for introspective analysis. How has health reform progressively influenced the healthcare system? Is it meeting public expectations? How have health reform efforts met priorities for safety, cost, quality, and access? Compare what the literature says with your own experiences and observations. This should form the basis for your Discussion, with a focus on what has been achieved to date and what can still be improved.
To prepare for this Discussion:
- Read the Learning Resources related to healthcare reform.
- Research and review at least two peer-reviewed journal articles that have been published within the past 5 years that describe how well efforts at health reform have been working.
- Consider this analysis from the perspective of safety, cost, quality, and access. As you review health reform initiatives, ask to what extent the initiatives examined contribute to positive organizational and individual health systems outcomes.
- Review the Kaiser Family Foundation timelineLinks to an external site. provided in the Learning Resources. Choose two initiatives from the timeline for this Discussion and identify two peer-reviewed articles that reference these two reform efforts. Examples of changes could include:
- National Mental Health Act (1946)
- Hospital Survey and Construction Act/Hill-Burton Act (1946)
- IRS Declaration of employer group premiums as a tax-deductible business expense (1951)
- Medicare and Medicaid (1965) and Social Security Amendments of 1965
- Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA)
- Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act
- Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act/Affordable Care Act (2010)
- 21st Century Cures Act (2016)
Post your Discussion, to include the following:
- Briefly summarize the peer-reviewed articles you located on the topic of the health reform efforts.
- Considering the information in these articles and the Learning Resources, analyze the effectiveness of these reform efforts in promoting safety, cost, quality, and access for key stakeholders as a part of the evolution of health reform.
- Analyze the agencies involved for implementation and their role in rulemaking.
- Note: Be sure to clearly reference the peer-reviewed resources from the academic literature that support your analysis.
