DNP 825 Evaluate the current political climate as it relates to health care and explain how politics influence health for both the individual and entire populations
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is the most significant piece of social legislation passed in the United States (US) since the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965 (Mason et al., 2021). It is an example of a significant federal policy that aimed to improve people’s access to healthcare, mainly by providing affordable health coverage for essential services. It reduced the number of uninsured by 20 million. However, access to insurance coverage does not always translate to access to care, nor does it ensure a healthy population. Despite spending more per person on health care than any other nation, the US performs worse than other nations on most indicators of quality, efficiency, access, and other organizational performance measures (Mason et al., 2021). Preventable medical errors are estimated to be the country’s third leading cause of death. As far as population health, the US ranks at the bottom on certain health outcomes, including life expectancy at birth for both men and women, infant mortality rate, mortality rates for suicide and cardiovascular disease, and the prevalence of diabetes and obesity in children (Mason et al., 2021).
The ACA included elements to change this picture by focusing on creating more value in health care, improving care coordination, expanding access to coverage or health insurance, and reforming how we pay for care (Mason et al., 2021). The ACA aimed to move the healthcare system in the direction of keeping people out of hospitals, in their own homes and communities, with an emphasis on wellness, health promotion, and better management of chronic illnesses. It also included provisions to hold hospitals and other healthcare organizations accountable for both their spending and outcomes (Mason et al., 2021).
The DNP-prepared nurse can become involved in policy formation at any level. There have been nurses in the Senate and Congress at the state and federal levels (Eddie Johnson in Texas and Karen Bass in California), acting Surgeon General and Deputy Surgeon General (Rear Admiral Sylvia Trent-Adams), governors (Erin Murphy in Minnesota), and Lieutenant-Governors (Bethany Hall-Long in Delaware), to name a few (Mason et al., 2021). However, serving in an elected or appointed political office is not the only way to influence the development and implementation of health policy (Patton et al., 2023). Health policies are being implemented in the institutions where we work, and the DNP nurse can be an active part of advocacy through policymaking there also (Patton et al., 2023).
Mason, D., Dickson, E., Perez, A., & McLemore, M. (2021). Policy & politics in nursing and health care (8th ed.). Elsevier. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=zjHNDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=politics+influence+health&ots=bqn24L__Sc&sig=1cxpskHPxZ5Jj2bbar1vr4EMU-Q#v=onepage&q=politics%20influence%20health&f=false
Patton, R., Zalon, M., Ludwick, R. (2023). Nurses making policy: From bedside to boardroom (3rd ed.). Springer Publishing. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=DaJEEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR2&dq=nurses+in+policy+making&ots=KPZAKafQnL&sig=1i6rAhpIJtc3RT88dpYCsNTLKvA#v=onepage&q=nurses%20in%20policy%20making&f=false
