NURS 6050 Discussion: Politics and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Initial Post
This discussion is one that has been debated on over the past 20 years. The reason we have elections are so candidates can tell Americans what bills they may pass to better the country’s healthcare system, tax rates, and foreign policy. However, to sign legislation into law, it must be passed by the house of representatives and the senate before the president signs the bill into law. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was supposed to expand and improved health insurance coverage by coverage through Medicaid expansion and providing subsidies to purchase private insurance on the health care exchanges
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. Second, the ACA upgraded the quality and scope of coverage by improving benefit design, including implementing the essential health benefits (Willison & Singer, 2017, p. 1225). This was all signed into law to better our healthcare system so that every American could gain access to healthcare NURS 6050 Discussion: Politics and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Voters Views
Voter views dramatically effect decisions made by lawmakers. This is how legislators run for election and re-election. Republicans overall benefited from greater vote margins than in previous elections among older, White, less-educated, low-income households (Sieber & Berman, 2017). Trump won the 2016 election because he promised to repeal the ACA. Voters listen to politicians and vote based on how what the nominee can do for them. However, saying you will do something becomes harder when passing legislation.
Cost/Budget Analysis
The Affordable Care Act had two main goals for the cost budget analysis for the bill. The federal budget was one and the second was to write a bill that would reduce the cost of healthcare. “The law could not increase the federal deficit over any of the periods used in budget process scorekeeping” (White, 2018). The second was to write a bill that would reduce the cost of healthcare, most directly through premiums for health insurance for voters who did not benefit from the new coverage: personal costs for the already insured (White, 2018). There are many Americans that have healthcare coverage through their employer. The ACA would not benefit them unless they become unemployed NURS 6050 Discussion: Politics and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
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References
Willison, C., & Singer, P. (2017). Repealing the Affordable Care Act Essential Health Benefits: Threats and Obstacles. AJPH Perspectives, 107(8), 1225–1226. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2017.303888
Seiber, E. E., & Berman, M. L. (2017). Medicaid Expansion and ACA Repeal: Evidence From Ohio. American Journal of Public Health, 107(6), 889–892. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.2105/AJPH.2017.303722
White, J. (2018). Hypotheses and Hope: Policy Analysis and Cost Controls (or Not) in the Affordable Care Act. Journal of Health Politics, Policy & Law, 43(3), 455–482. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1215/03616878-4366184
sample response
Good job on your post this week. You provide many insightful points throughout your discussion. Primarily, I never knew that the primary demographic voting for Republicans is the older, less educated, white demographic. Over the past 40 years, the Democratic Party has been losing white votes. In 2012, Barrack Obama had the lowest white vote in history, 39% (Zingher, 2018, p. 861). This data does not include the most recent election. I agree with you that political candidates use their platform to get votes. However, putting words into action after becoming an elected official takes time and does not always happen. I also agree with you that the ACA did not benefit people who already had health insurance through their employer. It did have a small impact on my family and me. I was 22 when I entered the workforce. The ACA allowed me to stay on my family’s health plan until I turned 26. This is just one change that the ACA implemented that benefited many young adults (Luquis & Kensinger, 2017) NURS 6050 Discussion: Politics and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Luquis, R., & Kensinger, W. (2017). Perceptions of Health Care and Access to Preventive Services Among Young Adults. Journal of Community Health, 42(6), 1204–1212. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1007/s10900-017-0371-2
Zingher, J. N. (2018). Polarization, Demographic Change, and White Flight from the Democratic Party. Journal of Politics, 80(3), 860–871.
Discussion: Politics and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Regardless of political affiliation, individuals often grow concerned when considering perceived competing interests of government and their impact on topics of interest to them. The realm of healthcare is no different. Some people feel that local, state, and federal policies and legislation can be either helped or hindered by interests other than the benefit to society.
Consider for example that the number one job of a legislator is to be reelected. Cost can be measured in votes as well as dollars. Thus, it is important to consider the legislator’s perspective on either promoting or not promoting a certain initiative in the political landscape.
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 terms of legislators being reelected affected efforts to repeal/replace the ACA. Then, explain how analyses of the voters views may affect decisions by legislative leaders in recommending or positioning national policies (e.g., Congress’ decisions impacting Medicare or Medicaid). Remember, the number one job of a legislator is to be re-elected. Please check your discussion grading rubric to ensure your responses meet the criteria NURS 6050 Discussion: Politics and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
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 NURS 6050 Discussion: Politics and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.