Nursing and Health Care Policy

Sample Answer

In their article, Peterson et al. (2020) explore the healthcare politics in the U.S. through comparative studies with peer nations and note several distinct features of the American system. These include high costs, fragmentation, and health inequities. The article notes that unique political factors and institutions are responsible for the disparities. The implication is that the country’s early history, government institutions and systems, and the ever-evolving nursing and healthcare sectors have had a significant influence on policy development and implementation.

Different events like the World Wars I and II and social movements like the Civil Rights movement have shaped healthcare policy in the country. The history of healthcare policy also involves understanding the effects of historical events and associated cultural, economic, and social factors that have shaped public opinion and political participation and the health inequities that impact healthcare delivery.

The structure of healthcare policy and politics in nursing and healthcare delivery systems also depend on the existence of different players or stakeholders at the state and federal levels. Nursing has evolved over the years based on structures at the state and federal levels. The health system in the country entails a mix of public and private, for-profit and non-profit healthcare providers and insurers. The implication is that policies in nursing and healthcare are cognizant of the structure and are tailored to meet the needs of patients and nurses at the federal and state levels (Hajizadeh et al., 2021).

For instance, the federal government develops policies that impact nursing and health care like the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to expand access to affordable care for millions of Americans who previously did not have medical or health insurance (Shrank et al., 2020). Based on this policy, nurses and their professional organizations as well as healthcare organizations develop structures and programs that aim at improving care.

State policies and structures have evolved over the years as nurses become a core part of the healthcare delivery process. For instance, the increasing need to improve the level of competency among nurses through advanced nursing education as proposed by different reports means that the practice is transforming to meet the needs anticipated through the passage of ACA and other policies at state levels (Thomas et al., 2020). Today, more states recognize nurses as primary care providers based on their level of training and education.

Nurses, like family nurse practitioners, can offer primary and specialty care to diverse patient populations unlike before when they had no such practice authority or mandate. The changing structure of the health care system and nursing like expanded insurance coverage where only 8% of the population is uninsured means that policy changes have significant effects on nursing and the delivery of health care.

The process of healthcare policy and politics influences nursing and healthcare delivery systems as demonstrated by the passage of the ACA in 2010 and other acts like the 21st CURES Act and other laws enacted to help deal with the emergency of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The process of healthcare policy and politics implies that nurses should focus more on the delivery of evidence-based practice as the nation adopts a more inclusive healthcare system to increase access to healthcare among racial minorities and underserved populations (Tikkanen et al., 2020). The implication is that the history and structure as well as the process of health care policy entails the use of political interventions aimed at improving the nursing practice and profession and the delivery of health care.

References

• Hajizadeh, A., Zamanzadeh, V., Kakemam, E., Bahreini, R., & Khodayari-Zarnaq, R. (2021). Factors influencing nurses’ participation in the health policy-making process a systematic review. BMC Nursing, 20, 1-9. DOI https //doi.org/10.1186/s12912-021-00648-6
• Peterson, L. & Grogan, C. (2020 October). Health-Care Politics in the United States. Oxford Bibliographies. DOI 10.1093/obo/9780199756223-0320
• Shrank, W. H., DeParle, N. A., Gottlieb, S., Jain, S. H., Orszag, P., Powers, B. W., & Wilensky, G. R. (2021). Health Costs and Financing Challenges and Strategies for A New Administration Commentary recommends health cost, financing, and other priorities for a new US administration. Health Affairs, 40(2), 235-242. https //doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.01560
• Thomas, T., Martsolf, G., & Puskar, K. (2020). How to engage nursing students in health policy results of a survey assessing students’ competencies, experiences, interests, and values. Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice, 21(1), 12-20. https //doi.org/10.1177/1527154419891129
• Tikkanen, R. Osborn, R, Mossialos, E. Djordjevic, A. & Wharton, G. A. (2020). International Health Care System Profiles United States. https //www.commonwealthfund.org/international-health-policy-center/countries/united-states