The Affordable Care Act – Term Paper

Why The Affordable Care Act is Important

The Affordable Care Act plays a pivotal in enhancing healthcare provision in the community and public health levels. According to Ramkissoon (2014), an example of an essential element of the legislation that relates to the community and public health is expanded insurance coverage. Expanded insurance coverage works in a way that more individuals may benefit from having medical insurance thus increasing the exposure of persons in the society to healthcare coverage. Another essential element to public health is the creation of new care models. The undertaking creates the opportunity to integrate healthcare principles through sharing proficiency on evaluating the fitness of people as well as executing broad-based strategies. The result is improved outcomes among patients thus benefiting the general population.

Role of the nurse in implementing the affordable care act

Berg and Dickow (2014) explain that after the enactment of the law, the role of nurses is to connect patients and their families with resources that help them get healthy and stay healthy. The manifestation of the role is exemplified in the way nurses are tasked with helping consumers compare plans and assist them to identify whether they qualify for a type of plans such as low-cost or a reasonable plan or a new tax credit. Nurses also have another important role in substantially improving health outcomes at the community level by reaching out to uninsured persons and encourage them to sign up for health insurance. Thus the role of nurses in the implementation of the legislation is not just providing care but suggesting appropriate forms of financing through insurance plans that eventually benefit the consumer while seeking healthcare services in future.

References

Berg, J. G., & Dickow, M. (2014). Nurse role exploration project: The Affordable Care Act and new nursing roles. Nurse Leader, 12(5), 40-44.

Ramkissoon, N. (2014). How Obamacare Affects Public Health in 2014 | SMART. Smarthealthclaims.com. Retrieved 26 February 2017, from http://www.smarthealthclaims.com/blog_post/how_will_obamacare_affect_local_public_health_2014