The Affordable Care Act’s Impact on Nursing Practice

Introduction

The introduction of legislative acts is of great importance, as it can significantly improve the quality of healthcare and increase the level of accessibility of medical services for the population. One such important initiative was the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which was adopted in 2010 and contributed to the transformation of the studied area. It is worth noting that it has also made a contribution to the activities of nurses. Hence, the main advantages were the allocation of prevention and wellness, improving the quality of healthcare and its performance, and the development of workforce development. Thus, this work explores the impact of the Affordable Care Act on the practice of nurses and how it is reflected in the state of Florida.

Components of the ACA Important to APN Practice

First of all, it is necessary to gain an understanding of what the Affordable Care Act is, which has dramatically influenced the healthcare system of the United States of America. Therefore, this initiative focuses on public health and the creation of preventive programs for the population. Moreover, research states that it “intended to give public health budgetary flexibility, provided crucial funding for public health services during the Great Recession but proved highly vulnerable to substantial budget cuts” (Chait & Glied, 2018). The ACA has helped shape strategies to provide more access to health services for the country’s less affluent residents and minorities.

Further, this paper will consider three components of the Affordable Care Act that can be considered necessary to advanced practice nurse work. Henceforth, the first them is the emphasis on prevention and wellness. This choice is due to the fact that these aspects are essential for the practice of medical specialists. One of the goals of the healthcare sector is not only to improve the quality of people’s health but also to conduct research and work to reduce the number of diseases. Thus, medical specialists should develop preventive measures that will improve the wellness of the population and contribute to building immunity to various diseases.

The next component is to improve the quality of health and system performance. This is also closely related to advanced practice nurses and the tasks they set themselves in the process of providing services. Thus, this concerns conducting research on the effectiveness of treatment and medications that are prescribed to patients and are being developed for future use. Moreover, this aspect implies the creation of alternative methods of assistance to reduce the occurrence of medical errors. In addition to the fact that they will significantly improve the quality and work of medical organizations, they will also entail improvements in the activities of nurses.

The third component of the Affordable Care Act that has value for nurses is the promotion of health workforce development. Within the framework of this legislative act, it is necessary to consider ways to improve the quality of staff training and the introduction of large training programs. This is due to the constantly changing conditions of the healthcare sector and the inclusion of new technologies and innovations in the activities. They may include various primary care programs related to increasing the success of outcomes and results. In addition, this aspect in the practice of nurses contributes to the spread of awareness and the maintenance of health centers and programs.

Rational why Components Important to APN Practice

Thus, the Affordable Care Act is in direct relationship with the practice of advanced nurses. In addition, it is noted that “nurses in advanced practice can add value and increase access to healthcare by potentially strengthening the healthcare” (Woo et al., 2017, p.17). Thus, these medical specialists contribute not only to the effective implementation of this program but also to its consolidation in the system of health care.

State Implementation of Components

The next step is to consider the success of the application of this legislative initiative in the state of Florida. It is noted that in this region, “the ACA does not provide subsidies for people with income below the poverty level, because the law called for them to have Medicaid instead” (Norris, 2021, para. 2). This reflects the fact that such an aspect as wellness and prevention, since not all parts of the population still have access to medical services.

Healthcare Impact in Your State-Implement or Not Implement

However, despite this fact, the remaining aspects are quite successfully implemented within the state. Thus, the act provides some groups of the population with the opportunity to gain insurance coverage, which has influenced the improvement of the quality level. Regarding the improvement of the workforce in the provision of medical services, the act also contributed to changes. Research emphasizes that “the transformation of healthcare delivery through effective utilization of the workforce may facilitate the impending rise in demand for health services” (Woo et al., 2017, p.2). Thus, it affects the implementation of more medical care delivery methods that make it possible to reduce the costs of services. Regarding the aspect of health care quality, the act becomes the driving force for preventing the occurrence of diseases.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Affordable Care Act was of profound importance to the healthcare sector of the United States. With its introduction, it received a significant boost in development, which also applies to the state of Florida. Therefore, it respects such essential components as improving the quality of healthcare and its performance and the development of workforce development. However, the wellness component is not fully respected, which requires some improvements.

References

Chait, N., & Glied, S. (2018). Promoting prevention under the affordable care act. Annual Review of Public Health, 39, 507-524. Web.

Norris, L. (2021). Florida and the ACA’s Medicaid expansion. Health Insurance. Web.

Woo, B. F. Y., Lee, J. X. Y., & Tam, W. W. S. (2017). The impact of the advanced practice nursing role on quality of care, clinical outcomes, patient satisfaction, and cost in the emergency and critical care settings: a systematic review. Human Resources for Health, 15(1), 1-22. Web.