Organizations that offer services dictate for appraisals on the operations standards more often. In doing these, they incorporate all the stakeholders of health care systems, including patients and the service providers (Catallo, Spalding & Haghiri-Vijeh, 2014). Since people at some point fall into the wellness-illness gamut, their opinions remain valid into healthcare policies and reforms. Take, for instance, the Obamacare reform, which took close to four years before its full implementation (Thompson,2014). The duration empowered the evaluation of the practices into the nursing system by paying attention to the principles in the health sector. The paper, therefore, scrutinizes the development of Obamacare reform . However, it also assesses improvements it inculcates with nursing and healthcare advocacy. Likewise, it instills the significance of these reforms to the involvement of nursing leaders.
Development of Obamacare
The patient protection and Affordable Care Act themed as Obamacare improved the operations of healthcare services, especially to the less fortunate. Initially, there existed many deterrents in the provision of healthcare services and insurance to incapable patients. Well, the law was amended as from 31st March 2010, with many necessities into the healthcare system (Thompson,2014, p.20). The Affordable Care Act(ACA) comprised of the expansion of insurance covers to the nurses and the patients and explication on the prevention and wellness of patients. Additionally, the law advocated for improvement in the quality of health system performance by promoting the development of the health workforce. This reform integrated former President Barack Obama's campaign. After his inauguration, President Obama worked with the interest of the public. He promoted insurance programs to support the elderly and the less fortunate, which was applauded by the pharmaceutical industry in The U.S. However, the republicans heckled his motives, thereby making the reform implementation more challenging.
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It was not absolved of the fate of legislation of the ACA. However, the Democrats found their way over the republicans via the help of the Senate majority leader Harry Reid. Attorneys opposed the reformations due to the provision that individuals had to finance their insurances or pay a fine, according to Thompson (2014, p.60). While the rules effected by 2010, many lawsuits followed. Later the suits enabled the change in the regulations in the reform on employees and companies. Companies with more than Fifty workers had to incur the cost of the employees' insurance plans. Conversely, the law required additional levies of taxes. In the meantime, the high salaried employee and the most expensive employer were heavily taxed. However, the federal money collected could not be used for abortions unless the cases were unique, according to Obama. By May 2014, more than 8 million netizens had insurance covers. Relatively, in the last reign of Obama, more than Twenty million Americans also received insurance covers, yet republicans still opposed the healthcare reform(Thompson,2014). When President Donald Trump ascended to power, he termed the change as an expensive failure. Even though he was from the opposition(Republican) to Obamacare, he reduced the premiums for the insurance covers. In 2017 President Trump signed the law that reduced the penalty of failing to pay insurance programs. However, this healthcare reform was mandated to address the high costs in healthcare systems, which it did.
American Nurse Association(ANA)
Nurses have the responsibility to care for the patients as part of the ethical contemplations. Nurses picture advocacy as a pillar to nursing through ANA. ANA recommends legislative and political advocacy obligatory to the advancement of the nursing professions and patients care. However, it is the work of ANA to invest in the wellbeing of nurses. According to The American Nurses Association (2020, p.15). Hence by offering the necessary resources and tools to nurses, they become competent and efficient advocates in the nursing platform. For instance, in caring for patients, particularly the less fortunate, they can use the resources present in fostering insurance plans for the patients, compared to the Obamacare initiative. On the other hand, ANA supports provisions that improve health deliverables either to the consumer or the service provider. Through decrees in the profession, nurses voices are aired in the advancement to quality and affordable care. All the same, what Obamacare alluded was affordable healthcare to the netizens, which is in support of ANA policies and regulations. Furthermore, ANA also has, in the past, supported federal candidates who showcase concern on the challenges in the health platform. For instance, the former president Obama.
Impact to The Nursing Leaders
Nurse leaders need to assess their boundaries in advocacy in the healthcare industry (Catallo, Spalding & Haghiri-Vijeh, 2014). In this case, they assimilate the extent to which the political and legislative input benefits healthcare services. Hence through ANA, Nurses are equipped with the necessary tools to practice the nursing profession. For instance, for Obamacare, it was not very easy for the republications to incorporate the understanding of the insurance covers. If nurse leaders initiate such processes; then, more reforms would exist for the benefit of the profession.
Conclusion
The paper evaluates the development of the Affordable Care Act in the tenure of different political forces in America. Throughout its emergence and law formulation, changes have emulated. President Donald Trump Tenure also has influenced changes to the policies in the reform to improve healthcare systems. He advanced the system by reducing premiums and fines. It enabled affordability to healthcare programs. However, Nurses, through the support from the American Nurse Association(ANA), have the decree to advocate for measures that improve their provision of services. The paper critically evaluates the importance of ANA in advocacy that may help nurse leaders presume change into the healthcare systems.
References
American Nurses Association: AJN The American Journal of Nursing. (2020). Retrieved May 10, 2020- Volume 106 - Issue - p 15 from https://journals.lww.com/ajnonline/Fulltext/2006/01001/American_Nurses_Association
Catallo, C., Spalding, K. & Haghiri-Vijeh, R. (2014). Nursing Professional Organizations. SAGE Open , 4 (4),215824401456053. doi: 10.1177/2158244014560534
Thompson, T. (2014). The Affordable Care Act . New York, NY: Greenhaven Publishing LLC.
