Lifespan Management (LSM) is an innovative system for sustaining health. It is intended to improve the health of individuals, especially the older adults who need personalized care and assistance with everyday activities. These people typically have a lack of adequate social and healthcare interaction and therefore need to be assisted in many ways (Adewale, 2018). Since lifespan management is essential to the well-being and health of individuals, it is crucial that the actions of managers and stakeholders be regulated. Regulations play a significant role in the healthcare industry in terms of lifespan management. Over time, laws have been amended to ensure maximized security and protection of citizens and healthcare givers at every level (Adewale, 2018). Among the most common regulations that are present and that have brought about the evolution in lifespan management include HIPAA, The Affordable Care Act, The Social Security Act, Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), and the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) .
The first evolutionary Act concerned with Lifespan management is the Social Security Act. Enacted in 1935 by President Franklin Roosevelt, this Act was intended to be a safety zone for the unemployed, disadvantaged, and elderly Americans. Initially, the Act was designed to pay financial aids to people who were over 65 years old and already retired based on the tax payroll contributions (Fink-Samnick, 2019). The Act initially covered hundred of veterans who incurred disabilities from the war. Later, the Act was amended to include old age as an eligibility criterion. In the 1950s, the Act was extended to farm and domestic workers, self-employed workers, and federal employees (Fink-Samnick, 2019). Presently, the Social Security Act takes the form of Medicare, which is a federal insurance program that caters to people over 65 years, and other people with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESDR).
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Secondly, the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) was created by congress in 1970 to ensure healthy and safe work environments and conditions by formulating and enforcing standards and providing education, outreach, and training. In line with lifespan management, OSHA helps ensure that healthcare workers are protected while offering lifespan services to populations (Adewale, 2018). According to Adewale (2018), healthcare environments should provide safe conditions for workers to ensure that they do not also contract illnesses. This Act is essential in lifespan management because when healthcare workers are safe and free of diseases, they can be able to take care of patients effectively.
Another regulatory development in lifespan management was the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) that was enacted in 1986. This is a federal law requiring hospital facilities to stabilize and treat any person who comes to the emergency department, regardless of their ability to pay or insurance status (Fink-Samnick, 2019). In terms of lifespan management, the elderly are mostly brought into the emergency room with severe life-threatening conditions. Some of them may not have hospital insurance, while some may not be able to provide valuable information at the time they are brought in (Fink-Samnick, 2019). EMTALA ensures that these individuals get sufficient care and treatment until they are of sound health to make decisions.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 was originally meant to protect workers' insurance coverage for individuals who had changed or lost their jobs. However, the Act has now evolved to safeguard the safety and privacy of patients in regards to their health information (McCord, 2018). Under the HIPAA, the Health and Human Services department creates boundaries that govern the release and use of health records. Under the HIPAA, lifespan managers are required to ensure that any health-related information of a patient remains safe and private.
Lastly, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was put to the law in 2010 as a step towards revolutionizing lifespan management by reducing the number of uninsured people, make healthcare more affordable, and improve access to health. Over time, this Act expanded the eligibility criteria for Medicaid and offered new opportunities where people who did not have employer coverage could directly purchase policies from insurers (Adewale, 2018). Originally, the ACA included over 16 million low-income earners to Medicaid. However, the Supreme Court ruled that the government could not force states to adopt the expansion. As of today, over half the states in the U.S. have not adopted the Act; thus, over 5 million people from low-income backgrounds do not have insurance cover (Adewale, 2018) (figure 1).
Figure 1 : Rates of uninsured older adults in the U.S.
The regulations mentioned above are being overseen by a different state, federal, and local agencies. For instance, The Center for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) is a state agency responsible for the oversight of regulations that directly to the healthcare system. It provides subsidized insurance coverage through Medicare, Medicaid, and the State Children Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) (Fink-Samnick, 2019). It also ensures compliance with the HIPAA regulations.
Similar to the CMS, The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations ( JCAHO ) is a federal agency that ensures that healthcare facilities offer quality care to patients (Fink-Samnick, 2019) . It differs from the CMS because it uses a system where medical facilities are given a 1-100 score on the performance that is used for making Medicare reimbursements.
Additionally, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality ( AHRQ ) is a federal agency that falls under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Although it does not directly oversee healthcare, it is responsible for conducting research to improve healthcare quality, reducing medical costs, and addressing safety and medical errors (Fink-Samnick, 2019).
Lastly, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is a federal agency that examines health standards in public and gives warnings about possible threats to health. Unlike the other agencies, CDC monitors disabilities, congenital disabilities, emergency preparedness, genetics, diseases, and conditions, among others.
References
Adewale J.A. (2018). Life Span Management. Geriatrics Health . Retrieved from https://www.intechopen.com/books/geriatrics-health/life-span-management
Fink-Samnick, E. (2019). The essential guide to interprofessional ethics in healthcare case management . Middleton, MA: HCPro.
McCord, M. D. (2018). Bleeding out: The Case for Strengthening Healthcare Client Portal Data Privacy Regulations. Minn. J.L. Sci. & Tech. , 20 , 282.
