In March 2010, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was legislated with the primary aim of availing health insurance to the entire population of the United States. Other essential goals of the legislation included supporting innovation in the delivery of medical care and the expansion of the Medicaid. Since its enactment, ACA has played a significant role in ensuring that people receive safe and quality care at all times.
Quality of care is addressed in the ACA both directly and indirectly. One way in which ACA influences quality is by requiring that all insurance companies spend 80-85% of a person’s health insurance premium on health care and quality improvement or issue a refund (Seconds Count, 2015) . It also provides for improvements in community health care by rolling out new methods for service delivery to improve the quality of care in communities. In line with this, the act provides an option for State Medicaid programs to provide and facilitate care in communities as an alternative to institutional care; health homes allow for comprehensive, coordinated care ( McClanahan, 2012) especially for patients with chronic and mental illnesses and improving care quality by reducing emergency department use.
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The Value-Based Purchasing Program (VBPP) is one of the latest Medicare program included in the ACA. According to Davis (2012), under this program, a patient’s experience is used to evaluate a hospital’s quality of care in conjunction with a set of twelve clinical quality measures. This means that all payments for acute inpatient care are tied to the quality of healthcare that facilities provide. This program, therefore, encourages healthcare leaders to improve the quality and safety of healthcare as unsafe procedures are substituted with safer and more effective processes.
References
Davis, J. (2012, October 12). Achieving Key Quality and Patient Safety Measures of the Affordable Care Act. Retrieved February 12, 2019, from https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/quality/achieving-key-quality-and-patient-safety-measures-of-the-affordable-care-act.html
McClanahan, C. (2012, January 13). Secrets of the ACA: What is a Medical Care Home? Retrieved February 12, 2019, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolynmcclanahan/2012/01/05/secrets-of-the-aca-what-is-a-medical-care-home/#4abfab32effb
Seconds Count. (2015, March 3). How Does the Affordable Care Act Affect My Quality of Care? Retrieved February 12, 2019, from http://www.secondscount.org/heart-resources/heart-resources-detail?cid=a7a305e1-a4cc-40cc-8c97-7163ab92f587#.XGHzmVUzbcc
