NURS 6050 week 3 Discussion: Politics and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
The process of lawmaking is like a game, with many players involve from taking an idea, concept, or concerns into becoming law (Milstead & Short, 2019). Politics and healthcare should be an unlikely pair because of what politics represents. Politics is a game of special interests.
Healthcare reform has been one of the most talked-about issues in politics with no obvious solution. Healthcare is a dying need and right of the people, but unfortunately, politics puts their particular interest as the focus instead of the majority health and demand.
The affordable care act went into effect in 2016. It gave the state the power to expand Medicaid to help with drug treatment, and a lot of people got insured during the Obama administration. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently estimated that 20 million people have gained health coverage because of the ACA (Buettgens, et al., 2016). The Trump administration was determined to replace the bill. The lawmaker’s job was to repeal/replace the bill, but because one of their goals was to fight for reelection and the people supported ACA, they refused to veto the bill. The legislator had no power to repeal the ACA because the States and the people resistant to the repeal (Willison, 2017).
The process of lawmaking from an idea becomes a bill, and lawmakers vote on moving the bill into law or not. Committees formed to handle a particular issue, i.e., healthcare committee, address healthcare, and the educational committee to address education. These committees are led by the chair, who eventually becomes very influential because they play a significant role in deciding the bill’s fate. In the process, the committee chair can raise a lot of money from special interest groups.
In other, for a lawmaker to get reelected, money is a crucial factor. Money is raised for campaigning and other logistics. In the 2016 election, campaigning for the U.S. congress house seat cost $1million (Milstead &Short, 2019). Special interest groups donate to these campaigns, and then when the lawmakers get reelected, it becomes an investment, and a return in investment is excepted.
Healthcare should not be part of political games, as this affects lives directly. Healthcare should be focused on the majority and not on a particular interest. Healthcare bills should be passed/repealed/replaced based on the part of the people or whether a lawmaker will be reelected or not. The country is as strong as the health of the people.
References
Buettgens, M., Blumberg, L.J., Holahan, J., & Ndwandwe, S. (2016). The cost of ACA repeal.
Urban Institute. http://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/81296/2000806-The-Cost-of-the-ACA-Repeal.pdf
Milstead, J A., & Short, N. M. (2019). Health policy and politics: A nurse’s guide (6th ed.).
Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Willison, C.E., & Singer, P.M. (2017). Repealing the affordable care act essential health benefit:
threats and obstacles. American Journal of Public Health, 107(8), 1225-1226. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2017.303888
Discussion: Politics and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Regardless of political affiliation, individuals often grow concerned when considering perceived competing interests of government and their impact on topics of interest to them. The realm of healthcare is no different. Some people feel that local, state, and federal policies and legislation can be either helped or hindered by interests other than the benefit to society.
Consider for example that the number one job of a legislator is to be reelected. Cost can be measured in votes as well as dollars. Thus, it is important to consider the legislator’s perspective on either promoting or not promoting a certain initiative in the political landscape.
To Prepare:
- Review the Resources and reflect on efforts to repeal/replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
- Consider who benefits the most when policy is developed and in the context of policy implementation.
By Day 3 of Week 3
Post an explanation for how you think the cost-benefit analysis in terms of legislators being reelected affected efforts to repeal/replace the ACA. Then, explain how analyses of the voters views may affect decisions by legislative leaders in recommending or positioning national policies (e.g., Congress’ decisions impacting Medicare or Medicaid). Remember, the number one job of a legislator is to be re-elected. Please check your discussion grading rubric to ensure your responses meet the criteria.
By Day 6 of Week 3
Respond to at least two of your colleagues* on two different days by expanding on their explanation and providing an example that supports their explanation or respectfully challenging their explanation and providing an example.
response
You did a good job with the discussion this week. Reading your discussion was a cliff notes summary of much of the assigned text this week.
I agree with you that healthcare should not be part of political games. However, I do think that healthcare in the United States will always need political oversight. Thus, I believe politics will always govern healthcare, and political games will always affect healthcare. With Biden holding office now, it will be interesting to see how he reinforces the ACA compared to his predecessor. Biden already took executive action to bolster the ACA, to allow an additional open enrollment period for individuals through May of this year (Brady, 2021).
Additionally, programs such as Medicare and Medicaid are run by the government. I think healthcare really is politically charged and likely always will be. Working toward a single-payer system has been a point of conversation on Capitol Hill for years and will likely continue to be for many years (Brown, 2019).
Brady, M., & Tepper, N. (2021, February 1). Biden reopens ACA enrollment, will revisit Medicaid work requirements. Modern Healthcare, 51(5), 0006.
Brown, L. D. (2019). Single-Payer Health Care in the United States: Feasible Solution or Grand Illusion? American Journal of Public Health, 109(11), 1506–1510. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.2105/AJPH.2019.305315
response2
Your discussion post this week really spoke to me. I could not agree more that healthcare should not be a part of the political games, although health care does need to be adjusted and monitored in some way. I am not sure what the best solution is, but I do not think it should be in the hands of insurance companies nor part of politics. Healthcare is a human right and should be affordable to everyone. Maybe it would be a great topic for healthcare professionals to be in charge of, especially since we, as a whole, contribute an abonnement of funding for fund raising and expenditures (Milstead & Short, 2019). Physicians, nurses, anesthesia, surgeon, and several others within the medical field are working front line with people that are ill and hearing the concerns and worries of people and their insurance coverages and care regimens that they have/will receive due to their coverages/no coverages.
Regarding the statements of how the ACA was unable to be repealed, I would like to add to that. The veto also occurred because former President Trump continuously stated throughout his term, he would release his new heath care plan that he would be replacing the ACA with, but never did (Whyte, 2020). How can we remove something that is serving and assisting more than 23 million people with no back up or new plan to help them? Not so much a question for you to answer, but something to think about as a healthcare worker, were our main goal is to help people.
Reference
Milstead, J.A., & Short, N.M. (2019). Health policy and politics: A nurse’s guide (6th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Whyte, C. (2020, October 24). Trump’s scientific legacy. New Scientist, 248(3305), 1. https://eds-a-ebscohost-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/eds/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=54812ea1-6993-41fd-9117-47978f16dbc1%40sdc-v-sessmgr03&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#AN=edsgcl.644496538&db=edsgea
