Answer 3 for NUR 550 Select an effective current health policy that focuses on or affects population health

Population health necessitates a holistic approach due to its multidimensional nature. Health policies are among the interventions that governments and care providers use to address issues affecting population health. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is among the dominant policies implemented to improve population health. Its design, implementation, and sustainability measures depict the government’s commitment to ensuring equitable and affordable health care. Multiple components make the ACA effective. One of its key components is a multidimensional approach to population health. Since its implementation, the ACA has expanded health coverage to over 20 million Americans while saving many lives (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2024). This effectiveness is enabled by its multiple approaches that go beyond coverage. For instance, the Prevention and Public Health Fund was created through the ACA, empowering state agencies to detect and respond to health threats (Rapfogel et al., 2020). The policy also protects people with preexisting conditions from discrimination when seeking health insurance. The holistic approach has improved the population’s health in critical aspects, such as insurance coverage, access to care, disease detection, and support to vulnerable groups. The ACA has a rich history, which helps care providers understand its genesis, scope, and factors influencing its development. According to Ercia (2021), the ACA was implemented in 2010 as a national health care reform to improve health insurance coverage and address access to care problems in the United States. To achieve these goals, the ACA expanded the Medicaid program, established the Health Insurance Marketplace, and enforced an individual mandate for all eligible people to have appropriate health insurance coverage. Based on these goals, it is right to deduce that expanding insurance coverage and access to care were the main factors behind the ACA implementation. Fortunately, the law has been successful and continuous support is necessary to ensure long-term success.

References

Ercia, A. (2021). The impact of the Affordable Care Act on patient coverage and access to care: Perspectives from FQHC administrators in Arizona, California and Texas. BMC Health Services Research, 21, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-06961-9 Rapfogel, N., Gee, E., & Calsyn, M. (2020). 10 ways the ACA has improved health care in the past decade. Center for American Progress. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/10-ways-aca-improved-health-care-past-decade/ U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2024). Under the Biden-Harris Administration, over 20 million selected affordable health coverage in ACA Marketplace since start of open enrollment period, a record high. https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2024/01/10/under-biden-harris-administration-over-20-million-selected-affordable-health-coverage-aca-marketplace-start-open-enrollment-period-record-high.html#:~:text=Under%20the%20Biden%2DHarris%20Administration%2C%20the%20U.S.%20Department%20of%20Health,a%20record%20number%20of%20enrollments.