Assignment: Issues in Health Care Reform (Interview)

According to the AACN (2006), "Political activism and commitment to policy development are central elements of professional nursing practice" (p. 13). Throughout this course, you will hone the skills and competencies required for this type of involvement in policy.

Research is an essential step in the process of acquiring the skills and competencies, and interviews are one form of research that can serve as a valuable source of information. As such, this Assignment (which you will start this week, and submit by the end of Week 9) provides an opportunity for you to identify a health reform issue of interest and discuss the issue with a state or national politician (or their aide).

To prepare:

• Identify a state or national politician (state representative or legislator, senator, congressman, governor, etc.), or aide, whom you would like to interview regarding current issues in health care reform. (I live in the state of Maryland. The 2 states senators are Chris Van Hollen since 2017 and Ben Cardin since 2007; the Governor name is Larry Hogan. You can also google any of the information about the state of Maryland in the US)

• As soon as possible, contact the individual's office to request a meeting. Keep in mind that it may be difficult to get on their calendar, so plan accordingly. You may conduct the interview in person or by phone.

• In advance of the interview, ask yourself:

o What health care policy issue is important to me personally?
o What issue do I want to bring to this person's attention?

• With this in mind, develop your list of questions for the interview around your selected health policy issue. In addition, you may wish to include questions related to health care reform:

o What are your constituents most concerned about regarding health care reform?
o What are the trade-offs associated with recent health care reform policy?

To complete:

• Write a 3- to 4-page paper with at least 5 scholarly references providing a summary and analysis of the interview and the health care reform issues you discussed. Include an introduction and a conclusion.

Your written assignments must follow APA guidelines. Be sure to support your work with specific citations from appropriate Learning Resources and additional scholarly sources as appropriate (at least 5 references). Refer to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Associationto ensure that your in-text citations and reference list are correct.

Required Readings

Bodenheimer, T., & Grumbach, K. (2016). Understanding health policy: A clinical approach (7th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Medical.

Chapter 5, "How Health Care is Organized - I: Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Care"
Chapter 6, "How Health Care is Organized - II: Health Delivery Systems"
McClellan, M. (2010). Accountable care organizations in the era of health care reform. American Health & Drug Benefits, 3(4), 242-244.

The PPACA of 2010 encourages the formation of accountable care organizations (ACOs) to improve the quality and efficiency of health care delivery. An ACO is a group of health care providers who coordinate care for their Medicare patients and share the financial incentives of health care improvement gains.

Moore, K. D., & Coddington, D. C. (2010). Accountable care: The journey begins. Health Care Financial Management, 64(8), 57-63.

This article provides information on the importance of health care provider organizations taking steps to become accountable care organizations (ACOs) and provides examples of systems that have historically functioned in this capacity. The authors also provide steps for developing and transitioning to an ACO structure.

Institute of Medicine. (2010). The future of nursing: Leading change, advancing health.

This report discusses how nurses can and should play a fundamental role in meeting the challenges of increased demand for health care brought about by the implementation of the 2010 Affordable Care Act. In addition, it stresses the need for nurses to be partners with other health professionals and assume leadership roles in redesigning health care in the United States.

Institute of Medicine. (2010). Report brief: The future of nursing: Leading change, advancing

This report brief highlights the four key recommendations from the Robert Wood Johnson and Institute of Medicine the Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health report. The recommendations focus on nursing practice, education and training, partnerships with other healthcare professionals, and workforce planning and policymaking.

HealthCare.gov. (n.d.). Understanding the Affordable Care Act.

This website introduces the Affordable Care Act and presents the timeline for implementation of the various provisions of the Act.

HealthCare.gov. (n.d.). Understanding the Affordable Care Act: About the law.

Read the full Affordable Care Act law at this website. An overview of the law is also provided along with an outline of how the Affordable Care Act helps reduce health insurance costs.

Required Media

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2011). Healthcare policy and advocacy: Reforming health care delivery: Accountable care organizations. Baltimore: Author.

Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 7 minutes.

In this media presentation, Dr. Kathleen White explains the structure of accountable care organizations (ACO) and discusses the benefits and challenges of becoming an ACO.

Optional Resources

APRN Joint Dialogue Group Report. (2008). Consensus model for APRN regulation: Licensure, accreditation, certification & education.

Fisher, E. S., & Shortell, S. M. (2010). Accountable care organizations: Accountable for what, to whom, and how. JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association, 304(15), 1715-1716.

Fisher, E. S., Staiger, D. O., Bynum, J. W., & Gottlieb, D. J. (2007). Creating accountable care organizations: The extended hospital medical staff. JHealth Affairs, 26, w44-w57. doi:10.1377/hlthaff.26.1.w44-57

McClellan, M., McKethan, A. N., Lewis, J. L., Roski, J., & Fisher, E. S. (2010). A national strategy to put accountable care into practice. Health Affairs, 29(5), 982-990.

Kaiser Health News. (2011). Accountable care organization proposed regulations: Resources. Kaiser Family Foundation.