Population Health Policy Analysis
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Population Health Policy Analysis
The provision of safe, quality and efficient care is imperative in the American healthcare system
. However, high costs of care impede the realization of the above outcomes in the US’s healthcare system. Over the past, policies have been implemented to increase accessibility and affordability of care. An example of such a policy is the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Since its inception, CHIP has been crucial in increasing the access of the vulnerable children population to the care that they need. Therefore, this essay examines the CHIP and its impact in improving the population’s access to cost-effective and quality health care.
Explanation of the Policy
Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) is an insurance policy that was adopted to provide low-cost health insurance coverage to children born to families that earn too much to meet the qualifications for Medicaid but cannot purchase private insurance packages. CHIP also provides health insurance coverage for the pregnant mothers (Remler et al., 2017). CHIP works closely with the Medicaid program to increase the access and affordability of healthcare for children and pregnant mothers. CHIP provides coverage for healthcare services that include emergency, laboratory, inpatient and outpatient, dental and eye care, doctor visits, and prescription, immunization and routine check-up services (Adams et al., 2019).
CHIP addresses the issue of cost-effectiveness and health care equity for the children in a number of w
ays. Firstly, the policy created avenues for new opportunities as well as innovations in the management of health issues affecting the children. Innovation in child health management contributes to efficiency, safety and quality, hence cost-effectiveness (Berchick et al., 2019). The policy also increases the access of the children to healthcare. Accordingly, the policy ensures that children and pregnant mothers who do not qualify for Medicare and cannot afford private insurance have access to the care that they need. The policy also promotes equity in care by ensuring that children and pregnant women from ethnic minority groups and lawful immigrants have access to the care that they need. The policy also promotes cost-effectiveness by ensuring that the cost burden of the management of child-health issues is eliminated. For example, the fact that the policy covers aspects of child and pregnant mothers care such as inpatient and outpatient care services translates into its cost-effectiveness (Lee, 2020). The policy further promotes equity in healthcare by ensuring that children and pregnant mothers with chronic conditions access the care that they need. For example, about one-quarter of the children covered by the program have chronic conditions with every one in ten children having a learning disability and 11.4% of them having asthma (Hartman et al., 2019). The policy therefore promotes equity in access to high quality and safe care to children and pregnant mothers irrespective of their health status or socioeconomic backgrounds.
CHIP policy is financially sound. One of the ways in which the policy is financially sound is that it lowers the financial burden of a disease to the families. Families with sick children or pregnant mothers have enhanced access to the care that they need due to the policy. The enhanced access reduce the financial burden of the disease to the family since there is a reduction in th
e out-of-pocket payments for the patients and their significant others (Adeyinka et al., 2021). The financial soundness of the policy can also be seen from the fact that it increases the financial stability of the families. The existing evidence shows that the family material well-being and financial stability improved significantly following the adoption of the CHIP. The improvement is largely attributed to greater educational attainment, increased survival, and reduced reliance on the support from the government in later life among children covered by the program (Adams et al., 2019).
CHIP policy accounts for a number of ethical, legal and political factors. Firstly, the policy promotes the ethical principle of equity in health. The policy ensures that children and pregnant mothers with low socioeconomic status and lacking Medicaid coverage have access to high quality, safe, and affordable care. The policy also promotes the ethical principle of justice in health. It ensures that children’s right to access to care is promoted irrespective of their health status and backgrounds (Adeyinka et al., 2021). The policy addresses any legal implications of violating the rights of children and pregnant women to access to the care that they need. The policy also reflects the dedication of the US government to address the critical health-related needs of the vulnerable populations.
One should consider a number of nursing perspectives when implementing CHIP. One of the perspectives is the need for the promotion of the ethical rights of those covered by the policy. Nurses should ensure that the implementation of the policy safeguards the access of children and pregnant mothers to safe, high quality, affordable and efficient care. Nurses should also ensure active and adequate participation of the stakeholders. The stakeholders involved in the implementation process such as other healthcare providers, parents and policymakers play a critical role to ensure stakeholder empowerment and sustainability of the program. Lastly, nurses should ensure that the implementation process aligns with the legal provisions of policy implementations (Thomson et al., 2020). This will eliminate any risks of legal issues related to the violation of the considerations for effective policy implementation.
CHIP policy is related to a number of policies. One of the policies is the Affordable Care Act. The Affordable Care Act is a policy that was implemented by president Obama in 2010 to increase the number of people in America with medical insurance coverage. The policy aimed at ensuring that the majority of the population in the US afforded the care they needed. The policy also aimed at promoting health equity by ensuring that citizens had access to high quality and affordable health irrespective of their backgrounds. CHIP relates to Affordable Care Act in that it also expands the number of children and women that have a medical insurance coverage. CHIP also aims at promoting health equity by ensuring enhanced access to high quality and affordable care for all children and pregnant women. CHIP also relates to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). HIPAA is a health policy that was adopted in 1996 to allow workers in America to transfer their health insurance policies from one job to the other. The policy also allowed workers to select a health insurance coverage as a way of replacing a lost insurance. CHIP relates to HIPAA in that it also allows children of parents who do not qualify for Medicaid but cannot purchase private insurance to have their desired medical health insurance coverage. The CHIP also relates to HIPAA in its focus on barring the insurance agencies from discriminating people based on their health problems (Thomson et al., 2020). Eligible children and pregnant women have a right of coverage by the CHIP policy, hence, the relationship.
I will employ a number of advocacy strategies on behalf of the populations covered by CHIP policy to ensure that they have access to the health benefits of the policy. One of the advocacy strategies that I will use is public education. I will educate the public about the aims, benefits, and populations covered by CHIP. I will also educate them about their entitlements in the policy as well as the authorities they should seek help should they have any concern. The other advocacy strategy that I will utilize is ensuring the protection of their rights. I will work to ensure that the rights of the children and pregnant women are protected in accessing the care that they need. I will also utilize the strategy of connecting those covered with the policy to the available resources in their communities (Dawes, 2020). Through it, the target populations will benefit from empowerment and the promotion of their optimum health outcomes.
The professional and moral obligation of an advanced registered nurse to advocate for, promote health, and prevent disease among diverse populations from a Christian perspective is doing good for others in a way that they wish to be done by them too. Doing good to others entails ensuring that their right to high quality care, safe, and efficient care is promoted. It also entails advocating the adoption of inclusive policies that address the need of the diverse populations. Through it, advanced registered nurses will be ensuring equity in the access to and utilization of care resources.
Conclusion
CHIP is an important policy that promotes cost-effectiveness and equity in access to care by children and pregnant women. The policy promotes cost-effectiveness through the reduction in costs incurred by patients and families in seeking the care that they need. It promotes equity by ensuring health insurance coverage for all children and pregnant women irrespective of their backgrounds. Therefore, efforts that aim at strengthening the effectiveness of the policy should be explored in the US.
References
Adams, E. K., Johnston, E. M., Guy, G., Joski, P., & Ketsche, P. (2019). Children’s Health Insurance Program Expansions: What Works for Families? Global Pediatric Health, 6. https://doi.org/10.1177/2333794X19840361
Adeyinka, A., Rewane, A., & Pierre, L. (2021). Children’s Health Insurance Program. In StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK539903/
Berchick, E. R., Barnett, J. C., & Upton, R. D. (2019). Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2018. 44.
Dawes, D. E. (2020). The Political Determinants of Health. JHU Press.
Hartman, M., Martin, A. B., Benson, J., & Catlin, A. (2019). National Health Care Spending In 2018: Growth Driven By Accelerations In Medicare And Private Insurance Spending. Health Affairs, 39(1), 8–17. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2019.01451
Lee, D. (2020). How does an introduction of premiums into the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) affect labor supply? Evidence from Arizona. 43.
Remler, D. K., Korenman, S. D., & Hyson, R. T. (2017). Estimating The Effects Of Health Insurance And Other Social Programs On Poverty Under The Affordable Care Act. Health Affairs, 36(10), 1828–1837. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2017.0331
Thomson, S., Sagan, A., & Mossialos, E. (2020). Private Health Insurance: History, Politics and Performance. Cambridge University Press.
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I understand this is a lot of information to cover in 5 weeks, however, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Even in times like this, we are encouraged by God’s word that we have that ability in us to succeed with His strength. I pray that each and every one of you receives strength for this course and life generally as we navigate through this pandemic that is shaking our world today. Relax and enjoy the course!
Hi Class,
Please read through the following information on writing a Discussion question response and participation posts.
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Important information on Writing a Discussion Question
- Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references)
- There needs to be at least TWO references with ONE being a peer reviewed professional journal article.
- Include in-text citations in your response
- Do not include quotes—instead summarize and paraphrase the information
- Follow APA-7th edition
- Points will be deducted if the above is not followed
Participation –replies to your classmates or instructor
- A minimum of 6 responses per week, on at least 3 days of the week.
- Each response needs at least ONE reference with citations—best if it is a peer reviewed journal article
- Each response needs to be at least 75 words in length (does not include your list of references)
- Responses need to be substantive by bringing information to the discussion or further enhance the discussion. Responses of “I agree” or “great post” does not count for the word count.
- Follow APA 7th edition
- Points will be deducted if the above is not followed
- Remember to use and follow APA-7th edition for all weekly assignments, discussion questions, and participation points.
- Here are some helpful links
- Student paper example
- Citing Sources
- The Writing Center is a great resource