HEALTH CARE REFORMS 2
Health Care Reforms
The effects of the Affordable Healthcare Act may be both positive and negative to the
nursing practice. Some reports show positive effects such as job growth while others indicate
that the program would increase the ratio of nurse to patient thus overloading the nurses and poor
care (Edmonds, Campbell & Gilder, 2017). The Act may also affect the community in both
positive and negative ways. For example, it offers affordable healthcare to all, and at the same
time, it can lead to poor delivery of health care due to increased number of patients.
There are many uncertainties about the expected effects of the health care reforms on the
nursing practice which involve both good and adverse implications. For instance, the Healthcare
Reforms Act provides monetary support for both the general and advanced practice nursing
education (Cherry & Jacob, 2016). The law also creates a grant program that supports innovation
in nursing a move that would help in promoting better practice in nursing. The HCR Act is
expected to bring equality in a society that is economical, ethnically and culturally diverse. The
latter is because the act offers affordable healthcare to every member of the community
irrespective of his or her social class (Cherry & Jacob, 2016).
The pay for performance concept seeks to link the healthcare providers and the financers
by insisting on payment based only on some level of performance. The P4P and the Affordable
Healthcare Act would require the nurses to provide quality health care and concentrate on value-
based health care (Edmonds, Campbell & Gilder, 2017). One of the primary ways one can help
to deal with the changes brought by the Healthcare Reforms Act and the Affordable Care Act is
turning to value-based healthcare. Value-based healthcare only requires nurses to offer value
adding service to the patients. Providing only services that are necessary is an important and
sustainable way of dealing with the changes in nursing practice today and in future.
