Analyzing the Regulatory Impacts of Health Care Reform
Health care reform has significant impact on the way hospitals offer care to patients. Implementation of Affordable Care Act increased accessibility to healthcare as many patients can attend hospitals for healthcare. Healthcare reforms are making hospitals more efficient in the provision of care, enhance better management of care as well as streamlining the costs which increase the affordability of healthcare services. Hospitals can set quite an amount of money for renovations after health care reform unlike initially where the hospitals could not afford money for improvements. Hospitals have for a long time been using cash to cater for health care services. After the implementation of healthcare reform, there is increased insurance coverage which caters for most population in the United States. There is improved quality of care, reduced cost and expanded access to coverage unlike when there was private insurance coverage only.
Hospitals are greatly affected by local, State and federal entities that develop laws that govern the way the hospital should be run. The rules set by these bodies impact the service delivery and day-to-day operations of the hospital. Healthcare regulations are important as they play a major role in the industry. Government enforces these rules through the state, local and federal level to ensure that the public is protected from several risks. The government as an entity also provides programs for welfare and public health to reduce risk factors of diseases. The regulatory agencies monitor practitioners and facilities to ensure that the care provided is the suitable one for the individuals of the country. The agencies also provide information regarding changes that happen in the hospital, ensure that there is legal compliance and promote safety and quality of services provided.
A center for Medicare and Medicaid is a regulatory agency that checks on all regulations that are related directly to healthcare services. The agency provides government-subsidized medical coverage by the use of various programs. For instance, we have Medicare which caters for people with disability and the elderly. State Children Health Insurance Program caters for children who are under the age of 19. Medicaid is a program facilitated by the agency to cater for the individuals and families with low income. The organization also ensures that health insurance portability and accountability act is well followed. Office of Health Care Quality is another agency that provides regulation of mental health and hygiene to make sure that all individuals receive quality care. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality is involved in conducting research that are aimed at improving quality of care, improving the safety of patients and reducing costs of healthcare. It regulates the service offered by facilities to ensure that they offer quality and affordable services to all patients.
The regulatory impacts that healthcare reforms will have on hospitals include making healthcare services more efficient. This is because with the introduction of reforms, there is increased hospital renovations that cater for the improved services to patients. The renovations are being done to minimize on operating expenses which ensures improved patient care. New programs have been initiated by the health Care reform to cater for emergency cases which reduce the number of deaths due to emergency problems.
Another impact is a change of model of care where hospitals are moving from contemporary fee-for-services to the value-based model of care. The fee-for-services was a bit expensive which hindered access to care for many. With the introduced health care reforms, access to care is improved well as quality care is enhanced. Most hospital is concerned with the quality of care rather than the amount they receive for the care. This impact has been enforced as a law where all hospitals should offer quality care under the new model of care.
The ethical considerations related to the impacts of healthcare reforms described include lack of enough resources to cater for other things away from healthcare. This is because, if more money is spent on care for patients, there will be limited funds set aside by the government to cater for other activities of the country. This means other needs can be omitted which an ethical consideration that should is factored in when the reforms are being made. Another ethical consideration is that quality care needs to be offered by professionals who are highly trained. The cost of training these professionals may be high which will interfere with the budget of the country.
When making health care services more efficient, healthcare managers can assist in preparing for implementation. The healthcare managers research on what is needed to make sure that the reform is well implemented. The renovations required to make sure that services are more efficient must be well planned by the managers so that all services required are available to patients. Managers are in a position to combine both the business expertise with an understanding of healthcare system which increases efficiency of the services offered. They cater for the business side of the healthcare to make sure that all functions of the hospital run smoothly. This improves efficiency which means they should be included when making preparing for implementation of making services more efficient.