Review the Resources and reflect on efforts to repeal/replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Discussion: NURS 6050 Population Health

Question

NURS6050/NRSE6050/NURS5050 Policy and Advocacy for Improving Population
Health

Week 3 Discussion

Politics and the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Regardless of
political affiliation, individuals often grow concerned when considering
perceived competing interests of government and their impact on topics of
interest to them. The realm of healthcare is no different. Some people feel
that local, state, and federal policies and legislation can be either helped or
hindered by interests other than the benefit to society.

The suppliers of
legislative benefits are legislators, and their primary goal is to be
re-elected. Thus, legislators need to maximize their chances for re-election,
which requires political support. Legislators are assumed to be rational and to
make cost-benefit calculations when faced with demands for legislation.
However, the legislator’s cost-benefit calculations are not the cost-benefits
to society of enacting particular legislation. Instead, the benefits are the
additional political support the legislator would receive from supporting
legislation and the lost political support they would incur as a result of
their action. When the benefit to legislators (positive political support) exceeds
their costs (negative political support) they will support legislation. (page
27)

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Discussion: NURS 6050 Population Health
Discussion: NURS 6050 Population Health

These groups are often geographic populations such as nations or communities, but can also be other groups such as employees, ethnic groups, disabled persons, prisoners, or any other defined group. The health outcomes of such groups are of relevance to policy makers in both the public and private sectors.

Note that population health is not just the overall health of a population but also includes the distribution of health. Overall health could be quite high if the majority of the population is relatively healthy—even though a minority of the population is much less healthy. Ideally such differences would be eliminated or at least substantially reduced.

The right hand side of the figure indicates that there are many health determinants or factors, such as medical care systems, individual behavior, genetics, the social environment, and the physical environment. Each of these determinants has a biological impact on individual and population health outcomes.

Source: Feldstein, P.
(2006). The politics of health legislation: An economic perspective (3rd ed.).
Chicago, IL: Health Administration Press.

To Prepare:

Review the Resources
and reflect on efforts to repeal/replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Consider who benefits
the most when policy is developed and in the context of policy implementation.