Impact Act of 2014

Notably, States enact public policies to revamp the healthcare sector. As such, health Act or policy is just a vehicle that a State uses to improve the health care and to achieve systematic changes (Searing & Cantlin, 2016). Arguably, three circumstances necessitate the need or the opportunity to enact public health law. The first circumstance is the arising issues or policy stream, and this prompts policy formulators to pass health law to address the said issues. The second element is whereby policy actors combine efforts and collaborate to form a policy that addresses health problems. The third element is raising public awareness to attract government attention causing the policy actors to formulate health laws (Murdoch & Detsky, 2013). Ideally, the political environment of a State creates a window of opportunities for enacting health care policy. This paper analyzes IMPACT; a health policy recently formulated in the United States. Healthcare policy helps in addressing issues arising in health by offering solutions to the problem.

Stating the Selected Bill

IMPACT or the Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation Act of 2014 (H.R) 4994) is a health bill intended to improve and to change the post-acute care of Medicare’s (PAC) and how health managers report these PAC (IMPACT Act of 2014 Data Standardization & Cross Setting Measures, 2016, September 14). Notably, the bill came into being through its introduction to US House of Representatives in 2014 during the sitting of the 113th US Congress. Typically, individuals who are suffering from various diseases can get post-acute care with the current Medicare system that is brought about by IMPACT Act. Also, patients can get long-term hospital care, care after stroke or surgery, and care at home through the home health care agencies. Noticeably, the IMPACT Act of 2014 focused on amending title XVIII of the US Social Security law and require the US Secretary of Human and Health Services to perform the following tasks;

I). Direct post-acute care providers to report patients’ assessment data, data on resource usage, and data on quality control measures and other issues.

II). To direct PAC providers to provide data that can be exchanged with other providers for purposes of improving Medicare beneficiary outcomes and enhancing coordinated care.

III). Modify or change assessment instruments of post-acute care providers to enable the standardization and the comparison of patients data.

For these reasons, the Secretary of health services would give PAC providers confidential feedback reports concerning their performance and arrange for public forums where PAC providers would report on resources use, quality control, and other measures. As such, IMPACT aims at enhancing better healthcare that is affordable and improves healthy people and communities.

The Area or Issue of Concern Clarifying the Underlying Concerns

Arguably, the area or the issue of concern is the failure by PAC providers or hospice companies to submit data to CMS. This data concerns resources use the hospice companies and quality measurement. Primarily, before the enactment of the bill, there were no stringent measures require post-acute care providers to submit data on resources use, quality control, and other criteria.

The Area or Issue of Concern Clarifying the Underlying Concerns

According to Dimick & Ryan (2014), the predetermined areas of quality measurement surrounds patients information, and this includes functional status, admissions, and discharges, reconciliation of medication, skin integrity, and care continuity. Primarily, several hospice companies or post-acute care providers failed to submit data to CMS. This data concerns resources use by the hospice companies and quality measurement. Mostly, before the enactment of the bill, there were no stringent measures require post-acute care providers to submit data on resources use, quality control, and other criteria. The Impact Act of 2014 discourages non-compliance of the healthcare policy by introducing a penalty of 2 % that health providers are required to pay for failure to collect and report data on resources use, quality control, and other measures (Milstead, 2016). To this end, the policy enhances the standardization, collection, and evaluation of patients’ data.

Assessing Economic, Legal, and Regulatory Processes That Prompted the IMPACT Bill

Arguably, several processes prompted the enactment of the IMPACT Bill.

The economic process that prompted the formulation of the bill is the requirement of reporting patients’ data, and data on medical resources use. As such, the resources use measures includes the total estimated money that hospice companies use to provide Medicare for every beneficiary. Also, the bill focused on reducing the cost of quality healthcare for families, individuals, government, and employers. The social process that prompted the formulation of this bill is the need for affordable and better healthcare that improves the health of the American people and communities. The legal process that inspired the development of this bill is the requirement for standardization of data by Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs), Long-Term Care Hospitals, Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRFs), and Home Health Agencies (HHAS). Towards that end, there was the need for the creation of regulations that would govern these hospice companies or players to submit data on resources use, quality control, and other measures efficiently.

SWOT To the IMPACT BILL

Markedly, the analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the IMPACT bill is as follows;

Strengths

IMPACT bill enhances quality healthcare for individuals, families, and employers.

The bill enhances the collection, submission, standardization, and comparison of healthcare data on resources use quality control, and other measures.

The bill is crystal clear and does not require further elaboration.

The bill passed and became law.

The policy prevents harm to patients during the treatment process.

Weaknesses

The States could have problems with enforcing the bill/policy more so where hospice companies and post-acute care providers (PAC) cook data on resources use, quality control, and other measures.

The bill is only limited to quality measurement, resources use, and some other measures of the healthcare sector.

Standardization of patients’ data may not be efficient due to different medical conditions that bother patients.

The 2 % payment penalty for non-compliance with the policy is way too low.

Opportunities

The improvement of the American healthcare system due to reduced costs, quality enhancement, and prudent use of health resources.

Threats

The formulation of another healthcare bill that amends or revises the IMPACT bill of 2014.

Lack of standardized format through which PAC (post-acute care) providers could report the data.

Inability to coordinate the healthcare sector.

Evaluating How Issues In The Bill Will Impact Stakeholders At An Institutional, Local, State, And Federal Levels.

Arguably, the stakeholders concerning the IMPACT bill include patients, individuals, employers, families, hospice companies or PAC providers, and the government. The law will impact families and individual patients in that they will receive better care and affordable care with high quality and reduced costs from the healthcare providers. The bill will enable the healthcare providers to execute resources measures for efficiency and enhance the treatment and prevention practices. As such, the hospice companies will submit data on resources use, quality control, and other measures such as the treatment and prevention practices. Notably, hospice companies or PAC providers who fail to report data risk paying a 2 % levy for the failure of compliance. The bill impacts positively on the employers and the government, in that it enables them to champion the course of improving healthcare to allow affordable, quality, and improved healthcare. As such, the government will commit resources towards the enforcement of the IMPACT bill of 2014. Employers, on the other hand, will ensure that there are medical insurance plans and reimbursement services for their employees so that they could access the quality, better, and affordable health care. Overall there will be the improvement of the American healthcare system due to reduced costs, quality enhancement, and prudent use of health resources due to standardization of patients’ data, assessment, and effective treatment and prevention practices.

Proposing Two Ways the Masters Prepared Nurse Leader Can Act as a Change Agent

The role of the nurse leader in the policy-making process comes in the health policy execution or implementation phase. The Masters prepared nurse leader can act as a change agent by training the followers who include fellow nurses and nurses on internship on how to comply to the IMPACT bill and ensuring that the patients’ data is produced efficiently for purposes of standardization, assessment, and comparison. Moreover, this nurse leader can adopt effective communication using first-rate interpersonal skills to ensure that there are coordination and teamwork among the nurses for purposes of providing better, quality, and affordable healthcare. Also, the nursing leader will plan, schedule activities, and delegate duties accordingly to enhance the treatment, caring, and prevention practices all meant to improve quality and cost-effectiveness in the delivery of the healthcare.

In conclusion, healthcare policy helps in addressing issues arising in health by offering solutions to the problem. States enact public policies to revamp the healthcare sector. As such, health Act or policy is just a vehicle that a State uses to improve the health care and to achieve systematic changes. IMPACT or the Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation Act of 2014 (H.R) 4994) is a health bill intended to improve and to change the post-acute care of Medicare’s (PAC) and how health managers report these PAC. This health care policy focuses mainly on the reporting or submission of data on quality control, resources usage, and treatment and prevention practices by the PAC providers. Arguably, American healthcare providers need to comply fully with the IMPACT Act to ensure that there is access to quality, better, and affordable healthcare. All this, in the long run, improves the American health care system.

References

Dimick, J. B., & Ryan, A. M. (2014). Methods for evaluating changes in health care policy: the difference-in-differences approach. Jama, 312(22), 2401-2402.

IMPACT Act of 2014 Data Standardization & Cross Setting Measures. (2016,

September 14). Retrieved April 2, 2018, from https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-

Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/Post-Acute-Care-Quality-

Initiatives/IMPACT-Act-of-2014/IMPACT-Act-of-2014-Data-Standardization-and-

Cross-Setting-MeasuresMeasures.html

Milstead, J. A. (2016). Health policy and politics: A nurse’s guide (5th ed.). Burlington, MA:

Jones and Bartlett Publishers (pp. 1-44, 45-48, 69-98).

Murdoch, T. B., & Detsky, A. S. (2013). The inevitable application of big data to health care. Jama, 309(13), 1351-1352.

Searing, L. M., & Cantlin, K. A. (2016). Nonurgent Emergency Department Visits by Insured

and Uninsured Adults. Public Health Nursing, 33(2), 93-98. doi:10.1111/phn.12238