Affordable Care Act, Supreme Court & Hiv, Case Study Example

Background of Issue

The Affordable Care Act is designed to provide all Americans with access to some form of health insurance to meet their needs effectively. It is important to recognize the benefits associated with this Act and how it impacts patients with HIV/AIDS in the United States. This Act has established different provisions for people living with HIV/AIDS to provide them with a number of benefits that they might not have had in the past, including the Pre-existing condition program to allow persons with this condition to obtain health insurance in an affordable manner (AIDS.gov, 2013). This offering impacts over 90,000 patients with HIV/AIDS who were previously without health coverage under the classification of a pre-existing condition (AIDS.gov, 2013). In addition, the Act will offer access to improved treatment methods through a coordinated care effort that is designed to improve care across different specialty areas (AIDS.gov, 2013).

Statement of Purpose

The purpose of this discussion is to consider the challenges in place against the Affordable Care Act and the provision of insurance coverage for HIV/AIDS across the United States. Although the Supreme Court upheld the Act and its provisions, there are a number of opponents that remain, including members of Congress and the Senate attempting to repeal this Act (Chiles, 2011). For those in opposition, the Act is not a benefit to Americans but rather a detriment and would continue the disparities that exist between those with HIV/AIDS and other conditions and the general population (Chiles, 2011). Therefore, it is important to demonstrate the impact of this opposition and how it could influence healthcare reform in the future. At the same time, there is a tremendous impact of these services associated with the improvement of the health and wellbeing of this population group (Chiles, 2011).

Importance of the Issue

The Affordable Care Act has demonstrated its commitment to HIV/AIDS in many ways and supports the creation of an environment where these individuals are able to access coverage affordably and effectively. It is important to address the challenges associated with nursing practice and the development of new ideas and approaches to improve staffing and care for patients with HIV/AIDs under this Act and to take the risks that are necessary to produce effective outcomes under this continuum of care (ANAC, 2013). In 2010, the US National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) was developed as a means of “increasing the number of HIV providers as well as increasing HIV knowledge among all health professionals… Factors that increase demands on the nursing workforce (such as an aging U.S. population and the full implementation of the Affordable Care Act) and ongoing bottlenecks in nursing education will complicate existing workforce issues” (ANAC, 2013). Therefore, it is important to address these challenges and their impact on nurses as the Act is fully implemented in 2014 (ANAC, 2013).

The primary objective of the Affordable Care Act is to eliminate discriminatory-based practices that currently exist in the provision of insurance coverage and healthcare services, particularly for those with pre-existing conditions and those who are members of disparate populations. The US Supreme Court’s upholding of this Act has been instrumental in taking a stand against discrimination because insurance providers are no longer able to conduct these practices; however, there are continuous arguments regarding the costs associated with the provision of healthcare services for the population and represent a serious challenge to the Act in different ways (Waldman, 2012). In this context, it is important to recognize the opportunities that are available to continue unwavering support of the Affordable Care Act in an effort to provide HIV/AIDS patients with effective tools to treat this condition on an ongoing basis and to refrain from any activities that might be considered discriminatory in nature (Waldman, 2012). It is imperative that the provisions of this Act must continue to prevail as a means of supporting the necessary care and treatment of patients with HIV/AIDS, particularly those from disparate population groups.

The Role of Nursing

Nurses play a critical role in the provision of care and treatment for HIV/AIDS patients throughout the United States. Therefore, their contributions to healthcare practice in this area are significant and mandate sufficient coverage and support of service provisions to ensure that patient care and treatment is optimized for all HIV/AIDS patients. These efforts demonstrate the importance of full staffing in the nursing workforce in order to accomplish the tasks required to meet the insurance mandate for this patient population. Therefore, there must be sufficient resources in place in order to accommodate the needs of the population in different ways in the form of adequate nursing staffing and other factors that will contribute to their care, treatment, and overall wellbeing. These efforts are also critical indicators in developing new outcomes for HIV/AIDS patients throughout the United States. Nurses represent an emerging opportunity to participate in the active care and treatment of these patients and support the development of new alternatives in an effort to achieve greater than anticipated outcomes upon full rollout of the Affordable Care Act in the coming years. With these provisions, it is anticipated that HIV/AIDS patients will have open access to health insurance coverage and greater access to medications and other provisions of care that enable them to sustain a higher quality of life for longer periods of time. These developments require experienced nurses in an effort to carry out the provisions of the Act and to provide a standard of care that is expected from all nurses, regardless of the patients whom they treat.

Conclusion and Recommendations

In response to the mandates associated with the Affordable Care Act, it is necessary to consider the different areas of growth and development that are likely to transpire with the creation of insurance coverage for all persons, regardless of pre-existing condition, including those with HIV/AIDS. Although there has been fierce opposition to this Act from many conservative members of Congress and the Senate, the upholding of the Act by the Supreme Court was a significant victory for its supporters and in particular, those with HIV/AIDS. However, in order to accomplish the objectives of the mandate, there must be sufficient levels of staffing in place for nurses and other individuals in an effort to create effective outcomes for this patient population in all areas of their care and treatment. By removing the restriction on pre-existing conditions, there is a greater opportunity to expand coverage for these patients; however, this is only one piece of the puzzle and requires a team of experienced nurses to carry out these objectives for all patients.

These findings demonstrate that an organized and well-developed nursing workforce must be in place in an effort to create an environment that supports patients with HIV/AIDS regardless of their health or income status and to offer them the best possible care and treatment within their communities to preserve the quality of their lives. This is a basic human right and is instinctive in all nurses to promote effective care and treatment at all times. This population group depends on the ability of nurses to provide them with adequate levels of care and treatment, and the Affordable Care Act opens the door to these services in a more widespread and effective manner in order to accomplish the objectives of equal access to healthcare services for all persons, regardless of their health or income status.

References

AIDS.gov (2013). The Affordable Care Act and HIV/AIDS. Retrieved from

http://aids.gov/federal-resources/policies/health-care-reform/

Association of Nurses in AIDS Care. (2013). ANAC 2012-2013 public policy agenda. Retrieved from http://www.nursesinaidscare.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=4299

Chiles, N. (2011). HIV/AIDS and repeal of health care reform. The New Tri-State Defender,  retrieved from http://www.tsdmemphis.com/index.php/opinion/6396-hivaids-and-repeal-of-health-care-reform

Waldman, A.E. (2012). HIV and the fate of the Affordable Care Act. Retrieved from http://www.sfaf.org/hiv-info/hot-topics/from-the-experts/hiv-and-the-affordable-care-act.html