Nurses and Public Health Policy, GCSE Coursework Example

The American healthcare delivery system is defined by a number of major players that have the power to influence or change policy within the healthcare sector. Nurses are one of the major players that have the ability to influence healthcare policy in a number of ways. In the implementation of healthcare policies, each policy is created to monitor a given aspect of the healthcare system. Nurses can support a number of policy changes that would affect the both the government and the private sector in the roles that they play within the system.

Policies Affecting Government

Within the healthcare sector, the government plays three key roles; (1) a payer, (2) a regulator, and (3) a provider. While the government arguably plays one of the most important roles within the system, nurses have the power to support policies that may influence a given function of the government within the system.

A Single-Payer System

Nurses can support a single-payer system that would see the government be the sole payer for healthcare services. This would considerably mitigate the need for insurance premiums incurred by patients under a largely privatized healthcare delivery system (Mason, Leavitt, & Chaffee, 2012). Such a policy would significantly increase government expenditure but reduce the cost of healthcare to the general public incurred in the form of insurance premiums.

The Regulatory Environment

The government, through the FDA and other agencies regulate certain aspects of the healthcare industry. One of the most important aspects that the governments regulates is the fair practice of the differentprofessions within the field of medicine. Owing to the general inaccessibility to healthcare services by most Americans, a healthcare black market has thrived in the past five decades. More stringent controls on the practice of medicine would seek to protect both the patients and practitioners from illegal operations within the profession (Mason, Leavitt, & Chaffee, 2012).

Policies Affecting Private Insurance Companies

Private insurance companies are the main financiers of the American healthcare system. As such, they have considerable collective power in the manner in which the healthcare system behaves. The insurance companies play two important roles, (1) a payer, and (2) a regulator (Mason, Leavitt, & Chaffee, 2012). Nurses can support a number of policy changes to impact this player.

Accountability

Insurance companies largely pay for healthcare services provided to the American public. However, these insurance companies are not responsible for instances where their client’s needs are outside the contractual agreement embodied in the insurance form agreements signed by their clients. By ensuring that all insurance companies have to cover the pre-existing conditions, all Americans would be able to access comprehensive healthcare benefits at stable and reasonable premiums.

Patient Choice of Doctor

As a major regulator of the healthcare system, insurance companies largely dictate the sources of healthcare services for their clients. Clients are only allowed to seek healthcare services from a specific list of doctors. However, it is important that patient choice of doctor(s) be upheld to allow for optimal health care decisions. The doctor-patient relationship is an integral element of optimal healthcare service provision. New policy changes should encourage solid doctor-patient relationships by allowing patients the option of choosing which doctor from whom they would like to receive health care services.

In conclusion, nurses formulate an important player in the healthcare service industry. They have considerable power to influence or support certain policy changes that would create a more effective health care system. This may be achieve by supporting a single-payer system and changes to the regulatory environment. Nurses can also support increased accountability on the part of insurance companies.

References

Kominski, G. (2014). Changing the U.S. health care system : key issues in health services policy and management. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Mason, D. J., Leavitt, J. K., & Chaffee, M. W. (2012). Policy & politics in nursing and health care. St. Louis: Elsevier/Saunders.

McClellan, M. B. (2008). Evidence-based medicine and the changing nature of health care : 2007 IOM annual meeting summary. Washington: The National Academies Press.