Governmental regulatory agencies and the Affordable Care Act's impact on healthcare

Laws and Health Care

The health care industry has undergone massive overhaul in recent times and the impact of the laws and regulations that accompany this change have deep and resounding effects on the way professionals approach their industry. The purpose of this essay is to explain the role of governmental regulatory agencies and their effect on the health care industry.

This essay will first provide two examples of laws and regulations that have empirically demonstrated a noticeable and impactful transformation of the system. The next section of this essay is how these laws have personally affected me and my environment in Samaritan Hospital and how these regulations both serve and detract from our overall objectives of patient quality and healing those who seek our help.

Example 1: Affordable Care Act

Laws and regulations are present at many different levels within the health care industry. Private practices surely have their own rules and regulations as well as the largest of hospitals. The sources of these rules vary from place to place and many times local rules and regulations may supersede other federal laws and vice versa. It is very confusing at times and the plethora of written guidance that stems from governmental agencies makes the scenario hard to decipher at times and causes new problems while at times solving other problems.

The governmental influence in the health care industry achieved new heights when the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed in 2010. This federally enacted law requires that new laws and regulations be abided by within the health care industry that imposed penalties and other punishments if ignored. McClanahan (2010) noted that "The law is 2,409 pages. There are ten "titles" in the law, each dedicated to a different part of our health care system. The law contains so much more than insurance reform. Changes in health care delivery, how we address chronic disease, and how we beef up our primary care workforce are included in the law. These changes are important to the infrastructure of our health care system and are sorely needed."

The ACA has changed the dynamic of the health care industry in many ways. The law itself was heavily contested and many court cases have reached the appellate courts awaiting the validity or constitutionality of these laws. The social implications of the ACA has put the medical industry on center stage and while some very bad problems have been exposed in the process, the learning that is taking place is helpful.

Overall the ACA has been a failure in the short-term and there is little promise for it to provide its main objectives of increasing the collective health of our country. Anderson (2014) agreed when she wrote "health care policy is no longer abstract when it directly affects the personal lives and health of millions of Americans. Under the ACA, Congress has prescribed a detailed federal role over health care financing, but financing directly and immediately affects the delivery of health care and how Americans access that care. Thus far, the ACA has delivered higher health insurance premiums, higher deductibles, and less competitive health insurance markets. This does not bode well for care delivery, particularly if it means increased waits, rationing of care, limited or no access, and poor quality of care. Americans' private lives and their health decisions should be spared the consequences of such incompetent intrusions."

Personal Experiences

The ACA has wrecked havoc in my hospital community. The confusion that has begun as a result of this law has made things difficult for everyone. The technology associated with this program has failed and has continued to fail, and instead of healing, we mostly are drawn into administrative tasks. Insurance companies now have much more say in the way that we treat people, and the loss of autonomy has inspired me to realize that this law has some significant issues that have not solved the problems it was intended to solve. This is a clear example of micromanagement that does have its place within this level of treatment.

The subject of euthanasia is a powerful idea that resonates quietly amongst those in the health care industry. Life and death can become commodities in this overtly sanitized world that often ignores the humanity of the situation. I am hoping that this idea of physician-assisted suicide becomes more commonplace in the health care industry due to the compassion that ironically may provide for those wishing to emphasize the quality of their lives over the quantity of their lives. This emphasis may provide a more effective, efficient, economic, and humane environment that allows for more reason and compassion to flourish. Laws and regulations are necessary, but to me it seems the less local the law, the more harmful it is to those of us in the health care industry that are left to deal with the mess.