In 750 to 850 words, post in your assigned group your response to the prompt. In your initial post, refer at least one article related to your entry from a reputable newspaper (can be online) or other media source that is current within one month and post the link. You must have at least 4 references in your initial posting and the media source can be one of the two. An easy way to find current articles on health policy is through Kaiser Health News.
Discussion Topic: In your post, you should discuss if and how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has impacted your topic, and the impact of Republican proposals to repeal/replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on your topic.
Group 2: Describe three major policy issues facing primary care and why they are important.
Note: As we talk about policies in the Discussion Board, it is helpful to articulate the actual policy that drives the actual or anticipated impacts. Policies are typically statements that describe an intention to achieve a goal or solve a problem. Policies lead to programs for implementation or regulations to guide implementation; and they can be both subjective and objective. For example:
A reimbursement policy might aim to support primary care to increase the availability of primary care providers (subjective.) It might go further and specify that primary care must be reimbursed in a specific manner and/or specialty care is limited in a specific manner (objective). A health insurance policy might require that insurance options be available to all individual without regard to health status or income. The specifics of that might lead to programs in insurance exchanges. A free care policy might require hospital providers to treat patients regardless of their ability to pay. The specifics about access to that care and how to implement payment plans or special programs to encourage use of cost effective services become the implementation issues that develop from the policy that requires care without specifying the reimbursement realities. One way to think about the policy behind the issues you write about is to ask: "why am I observing this problem or benefit? what is the policy that led to this?" You can then decide if your observation is an unintended consequence, or an example of a good intent that fell short of the intended goal, or something else altogether.
Sample Solution