Healthcare Reform From The Nurse Practitioner Perspective

Healthcare Reform

Healthcare reform has been debated throughout history, and continues to be a debate today. An initial healthcare plan was supported by Theodore Roosevelt in 1910. He campaigned on the promise of national healthcare, but he was defeated. Harry Truman proposed it thirty years later but the plan was vigorously opposed by American Medical Association (AMA) as socialized medicine (Palmer, 2010). As a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) who has been practicing for more than a year, an advanced nurse with a Master of Science in Administration for ten years, a military nurse leader for twenty years, and a home health and ICU nurse for more than twenty – five years, I agree that we need to rethink the direction of healthcare. Without healthcare reform, the number of uninsured is predicted to increase to 54 million in 2019 according to Deutsche Bank Research trends (2010). This increase in uninsured patients will put a strain on emergency rooms (ERs) as many uninsured patients use ERs as their primary care, which increases healthcare costs and offers poor follow-up care for the patient.

The passing of the Affordable Health Care Act bill on March 23, 2010 places Nurse Practitioners (NPs) at the forefront of health care reform, with the opportunity to be creative and innovative. I envision primary care, preventive care, case management, nurse leaders and educators as critical components of the health care reform. The healthcare reform bill has included provisions through grants for advanced practice, general nurse education and innovative nurse-manage health clinics. This incentive for Nurse Practitioners is timely as the role of Advance practice registered nurse (APRN) continues to evolve. It is a wonderful opportunity as I ...

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