Sample Answer for POLITICS AND THE PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT- NURS 6050 Included After Question
Regardless of political affiliation, individuals often grow concerned when considering perceived competing interests of government and their impact on topics of interest to them. The realm of healthcare is no different. Some people feel that local, state, and federal policies and legislation can be either helped or hindered by interests other than the benefit to society.
Consider for example that the number one job of a legislator is to be reelected. Cost can be measured in votes as well as dollars. Thus, it is important to consider the legislator’s perspective on either promoting or not promoting a certain initiative in the political landscape.
To Prepare:
- Review the Resources and reflect on efforts to repeal/replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
- Consider who benefits the most when policy is developed and in the context of policy implementation.
By Day 3 of Week 3
Post an explanation for how you think the cost-benefit analysis in terms of legislators being reelected affected efforts to repeal/replace the ACA. Then, explain how analyses of the votes views may affect decisions by legislative leaders in recommending or positioning national policies (e.g., Congress’ decisions impacting Medicare or Medicaid). Remember, the number one job of a legislator is to be re-elected. Please check your discussion grading rubric to ensure your responses meet the criteria.
By Day 6 of Week 3
Respond to at least two of your colleagues* on two different days by expanding on their explanation and providing an example that supports their explanation or respectfully challenging their explanation and providing an example.
Click on the Reply button below to reveal the textbox for entering your message. Then click on the Submit button to post your message.
*Note: Throughout this program, your fellow students are referred to as colleagues.
A Sample Answer For the Assignment: POLITICS AND THE PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT- NURS 6050
Title: POLITICS AND THE PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT- NURS 6050
The reelection cycle of legislators promotes actions taken by legislators to not run counter to their future efforts to be reelected. In regards to the ACA, I believe Milstead & Short illustrate how these two items combined may play out. It is stated that as the Republican party began to take legislative majority, repeal or revision of these ACA programs would interfere with the upcoming 2018 election cycle (Milstead & Short, 2019, p. 39). As such, some of the major changes to the ACA made as talking points by Republican legislators were held back, relative to an aggressive perusal of overhauling the ACA. If such an attempt was made, the breadth of changes needed would be disruptive enough to have voters possibly lose support for the actions of the Republican party, and as such, pose a major risk to reelection/loss of majority. This demonstrates the cost-benefit calculation that legislators must keep in mind when making legislative decisions in our current system of reelection.
Voter views thereby affect the actions of elected legislators. If an overwhelming and vast majority of Legislator A’s constituents want ACA essentially abolished, this legislator will support relatively aggressive policies and positions which lead to that outcome. In Legislator B’s constituency, the vast majority seem mixed or even indifferent about the fate of the ACA. Legislator B will then likely not show strong support for any policies affecting the ACA, one way or another. This would be partially because any policy support either direction would likely not upset legislator B’s chances of reelection. This would also incentivize legislator B to show strong opinions toward other issues that their constituency does care about greatly, shifting attention elsewhere.
Surveying and polling the constituency is one way to represent and extrapolate voter views. However according to Pew Research Center in 2014 regardless of party, roughly half of voters said their house member was “in touch with the district” (Pew Research Center, 2014). Meaning even if there was a Republican elected, half of the republicans in that representative’s constituency would still say their representative was out of touch. Later Pew Research in 2022 found that the majority of people did believe that it was important that their preferred party held majority in the congress (Pew Research Center, 2022). This lends evidence that voters in general tend more look at the beliefs and policies the party as a whole has rather than the individual representative of their region, when making voting decisions. This definitely simplifies any vote choice but also at the downside of less specificity when it comes to more detailed issues and talking points.
References
Milstead, J. A., & Short, N. M. (2019). Health policy and politics: A nurse’s guide (6th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Pew Research Center. (2014). GOP Has Midterm Engagement Advantage. Pew Research Center.
Pew Research Center. (2022). Midterm election preferences, voter engagement, views of campaign issues. Pew Research Center.
A Sample Answer 2 For the Assignment: POLITICS AND THE PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT- NURS 6050
Title: POLITICS AND THE PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT- NURS 6050
Hello Michael, the republican party tends to hold back when it’s beneficial to them, and that’s what makes them a stronger party. They stand together and support each other. In terms of voting, I dont specifically vote for a person, I tend to vote for the party, I am a proud democrat and I go with the belief as a whole, which can sometimes be a flaw. The republicans always seem to be aware of the cost benefit calculation as you mentioned. Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) in the federal rulemaking process is the systematic examination, estimation, and comparison of the potential economic costs and benefits resulting from the promulgation of a new rule. (Perkins & Carey, 2017). Senator Ron johnson was one of the voices that emphasized seeing the GOP repeal the Affordable care act if the republican party were to win the white house, house of rep and senate majorities in 2024. He also stated that the republicans were being strategic in obstructing president Bidens and the democrat’s agenda, and that was a goal they set. (Wang, 2022)
References
Perkins, D. W., & Carey, M. P. (2017, April 12). Cost-benefit analysis and Financial Regulator Rulemaking. Cost-Benefit Analysis and Financial Regulator Rulemaking. Retrieved September 13, 2022, from https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R44813.pdf
Wang, A. B. (2022, March 7). Sen. Ron Johnson says Obamacare should be repealed if GOP wins power back. The Washington Post. Retrieved September 12, 2022, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/07/sen-ron-johnson-obamacare-repeal-gop-majority-midterms-2024/
A Sample Answer 3 For the Assignment: POLITICS AND THE PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT- NURS 6050
Title: POLITICS AND THE PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT- NURS 6050
I believe the costs that come alongside the changes needed to repeal the ACA would deter conservative legislators because increasing government spending typically goes against the conservative financial viewpoint of typically reducing government spending. However, repealing the ACA can also be “sold” in a way to actually appeal to conservative financial values, because after the initial spending to make the changes necessary to appeal ACA, there may be a large reduction in government spending in healthcare afterwards. That viewpoint would then appeal to conservative legislators and be in-line with conservative financial beliefs.
The cost-benefit analysis made quite the impact on legislatures and their reelection. This has been a political debate for years, and it’s now being used selfishly to win votes. The law and healthcare tie into each other and can significantly impact votes for representatives. For many years republicans used the ACA repeal for votes and attention. The ACA was part of their success, and it was the star of their campaigns at times. People voted specifically on the promise of the ACA being repealed. This didn’t just affect republicans either; this affected all legislation. According to Johnathan Cohn (2020), “Democrats lost 64 seats in the House of Representatives, relinquishing a majority they had won just four years before. And although the results reflected a variety of factors, they had a lot to do with anger over the Affordable Care Act (ACA)”.
For years republicans struck the ACA and tried tearing it apart piece by piece. A lot of people thought that it would ruin the entirety of the healthcare system and make insurance pricier. A cost-benefit analysis by the legislators, Republicans included, soon showed them that they risked not getting re-elected because of the far-reaching negative aspects of ‘repeal and replace. The new policy would deprive many Americans of access to affordable healthcare (Daniel, 2017). Everyone quickly realized that The AHCA would be a financial disaster for millions.
The cost-benefit analysis put all the tiny puzzle pieces together, showing everyone the bigger picture that would change millions of lives. Repealing the ACA would cost roughly $350 billion through 2027 under conventional scoring and $150 billion using dynamic scoring. Repealing ACA would increase the number of uninsured people by 23 million (Daniel, 2017). Figuring out the numbers changed the legislature’s minds and forced them to change how they would win the public votes. The CBA showed the nitty gritty details that people weren’t considering. It showed the actual cost, the time it would take, and the advantages and the disadvantages.
A video from Walden University (2018) featuring Joel Teitelbaum shares, “It is clear that politics is playing a vital role in the design at the outset and now the implementation of the ACA.” I think the cost-benefit analysis greatly impacted whether specific people would earn votes. The most recent KFF Tracking Poll conducted in March 2022 found slightly more than half of the public (55%) hold a favorable opinion of the ACA, while about four in ten (42%) hold a negative view of the law (Montero,2022). The ACA has brought division to the political parties and in several communities.
Legislators’ goals are to remain in office, so at this point, they would do anything for support to be re-elected. As their agendas changed, so did their views. Now they had to change the message to attract different people. The public view changed, and legislatures soon realized they must be careful about what policies they allow to represent them and what procedures they chose to support. Many opinions on government involvement in the health care system impact voters’ choice of the presidential candidate. Blendon and Benson (2014) state, “Polling results have highlighted that voters do not see health care as a single issue. In one poll, 73% of respondents said health care was an important issue in their voting decision. When asked from a list what they meant by this statement, the ACA or Obamacare was the dominant health care issue (48%). Medicare was mentioned by 25%, and Medicaid by 14%”.
As Americans, we want to keep moving forward, working towards coverage that suits everyone. The debates over healthcare and the ACA, in general, will not cease, as we will continually have to work to come to the same solution. Though the answer seems far away, hopefully, one day, we can find a middle ground that suits everyone, even if it looks a little different through political representation. The representation of the specific legislators and what they support/represent will always be what sways votes. Taking each aspect into consideration and looking at the targeted population is what will keep legislators in office.
References
Blendon, R. J., & Benson, J. (2014, September 12). Voters and the affordable care act in the 2014 election: Nejm. New England Journal of Medicine. Retrieved September 13, 2022, from https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsr1412118
Cohn, J. (2020, March 6). The ACA, repeal, and the politics of backlash. Health Affairs Forefront. Retrieved September 13, 2022, from https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/forefront.20200305.771008
Daniel, M. (2017). The cost of full repeal of the Affordable Care Act. Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Retrieved September 13, 2022, from https://www.crfb.org/papers/cost-full-repeal-affordable-care-act
Montero,A. (2022, April 14). 5 charts about public opinion on the Affordable Care Act. KFF. Retrieved September 13, 2022, from https://www.kff.org/health-reform/poll-finding/5-charts-about-public-opinion-on-the-affordable-care-act-and-the-supreme-court/
Walden University, LLC. (Producer). (2018). Introduction to Health Policy and Law with Joel
Teitelbaum [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
The ACA was a very democratic lead legislation, being passed with no republican votes (Walden University LLC, 2018b).
A Sample Answer 4 For the Assignment: POLITICS AND THE PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT- NURS 6050
Title: POLITICS AND THE PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT- NURS 6050
This is a great post on cost-benefit analysis in terms of legislator reelection was critical in efforts to repeal/replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Thank you for your input on the subject matter. I support that using a cost-benefit analysis helps solve substantial political controversy in the United States. In specific, the analytical tool is vital for legislators during policy implementation. For legislators seeking re-election, it is essential to conduct an analysis of a policy before giving a position regarding the policy. According to Persad (2015), it involves scrutiny of the risks, benefits, and costs associated with the policy, mainly for those they represent. As you mentioned, the repeal/replacement of the affordable care act has too many drawbacks than benefits for the American citizen.
The Obama administration implemented the ACA policy to ensure the affordability of healthcare services for all Americans. But with the efforts to replace/replace the act, most Americans, predominantly minority groups and low-income earners, would lose access to quality healthcare services (Obama, 2017). Legislators who want to be re-elected must demonstrate their concern for the public. With this, it would mean that most republican legislators stand on the policy that would influence their re-election. Legislators seeking re-election must consider the preferences and opinions of those they should represent. With the public opposition to the repeal/replacement of the affordable care act, legislators that supported the bill had minimal chances of re-election. Therefore, most legislators, including republicans, opposed the repeal/replacement of the ACA for them to have support from the voters.
References
Obama, B. H. (2017). Repealing the ACA without a replacement — the risks to American Health Care. New England Journal of Medicine, 376(4), 297–299. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmp1616577
Persad, G. (2015). Priority setting, cost-effectiveness, and the Affordable Care Act. American Journal of Law & Medicine, 41(1), 119–166. https://doi.org/10.1177/0098858815591511