Policy Evaluation
Healthcare Program/Policy Evaluation
The selected policy is Medicaid Extenders Act of 2019.
Description The policy outcomes are to stretch the Medicaid Money Follows the Person Rebalancing, enhance protection of Medicaid for patients who are at home, and provides security against spousal impoverishment (Medicaid Extenders Act, 2019). The policy will ensure that patients receive treatment even with home-based care despite being away from health institutions.
How was the success of the program or policy measured?
The success of the program is measured by the number of patients who receive protection while receiving treatment from home. It is deemed successful when families are protected from the impoverishment of their spouses. It will also be measured by the number of patients who require long-term care (Medicaid Extenders Act, 2019). Success will be based on the number of aged people who will be enrolled to receive protection.
How many people were reached by the program or policy selected? How much of an impact was realized with the program or policy selected?
Additionally, the policy reached out to 75,000 people who transitioned from health facilities to home-based care. The number is expected to rise since the policy has stretched to 43 states. The program had an impact since it will reduce funding for the Medicaid programs starting in 2021. The recipients of home and community-based services will be protected against the impoverishment of a spouse (Cornell, 2016). Additionally, it will pressure the states to ensure they carry out asset verification. The verification will be essential for the government to make informed decisions. The impact of the program realized this far is the provision of treatment to patients who are in the home or community-based care. Additionally, the program has so far ensured that spousal impoverishment does not affect the provision of healthcare services (Robison, Porter, Shugrue, Kleppinger & Lambert, 2015). The policy has been beneficial to people who require long-term care since they will receive federal government support.
What data was used to conduct the program or policy evaluation?
The data used for evaluation purposes was derived from Medicaid systems from 43 states. The data used to carry out the evaluation was drawn from the various elderly patient care programs since it indicated that such patients were neglected. Additionally, healthcare statistics indicated that spousal impoverishment had an effect on many millions of families. The data was drawn from government hospitals, private healthcare facilities, welfare programs, and insurance agencies. An analysis of the data was evident that a solution was necessary.
What specific information on unintended consequences were identified?
The unintended consequences of the policy are that the number of outpatients will increase compared to inpatients. Previously, patients felt safe for being admitted in a hospital. However, due to the rush to save on cost, the outpatients will increase (Bernal, Cummins & Gasparrini, 2017). On the other hand, the compliance levels may be compromised due to the many opportunities provided to patients to access healthcare at home or in community centers. Additionally, when patients transfer to home-based care, the continuity of care may be affected severely.
What stakeholders were identified in the evaluation of the program or policy? Who would benefit the most from the results and reporting of the program or policy evaluation? Be specific and provide examples.
The policy comprises of various stakeholders including patients who will benefit from the extended care. It will nurses who will be required to provide to patients despite earlier restrictions (Medicaid Extenders Act, 2019). For example, the policy will involve insurance firms since they will be required to take note of the changes. The policy evaluation has huge benefits for elderly patients who need to transfer their care. For example, elderly patients will enjoy the company of their family members at home as they continue to receive treatment. It will also favor the patients who are at risk of spousal impoverishment.
Did the program or policy meet the original intent and objectives? Why or why not?
The policy has met the intended objectives of extending medical care to patients and protecting patients against spousal impoverishment (Medicaid Extenders Act, 2019). The policy has increased the number of people who have transitioned back to community-based care. The reports indicate that over 88,000 people in 44 states have transitioned. It has also attracted 50,000 nursing home residents who want to go to the community-based centers (Cornell, 2016).
Would you recommend implementing this program or policy in your place of work? Why or why not?
I would recommend the implementation of the program in my place of work since it provides a variety of benefits to patients. It is also geared towards improving the welfare and satisfaction of patients. I would also welcome the policy since it protects patients who are vulnerable. Therefore, it is patient-centered thus making it appropriate to apply in my healthcare facility (Cornell, 2016). It is also appropriate since it takes care of the welfare of the elderly patients who are threatened by chronic diseases or require intensive care.
Identify at least two ways that you, as a nurse advocate, could become involved in evaluating a program or policy after one year of implementation.
The policy can be evaluated to measure the effectiveness one year after implementation. The effectiveness can be measured based on the positive impact of the policy. It will be assessed in terms of the number of people who have been affected positively. It will also show the healthcare outcomes that have improved since the implementation (Robison, Porter, Shugrue, Kleppinger & Lambert, 2015). The assessment will also be gauged on the possibility of extending the impacts on different stakeholders. The success will also be measured by the effectiveness of using government funds. The funds allocated should help more people compared to the funds allocated before the implementation of the policy. Another way of measuring effectiveness in identifying the ability of the policy to eliminate healthcare barriers (Bernal, Cummins & Gasparrini, 2017).
General Notes/Comments One of the barriers is the cost of healthcare, which is expected to reduce when healthcare is extended to home-based care. The program can also be evaluated by measuring the number of elderly patients who will receive treatment after the elimination of barriers.
References
Bernal, J. L., Cummins, S., & Gasparrini, A. (2017). Interrupted time series regression for the evaluation of public health interventions: a tutorial. International journal of epidemiology, 46(1), 348-355.
Cornell, V. (2016). Community health, aged care, and a stable home: an important relationship. Australian Nursing and Midwifery Journal, 23(7), 43.
Medicaid Extenders Act. (2019). “H.R. 259 — 116th Congress. www.GovTrack.us. 2019. July 3, 2019,
Robison, J., Porter, M., Shugrue, N., Kleppinger, A., & Lambert, D. (2015). Connecticut’s ‘money follows the person’ yields positive results for transitioning people out of institutions. Health Affairs, 34(10), 1628-1636.
