30 Jan 5. Support the enactment

NR552 Economics of Healthcare Policy

Week 1 Discussion

DQ1 Nurses Supply and Demand

Nurses are a limited healthcare resource. What is the current supply and demand of professional nurses in your local area or state? What alternatives or interventions are being proposed to equalize the supply and demand of professional nurses?

DQ2 Macroeconomics: National Health and Wealth

Review Figure 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, and Table 1.2 from Chapter 1: Economics and Efficiency, from the Olsen text (2009).

Discuss the relationship of health, wealth, and healthcare in the United States.

NR552 Economics of Healthcare Policy

Week 2 Discussion

DQ1 Environment and Healthy Lifestyle

What environmental changes have employers or city planners in your area made to promote a healthy lifestyle for employees or citizens? What are the expected health and economic outcomes of these environmental changes?

DQ2 Policies for Public Good

What local policies (city or state) have been enacted to provide for the public good in relation to lifestyle choices such as tobacco use, alcohol consumption, or vehicle safety? What are the ethical and legal implications of these policies? What health and healthcare cost outcomes are expected as a result of this policy?

NR552 Economics of Healthcare Policy

Week 3 Discussion

DQ1 Select Patient Paid Services

The cost of covering all medical services demanded by participants of healthcare insurance plans is calculated into the overall cost of premiums for all participants. To maintain or lower premium costs, should insurance companies deny coverage for some healthcare services? Which services would you recommend become patient-paid-only and why?

DQ2 Externalities of Public Services

Investigate a publically provided healthcare service in your community. Briefly describe the service provided, including the population served and how the program is funded. What are the negative and positive externalities of providing this service?

NR552 Economics of Healthcare Policy

Week 4 Discussion

DQ1 Paying for Hospital Services

Compare and contrast the various methods of payment for hospital services. Which payment model do you feel best meets the criteria of cost efficiency, allocative efficiency, and cost containment? Explain your choice.

DQ2 Medicare/Medicaid Payment

Depending on the location primary care providers practice in, they may have a larger-than-average patient population paying with Medicare and/or Medicaid. What could be the consequences of a large Medicare/Medicaid patient base to the provider and to the patient?

NR552 Economics of Healthcare Policy

Week 5 Discussion

DQ1 Medical Tourism

After reading the assigned article by Turner (2010), define medical tourism and discuss how medical tourism has benefited or harmed access to care for the citizens of developing countries. What are the legal, ethical and human-caring principles that can be identified on both sides of this issue?

DQ2 Funding for Global Health

In a time when the United States struggles with balancing the budget, would you advocate for spending United States dollars for global health assistance to support developing countries? Describe the social, political, or economic implications associated with your answer.

NR552 Economics of Healthcare Policy

Week 6 Discussion

DQ1 Caring and Cost Efficient Nursing

After reading the article:

Cara, C. M., Nyberg, J. J., & Brousseau, S. (2011). Fostering the coexistence of caring philosophy and economics in today’s healthcare system. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 35(1), 6-14.

Propose a caring behavior or policy you would like to initiate in your workplace. Describe how this caring behavior would impact nursing satisfaction, patient outcomes, and healthcare costs.

DQ2 Nurse Staffing and Quality of Care

Investigate and discuss a nurse staffing model. Describe how this model produces sufficient staffing to provide quality care, positive patient outcomes, and cost containment.

NR552 Economics of Healthcare Policy

Week 7 Discussion

DQ1 Cost Benefit Analysis/Cost Effectiveness Analysis

Access the Chamberlain on-line library (Medline/CINAHL) to locate an article analyzing a treatment option or other policy change utilizing cost benefit or cost effectiveness analysis. The following search terms may assist in locating an article: cost effectiveness analysis, cost versus benefit, or cost benefit analysis.

Briefly present the topic discussed in the article. How was cost measured? How was benefit measured? What are the implications for policy change based on the cost analysis?

DQ2 Healthcare Topic Debate

Post your PowerPoint presentation from Week 6 to this discussion. Review all the presentations that are posted for both sides of the healthcare topics debated. Once you have viewed the presentations, choose one of the topics and explain your decision to support a particular side of the debate. What social, political, or economic forces influenced your decision?

NR552 Economics of Healthcare Policy

Week 8 Discussion

Influencing Policy through Healthcare Economics

Reflect on how you will utilize the concepts studied in this course to promote fiscally responsible changes to healthcare while maintaining positive patient outcomes. Present a healthcare economic concept and provide an example of how you will use the concept to influence healthcare policy.

NR552 Economics of Healthcare Policy
Week 2 Assignment

Environment and Social Impact

PURPOSE

The purpose of this assignment is to: a) perform a literature review of an environmental issue affecting health outcomes, b) investigate an environmental issue and detail the effect on public health, c) examine the health, social, and economicimpacts of the environmental issue, c) identify suggested adaptations or interventions to resolve the environmental issue and enhance health, d) present ideas in a clear, succinct and scholarly manner.

REQUIREMENTS

Assignment Criteria for the Paper:

1. Review literature on an environmental issue that is affecting public health.

2. Provide a brief introduction to the environmental issue.

3. Detail the effect on public health.

4. Discuss health, social, and economic impacts of this environmental issue.

5. Explain causes of the environmental issue.

6. Discuss proposed adaptive measures or interventions and the expected impact to public health and healthcare costs.

7. The body of the scholarly paper is to be 3-5 pages in length excluding title and reference pages.

8. Grammar, spelling, punctuation, references, and citations are consistent with formal academic writing and APA format as expressed in the 6th edition

9. Include a minimum of four scholarly resources published within the past 5 years not including your textbook. References may include scholarly websites of organizations or government agencies and must be presented using APA format for electronic media

NR552 Economics of Healthcare Policy

Week 4 Assignment

Healthcare Insurance Comparison

PaperGuidelines

PURPOSE

The purpose of this assignment is to: a) compare and contrast two insurance plans payment models at a specified level of healthcare service (one governmental plan and one private plan), b) examine the patient population served by each insurance plan, c) investigate the impact of each payment plan on access to care, access to services or procedures, and patient outcomes, d) evaluate both insurance payment plans for economic, social, or ethical issues,e) present ideas in a clear, succinct and scholarly manner.

REQUIREMENTS

1. Choose a level of care (primary, secondary, tertiary) to investigate payment models.

2. Choose a government provided insurance plan to investigate (Medicare, Medicaid).

3. Choose any private insurance plan to investigate.

4. Discuss the patient population each insurance plan represents.

5. Define the payment models of the two insurance plans (government and private) when paying for services at the level of care you have chosen to review.

6. Discuss the possible impact of each insurance payment model on access to care or choice of provider or facility.

7. Discuss the possible impact of each insurance payment model on access to healthcareservices or procedures.

8. Discuss the possible impact of each insurance payment model on patient outcomes.

9. Describe any economic, social or ethical issues that arise from having one insurance plan over another.

10. The body of the scholarly paper is to be 3-5 pages in length excluding title and reference pages.

11. Grammar, spelling, punctuation, references, and citations are consistent with formal academic writing and APA format as expressed in the 6th edition

12. Include a minimum of three scholarly resources published within the past 5 years not including your textbook. References may include scholarly websites of organizations or government agencies and must be presented using APA format for electronic media

NR552 Economics of Healthcare Policy

Week 6 Assignment

Healthcare Topic

Debate PowerPoint Guidelines

PURPOSE

The purpose of this assignment is to: a) investigate healthcare economic policy currently affecting nursing, b) describe the social, political, and economic forces influencing policy, c) support the enactment of policy based on impact to nursing practice, patient outcomes, and finances/cost, d) present ideas in a clear, succinct and scholarly manner.

REQUIREMENTS

This assignment will be a PowerPoint presentation to debate healthcare policy related to topics affecting nursing. All debate topics and sides of the policy must be represented. It is important for nurses to have knowledge of all sides of issues affecting nursing and patient outcomes so it is not important which side you receive. During Week 7, you will be able to review both sides and make a decision on where you actually stand on the issue.

1. Negotiate debate topic with faculty based on the assigned reading articles listed below. Negotiate with faculty which side of the debate you will present.

Buerhaus, P. I. (2010). Is U. S. health care evolving toward a single-payer system? An

interview with health care economist Paul Feldstein, PhD. Nursing Economics,

28(3), 198-201.

Debate Topic #1: (side A) free market healthcare system versus (side B) government regulated single payer system

Elgie, R. (2007). Politics, economics, and nursing shortages: a critical look at United

States government policies. Nursing Economics, 25(5), 285-292.

Debate Topic #2: (side A) free market without government interventions versus (side B) government intervention and subsidies

Hendrich, A., Chow, M. P., & Goshert, W. S. (2009). A proclamation for change

transforming the hospital patient care environment. The Journal of Nursing

Administration (JONA), 39(6), 266-275.

Debate Topic #3: (side A) increased registered nurse staffing versus (side B) maintain current staffing and utilize methods to increase efficiency

2. Investigate the policy related to the debate topic.

3. Provide an overview of the topic and policy related to the topic.

4. Describe the social, political, and economic forces influencing the policy.

5. Support the enactment of this policy based on impact to nursing practice.

6. Support the enactment of this policy based on impact to patient outcomes.

7. Support the enactment of this policy based on impact to finances/costs.

8. The presentation is to be 5-7 slides in length excluding title and reference slides.

9. Grammar, spelling, punctuation, references, and citations are consistent with formal academic writing and APA format as expressed in the 6th edition

10. Include a minimum of three scholarly resources published within the past 5 years not including your textbook and assigned reading articles. References may include scholarly websites of organizations or government agencies and must be presented using APA format for electronic media.