The struggle to access affordable and quality care has been a challenge to many citizens in the United States for quite long. Many reforms in the healthcare system which have been carried out in the past from the President Clinton to President Bush administration did not managed to provide sustainable solutions to many Americans who were grappling with the high cost of health care and failing economy. However, the President Obama administration has tried to bring to sanity in the health care system and some relief to consumers. The promulgation of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 made it a reality in ensuring that all Americans are in a better position to receive affordable healthcare. This law has seen many people being included in the health insurance covers in the country. In addition, it is expected more persons will have access to this cover in the near future with the expansion of Medicare and Medicaid across the country. This law has not only been beneficial to patients, but it has also looked at the welfare of the health practitioner and ensures health facilities which have maintained high standards of safety and care quality are well compensated. It should be noted that the affordable care act has been designed in such a manner that it takes into consideration improvement of public health in addition to patient’s wellness. The major areas that this new act focuses on addressing include clinical prevention, public health infrastructure and training, community prevention and research and surveillance which are comprehensively focused on workforce wellness (Mattke et al., 2013). The major concerns that have to be addressed in this situation, therefore, demands that the bulk of the consumers of this health care legislation who in this case are the employees are supposed to be provided with incentives which will result in them maximizing their productivity levels. Maintaining productivity level is essential not only to the employers but to the general economy since availability of services and products is maintained in the market. Implementing these wellness programs at the workplace is a sure way of not only improving the health of healthcare clients in the United States but will also act as a major strategy that will be used in cutting the country’s levels of healthcare spending. The Affordable Care Act has been on the forefront in making sure that incentives aimed at promoting employee wellness programs which have ended up creating opportunities which are in support of healthier workplaces. The incentives created have been on the forefront in encouraging consumer-based programs that function well in group health coverage. The consumer wellness programs currently available have been designed in such a manner that all the beneficiaries can participate in the implementation process regardless of their health status. Examples of incentives covered under the consumers’ wellness program include; participatory wellness strategies like zero costs health education seminars, reimbursement programs for fitness centers memberships, presenting employees with the health risk assessments without requiring them to take any more actions. In addition to the participatory strategies, there are also health-contingent wellness programs which require healthcare consumers to meet certain criteria in order for them to obtain particular health rewards (Mattke et al., 2013). Examples of such programs are directed at individuals that are having health issues which are related to tobacco usage, obesity and cholesterol levels that have been designed to meet the required biometric targets. There is the need to have a better understanding of the wellness incentives for consumers provided under the Affordable Care Act to ensure that nurses’ productivity is maintained.
The adoption of the wellness incentives for consumers under the ACA has majorly depended on the conditions of the workforce. It should be noted that more than 60% 0f Americans get their insurance covers from an employee-based plan and as such, any wellness programs should be uniquely aimed at the health needs of the employees (Anderko, 2012). From such a realization, therefore, it is evident that a large number of the healthcare consumers are employees. There are, however, concerns in regards to the health of employees in the sense that most of them are aging and as such, they are highly susceptible to chronic illnesses. From this realization, therefore, there are escalating healthcare costs that have been linked with the increasing ages of these employees. The probable chronic conditions likely to impact the employees’ productivity levels include; diabetes, anxiety and depression. Estimates from a World Health Organization (WHO) study indicates that 30% of 1.3 million employees who were used as participants in the study experienced some form of depression and were under treatment as a result (Anderko, 2012). Such conditions have complicated the management of medical conditions which has eventually resulted in compromised consumer wellness. From this realization, therefore, the ACA funding has been expanded to include the workplace wellness program with the intentions of improving the declining health standards of the aging population making up the bulk of the workforce. By making use of workplace social and organizational support structures, the wellness programs have been successfully integrated into the lives of the aging workforce which are steadily growing less healthy.
Under the Affordable Care Act, the Prevention and Public Health Fund (PPHF) has been designed in such a manner that it takes into account wellness and prevention in the country. The major roles that the PPHF plays in ensuring wellness and prevention include the provision of new funding for community prevention services, waiving the costs for preventive services and the creation of wellness programs for the workplace. The initial funding for this program was released in the year 2011 to a tune of 10 million US dollars under the Affordable Care Act. These monies were distributed under the supervision of the US Department of Health and Human Services (Anderko, 2012). To make sure that wellness programs are successful, there is the need for the program to be tailored according to the needs of the population which it is intended for, should also be comprehensive in that it addresses all the healthcare problems of the beneficiaries and is embraced by the top management. Additionally, there is the need for utilizing the evidence-based methodology in the consumer wellness programs which is in line with ensuring that health issues of the workers are satisfactorily addressed. Moreover, the organization’s culture and leadership in addition to program design, implementation and resources need to be taken into consideration. Finally, there is the need to carry out evaluations regarding the wellness programs in terms of financial implications; whether they are cost-saving, quality of life, health outcomes; whether they reduce chances of health risks and the levels of employee productivity.
In line with their Mission statement of ’Nurse advancing our profession to improve health for all,’ the concept of consumer wellness can be said to have been a part of the American nurses’ association key mandate ever since its inception (American Nurses Association, 2008). This realization corresponds with the strategies that the ANA has been putting in place in making sure that the existing nursing personnel work in such a critical manner that will eventually result in them being proactive. The efforts that the ANA has put in place have been crucial in making sure that the working environment of nurses has been boosted with the intentions of improving their work productivity. The resultant effects from these moves have seen improvements in terms of nursing recruitment programs, sustenance of the current workforce, improvements in terms of patient outcomes and generally job satisfaction on the side of the healthcare providers. Additionally, The ANA has been on the forefront in ensuring that healthcare facilities have been able to implement the Magnet concept. This program is in line with the ACA objective of boosting employee wellness through fostering excellence on the side of nurses in addition to supporting professional practice. The resultant effects of rolling out this Magnet program in hospitals has been helpful in checking on the patient outcomes, client and providers satisfaction and generally lowered levels of nurse burnout. Furthermore, having checks on the number of working hours has been an effective method of making sure that nurses are in a good position to work maximally thereby resulting in optimal productivity levels. Such a realization is in line with the core objectives of the consumer wellness program under the Affordable Care Act. An example of a wellness program currently in place is the Healthy at Hopkins Wellness Program which is a brainchild of the John Hopkins Hospital. The initiative has been designed in terms of an incentives program which supports different wellness programs for healthcare workers. The objectives of this program are to assist employees in reducing the risks associated with bad health and also the rising costs in the care provision process (The Johns Hopkins Hospital, 2016). The specific strategies used here include; a rewards scheme, wellness services, Innergy weight loss program and the employee health and wellness center.
Strengths of the consumer wellness program
Based on the fact that this policy strategy is focused on zero costs health education seminars, reimbursement programs for fitness centers memberships, and presenting employees with the health risk assessments without requiring them to take any more actions, it will ultimately translate to the healthcare practitioners working maximally since their morale levels have been boosted. As such, their levels of productivity will be higher which adds to the profitability of the organization that they work for (Anderko, 2012). Secondly, by taking into consideration the realization that employees are satisfied from the wellness programs that they have been provided with, the possibilities of employee turnover occurring are minimal. As such, healthcare organizations are better placed to avoid any probable costs that may be brought about by hiring and training new staff members. From this comprehension, it will be easier to achieve the advantages associated with economies of scale.
Weakness of the consumer wellness program
The major weaknesses that have been associated with this policy strategy are directly linked to the source of funding available. Even though the initial funding from the US Department of Health Services amounting to 10 million US dollars, there are concerns in regards to the continuity of the program. A law passed in 2012 by the Congress has overseen major cuts in terms of funding for the program by more than 5 billion dollars in a period of 10 years from the initial 15 billion US dollars meant for such initiatives. Such a realization, therefore, poses the risk of nurses not working to their full potential, therefore, resulting in losses in terms of productivity (Anderko, 2012). Additionally, there are also concerns that the funding provided for the prevention and wellness programs may be used to offset reductions of the currently existing federal health policies at the expense of the consumers’ wellness initiatives. Finally, there is no guarantee that by ensuring the wellness of nurses directly translates to their improved productivity. Such a fact has always been viewed as being hypothetical and does not translate to the actual working at the hospital.
Conclusively, it has been established that by ensuring that the needs of healthcare providers have been adequately addressed, it becomes easier to achieve maximum productivity from them. Additionally, it has also been seen that by taking into account the wellness program of healthcare consumers and providers, the levels of health of nurses is improved eventually translating to the reduction of costs associated with the care provision in the country. By healthcare organizations ensuring that their employees are healthy, it translates to them achieving economies of scale.
References
American Nurses Association. (2008). ANA’s Health System Reform Agenda. Retrieved from http://www.nursingworld.org/Content/HealthcareandPolicyIssues/Agenda/ANAsHealthSystemReformAgenda.pdf
Anderko, L. (2012). Promoting prevention through the Affordable Care Act: workplace wellness. Preventing chronic disease, 9.
Mattke, S., Liu, H., Caloyeras, J. P., Huang, C. Y., Van Busum, K. R., Khodyakov, D., & Shier, V. (2013). Workplace wellness programs study. Rand Corporation.
The Johns Hopkins Hospital. (2016). Healthy at Hopkins Wellness Program. Retrieved from www.hopkinsmedicine.org/human_resources/benefits/healthy_at_hopkins/
