The paper deals with comparing and contrasting health care reform data for the two states of Minnesota and Arkansas.
Lack of Health Insurance
According to the last data recorded, Minnesota had 7 percent of its total population without any private health insurance, neither their employer nor the government has it for them (State Public Health Statistics, 2016). This percentage has decreased only by 0.9% in last one decade. For Arkansas, it is the state that ranks 35 when it comes to having health insurance for the state’s population. 13.9% Arkansas population lacks health insurance, privately, through the government or the employer (State Public Health Statistics, 2016).
Lacking health insurance privately put people in having difficulties accessing the health care system, in both the states of Arkansas and Minnesota. Also, they fail to take part in health promotion programs and health preventive programs. Their health needs remain unmet due to lack of health insurance (Jacobs and Skocpol, 2015). This leads to more emergency visits and high cost of health care services and mortality risk of 25% high among the patients with no health insurance (State Public Health Statistics, 2016).
General Health Statistics
Minnesota has the fourth best health care services in the States, as reported by americashealthrankings.org, and its health related services have improved from what they were last year and this is the reason why Minnesota has moves two places up this year (State Public Health Statistics, 2016). The reason for this could be lower rates of deaths due to cardiovascular reasons, higher percentage of insured population and one of the least poor physical days. On the contrary, Arkansas is at 48th position this year, owing to extremely high prevalence of obesity, lower degree of immunizations among the young girls for Human Papillomavirus which happens to be the most common sexually transmitted infection in America (State Public Health Statistics, 2016). Just like Arkansas, Minnesota too have lower percentage of girls with immunization to HPV.
Minnesota has experienced a significant dip in physical inactivity cases (23.5% to 14%), smoking percentage (13% from 18.8%), lower birth weight cases (6.7% to 4%) and cardiovascular deaths (from 186.5% to 47%). However, in the last one decade, rate of infant mortality has increased to 6% from 6.7% of live births. Minnesota also faces high prevalent rate of drinking among the adults (State Public Health Statistics, 2016).
Arkansas, on the other hand, faces a few other, yet substantial challenges of increase in health disparities by education level (24.2% to 25.4%), poverty level of children (25.2% to 29.7%) and cases of cancer deaths (196.9% to 216.9 per 100,000 population). But there has been some positive results of health care reforms in Arkansas. MCV4 immunizations have increased significantly (40.4% to 64.8%) and due to increased awareness, physical inactivity has greatly reduced by 11%, from 34.4% to 30.7% (State Public Health Statistics, 2016).
The overall health outcomes in Arkansas is 0.89 unit below US average (-0.89) and in Minnesota, the overall health outcomes fall 0.70 unit above the US average (State Public Health Statistics, 2016).
Healthcare Reforms
Health care reforms include the policies, guidelines and partnerships having the objectives of offering improved health care services and lowering the health care costs.
Minnesota has encountered well thought out health care reforms, mostly since 2008, when the authorities passed the state’s health reform legislature, focusing on patient experience, community health and affordability of health related services (Blumenthal and Collins, 2014). Then in 2010, the Federal Health Reform or the Affordable Care Act became a law and it promised to provide insurance cover to the uninsured, prevent illnesses, build a skilled health care workforce and subsidize many health care costs and expenses for the general population (Sommers et al., 2013). MDH or Minnesota Health Department makes sure that the health reforms reach to every section of the society, families and children, adults, adolescents, persons with disabilities and corporates. Families with children can have enhanced access to health services, financial coverage, making insurance much more affordable. Small children can now stay on with their parents’ health coverage plans. For young people below the age 18, health cover cannot be denied on the basis of pre-existing conditions like diabetes and asthma (Blumenthal and Colllins, 2014). Medical Assistance, started in 2014, expands to cover more population from the poverty level. Health reforms have offered a good range of protections and benefits for the adults. Free tax credits and affordable preventive services have made health services more affordable. New health plans cover preventive screenings and care, offering them free of cost to patients. Minnesotans now require to have health insurance through their employers, or private or public programs. Older Minnesotans can now access prescription drugs on discounts, free preventive screenings, free assistance in paying health care services, keeping in concern the independence of elderlies. Elderlies are benefited from Medical Assistance (2014) and Early Retiree Insurance Plan (Beronio et al., 2014). Persons with disabilities will have no insurance denials due to pre-existing conditions. No dollar limit will be placed on insurance plan for disabled people.
Arkansas, too, have benefited a lot from The Affordable Care Act (2014). More than 44 million Medicare beneficiaries, including 470,000 people in Arkansas can have access to free preventive services like colonoscopies and mammograms. Health reforms have enabled lowering of taxes for small corporates where the premium cost of buying health coverage for employees are made affordable. Children and people with disabilities are covered even if they have pre-existing conditions like asthma and diabetes. Value of health insurance is increased wherein insured people are going to get greater values for their premium dollars. Now, it is illegal for an insurance company to drop a health cover if someone get sick. Early retiree coverage costs are lowered. Reforms are taken to reduce the shortage of health workforce in health care settings (Jacobs and Skocpol, 2015).
Influence of Healthcare Reforms on nursing practice
Changes brought about in federal load policies have allowed greater number of nursing students to get enrolled in full time studies and this means they are going to finish their studies early and will join the workforce early. This will solve the issue of shortage of nurses in Arkansas. In Minnesota and Arkansas both, reforms have led $50 million in funding for nurses led healthcare clinics, out of which $15 million has been allocated for supporting 0 nurses managed clinics that could serve about 94,000 patients (Jacobs and Skocpol, 2015). Laws and reforms have given a much needed importance to nurses, which has increased their productivity at work and this positively impacts the quality and cost of health care. Medicare payments for health care services offered by the certified nurse midwives will get increased by 35%, therefore, certified nurse midwives will now be able to receive the equivalent of physician pay for those healthcare services that are covered through Medicare (State Public Health Statistics, 2016).
Health care reforms are lot more similar in both the states in spite of a huge difference in their rankings.
References
Beronio, K., Po, R., Skopec, L., & Glied, S. (2014). Affordable Care Act will expand mental health and substance use disorder benefits and parity protections for 62 million Americans. Mental Health, 2.
Blumenthal, D., & Collins, S. R. (2014). Health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act—a progress report. New England Journal of Medicine, 371(3), 275-281.
Jacobs, L., & Skocpol, T. (2015). Health care reform and American politics: what everyone needs to know. Oxford University Press.
Sommers, B. D., Buchmueller, T., Decker, S. L., Carey, C., & Kronick, R. (2013). The Affordable Care Act has led to significant gains in health insurance and access to care for young adults. Health affairs, 32(1), 165-174.
