H.R. 1319 is a crucial healthcare legislation that has substantially impacted various populations in the U.S. This legislation is also known as the American Rescue Plan. U.S. President Joe Biden signed it into law in 2021. It involves provisions that considerably impact the healthcare sector. Besides addressing issues related to mental illness, this law also explores and addresses the challenges people in rural areas face due to various factors that promote financial instability in these areas. Moreover, the law has provisions that have helped stop the spread of COVID-19.
Nurses recognized how substantially passing this law would impact healthcare; hence, they played a considerable role in realizing this process. The American Nurses Association has facilitated this practice. Nurses in the U.S. still have to explore various current health policy issues in America, including increased rates of suicide among healthcare providers and health inequality. Since the president signed H.R. 1319, it has considerably impacted healthcare by providing funds to support individuals in rural areas, addressing mental health challenges in the U.S., and reducing the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
Literature Review
Autor et al. (2022) state that one of the primary provisions of H.R. 1319 involved funding the healthcare industry to help reduce and eliminate the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Section 2501 of this American Rescue Plan was supposed to provide money to help increase the number of healthcare providers to help eliminate factors related to public health workforce shortage that affect patient outcomes. Section 2401 of this legislation also focused on reducing the spread. It provided funds that helped trace contacts to identify risks of more infection. Acs & Werner (2021) critically evaluate that these funds helped improve testing. It could help Healthcare organizations acquire more advanced testing materials and serve a larger population. Another critical section of this legislation that considerably impacted this effort was Section 2302. It provided funds for the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to facilitate vaccine distribution.
Acs & Werner (2021) explain that another significant provision of this law involved providing funds to support individuals in rural areas. For example, Section 9911 compensates healthcare providers who serve individuals in rural areas. However, it only applied to providers who attended to Medicaid and Medicare recipients to cover the costs associated with services from these providers and lost incomes resulting from the effects of the pandemic. On the other hand, Section 1002 aimed to improve rural health development to facilitate the functions of the healthcare providers. Steiner & Woo (2021) argue that this law helped identify the areas that required financial backup and provided emergency grants.
This legislation also addressed mental health challenges in the U.S. According to Steiner & Woo (2021), it involved various provisions in helping determine areas that required funding and providing the money. For example, Section 2703 was supposed to provide the financing for training public safety authorities and healthcare professionals. It was supposed to help address the challenges individuals with mental challenges face due to a lack of knowledge among these individuals which adversely impacts their health. Moreover, Section 2713 was supposed to provide funding for specially-developed clinics that offer various substance use and mental health care. Acs & Werner (2021) critically assess that the government acknowledged that these healthcare organizations required this money to improve their operations by acquiring essential supplies and equipment they could not afford initially. Thus, this section provided grants to Certified Community Behavioural Health Clinics to achieve this goal.
Statistics
This act has substantially impacted various populations since President Joe Biden signed it into law. For example, an individual with mental challenges has benefited from this law considering its provisions that support services healthcare providers offer them. Section 2703 provided $80 million for training public safety authorities and healthcare providers (Gillings Schools of Global Public Health, 2021). This practice has positively affected this population because competent workers offer the best services. One of the most significant reasons for increasing rates of mental health complications in the U.S. is a lack of skilled and well-informed healthcare providers who do not know how to deal with the patients regarding assessments, diagnosis, treatment, and therapy. Moreover, Section 2713 of this law provides $ 420 million in grants for specially-developed clinics that offer various substance use and mental health care. Therefore, the American Rescue Plan has considerably improved Americans’ mental health.
H.R. 1319 has also substantially impacted individuals in rural areas. Individuals in these areas face more financial challenges than those in urban areas considering the shortage of employment opportunities and poor access to the market and credit. Other vital challenges promoting economic instability in these areas are inadequate farm machinery and limited production inputs. These challenges deter them from accessing proper medical care. Some individuals may underdose or avoid visiting medical professionals when unwell due to this problem. Therefore, this act through Section 9911 has helped address this problem. It provided $8.5 billion for healthcare providers serving rural individuals (Gillings Schools of Global Public Health, 2021). However, this funding was based on one primary factor. Only healthcare providers serving Medicaid and Medicare recipients got it to help cover the costs associated with services from these providers and lost incomes resulting from the effects of the pandemic.
This act has also benefited the general population considering its provisions that address challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, Section 2501 provided $ 7.6 billion to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to increase the number of public healthcare providers to address challenges people face during this period due shortage of these workers (Gillings Schools of Global Public Health, 2021). Eliminating the spread of COVID-19 through testing, treatment, and vaccination required significant input from healthcare providers. However, realizing this goal became a challenge due to the inadequate number. Therefore, this act helped address this problem by providing funds that have helped increase the number. Section 2401 of H.R. 1319 also considerably impacted everyone in the U.S. because it provided $ 47.8 billion to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to improve contact tracing. This activity substantially reduced the spread because it helped identify risks of more infection. The money also expanded testing.
Nursing Role
Nurses recognized the crucial changes this bill would bring to the healthcare industry; therefore, they have played a role in passing the legislature. A 2023 article by the Nursing World explains that the American Nurses Association played a substantial role in passing this legislation by guiding and supporting nurses in various ways. For example, they gave them ethical guidance on conducting research and creating information that ANA would use to push for this bill that would help reduce the spread of the virus by promoting their operations and patient outcomes. ANA represents and advocates for nurses’ needs at the national level; therefore, nurses’ input in passing this legislation was evident in the efforts of the ANA.
ANA also empowered and educated nurses to ensure they made informed decisions when preparing reports to present to Congress. Passing a law requires significant input (Nursing World, 2023). Multiple essential bills have failed in America because they did not convince Congress they were necessary. Therefore, nurses must be very keen when presenting their needs and those of patients to Congress through ANA because the information they offer determines if the bill will fail or pass.
Current Health Policy Issues
One of the most crucial health policy issues in America today is disparities in the healthcare industry. Some healthcare organizations discriminate against people of color, mostly African Americans, which has promoted considerable health inequity in America. President Joe Biden has prioritized this factor since he came into power (Becker’s Hospital Review, 2022). However, he must sign more bills that will help rectify the situation. This president has approved a health equity executive order to address this problem. He promises to take more actions to help eradicate disparities in the healthcare system.
Another current health policy issue in the U.S. is increasing rates of suicide among healthcare providers. Their work is emotionally demanding, which exposes them to stress (Becker’s Hospital Review, 2022). Moreover, the traumatic events they encounter during their operations can be overwhelming. This issue worsens when one does not have adequate resources, including finances, to help address this problem. Besides, a lack of support also worsens the situation. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the situation as it has caused more pressure on these workers. Trauma, burnout, and stress influence the increased rates of suicide among these individuals. The stigma surrounding mental illness also prevents these workers from seeking professional help or discussing the matter with colleagues. A physician called Lorna Breen committed suicide, which led to the passing of a healthcare provider protection act named after him. It is known as the Lorna Breen Healthcare Provider Protection Act.
Conclusion
H.R. 1319 has substantially impacted the healthcare industry. One of the most considerable ways it has achieved this goal is by helping reduce the spread of COVID-19. Moreover, some provisions of this law help improve the health of individuals in rural areas. It has also provided funds to help address mental health challenges in the U.S. by promoting the education of healthcare providers. Nurses recognized the significance of this bill and employed various strategies that facilitated its passage.
References
Acs, G., & Werner, K. (2021). How a permanent expansion of the child tax credit could affect poverty. Washington, DC: Urban Institute. https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/104626/how-a-permanent-expansion-of-the-child-tax-credit-could-affect-poverty.pdf
Autor, D., Cho, D., Crane, L. D., Goldar, M., Lutz, B., Montes, J., … & Yildirmaz, A. (2022). The $800 billion paycheck protection program: where did the money go, and why did it go there? Journal of Economic Perspectives, 36(2), 55-80. https://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/jep.36.2.55
Becker’s Hospital Review. (2022). Top 10 health policy issues for 2022 – Becker’s Hospital Review. Becker’s Hospital Review. https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/strategy/top-10-health-policy-issues-for-2022.html
Gillings Schools of Global Public Health. (2021). The American Rescue Plan: Implications for Health Policy & Politics. Gillings Schools of Global Public Health.https://sph.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/112/2013/08/American-Rescue-Plan-Act_Alum_final.pdf
Nursing World. (2023). ANA’s Statement on American Rescue Plan – March 10, 2021, The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Nursing World. https://www.google.com/search?q=ANA%27s+Statement+on+American+Rescue+Plan+-+March+10%2C+2021+The+American+Rescue+Plan+Act+of+2021&rlz=1C1BNSD_enKE1000KE1000&oq=ANA%27s+Statement+on+American+Rescue+Plan+-+March+10%2C+2021+The+American+Rescue+Plan+Act+of+2021&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i60.1167j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Steiner, E. D., & Woo, A. (2021). Job-related stress threatens the teacher supply. RAND. Retrieved March1, 2022. https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RRA1100/RRA1108-1/RAND_RRA1108-1.pdf
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