One of the most crucial provisions in the healthcare reform act that is important to the careers of nurses is Obama’s promise to increase funding for the education of nurses. Nursing organizations have been carefully monitoring the status of healthcare reform to gauge its impact on the shortage of nurses in the healthcare industry. Many people who oppose healthcare reform believe that the cost to instrument the plan is exceedingly expensive. In general, nurses believe people can have access to quality medical care without any increase in the cost. Some nurses believe that healthcare reform is really more about reforming health insurance. Nurses would prefer that the passing of the healthcare reform act will cause more money to go towards funding patient care, as oppose to lining the pockets of insurance companies.
Healthcare reform cannot solve the critical shortage of nurse alone. It will take additional help from the state and federal government, and donations from private investors to provide money for nurses to attend school. The American Nurses Association supports healthcare reform legislation, because it will provide increase funding for the education of nurses. The Public Health Service Act has initiated programs which are the primary source of federal funds stipulated for research and the education of nurses. These provisions were put into place to make sure there will not be a shortage of nurse in the future.
Nursing organizations across the Unites States appreciate the fact that healthcare reform has made registered nurses and nurse practitioners an integral part of the healthcare team by given them more leadership responsibilities. Some doctors fear that with registered nurses and nurses practitioners assuming more responsibility, the quality of patient care will deteriorate, and their salaries will decrease. Under the healthcare reform act, federal funding will be provided to Nurse-Managed Clinics, so that nurse practitioners can provide primary and preventive health care in areas that has a shortage of doctors.
Despite strong opposition to the healthcare reform act, many nurses believe that health care reform is needed to improve the overall quality and cost of patient care. Nursing organizations has work closely with the Obama administration to make changes to the healthcare reform bill that will have a positive impact on nurses and patient care in the medical field. Healthcare reform legislation mandates that all Americans must have healthcare insurance. This law will make it necessary to employ more nurses in the future. Nurses will play a vital role in implementing the provisions of healthcare reform, and they will continue to advocate for changes in the healthcare reform laws when needed.
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