Obamacare and Nursing.. what do you think?

[OKNurse2be]

I know that I am possibly opening up a can of ugly worms. I hope that in spite of differing opinions, that this thread can remain friendly and a simple exchange of ideas and opinions.

As a beginning nursing student, I am being told that there is this looming nursing shortage and that there is great job security. A little research on my own shows me that in my particular state, there definitely is a decent population of still practicing nurses who are 60 years and older who will be retiring soon, which would open up the way for us who are just getting started. More and more emphasis is also being put on the new healthcare law and how it will open the doors for more people to access medical care which again will increase the need for staffing.

I grew up in a country with a socialistic government, which also includes healthcare for everyone. I have seen how the hospitals are understaffed, and you are lucky if you get to spend 5 minutes with your physician, and you are not in control over which healthcare facility you can go to. I know that the new bill isn't necessarily socialistic, but there are socialistic principles in it.

As a nursing student, I can't help but wonder how this is going to affect my future as a nurse. I know that nurses talk among themselves and things trickle down from above onto the floors. Nothing is going to keep me from becoming a nurse. I am not in it for the money, but rather I feel somehow "called." However, I believe that it's good to be prepared for times ahead so that I can adjust accordingly.

How do you think that Obamacare is going to affect how care is delivered?

By the way, this is NOT a homework assignment of any kind. I am merely looking for for a friendly exchange of ideas and opinions.

[MunoRN, RN]

Perhaps. But as an increasing amount of primary care is transferred to NPs, they will begin to experience the same kind of problems that lead to physicians' refusing to accept Obamacare - ever-increasing paperwork costs, ever-increasing liability insurance costs, and ever-increasing legal costs, all in the face of ever-DECREASING compensation from the third-party entity that regulates that compensation - in this case, the government.

That said, I think that many areas of primary care CAN and SHOULD be handled by NPs. It's cost effective (for now, at least), and from a selfish standpoint, it elevates the status of my chosen profession, nursing.

At any rate, it's already happening, and will continue to do so, Obamacare or not.

You believe that the government is "regulating" the prices that private insurers are charging? There are not government run Obamacare plans, they are still offered by private insurers and really none of the issues related to that, such as paperwork between Physicians and private insurers, has changed.

[MunoRN, RN]

As the post below yours points out there has been plenty of ideas for healthcare reform discussed by conservatives.

Whereas, the only idea liberals like to discuss is how to have people depend on government for their healthcare.

You and I have had a pages long discussion on alternative ideas.

You may not agree with the alternatives (as I believe you favor single-payer, for which we are currently headed for), but let's not pretend you haven't heard of any.

Maybe you could point them out to me because I can't find them in that post. If you're referring to these:

* Freedom of choice -- which includes the freedom to NOT have insurance

* Free markets without anyone picking winners or losers other than actual consumers

* Competition across state lines

* Torte reform

* Health savings accounts

The problem with giving people the freedom to NOT have insurance is that those who provide healthcare DON'T have the freedom to withhold the product they chose not to pay for.

What winners and losers are being chosen, and by whom?

Competition across state lines is definitely not a conservative ideal. What keeps us from having competition across state lines is that plans are regulated at the state, rather than federal level. This means a plan in one state typically doesn't work in another state. None of the current proposals to replace Obamacare involve shifting insurance regulation from the state level to the federal level to allow for nationwide competition, actually they all stress the importance of shifting towards more state based regulation.

There's nothing stopping the house from taking up torte reform, I'm all for it. I'm not sure how that's an alternative to Obamacare though.

Health Savings Accounts not only already exist, the number of HSA's has continued to grow under Obamacare. In January 2009 just prior to Obamacare, there were 8 million people using HSA's, which grew to 13.5 million by 2012.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but the idea you've put forth is to have insurance only pay for major costs, which is what insurance currently does so I'm not sure what you're proposing. Currently, most plans, particularly under Obamacare, are plans where the consumer pays nearly all their costs up until they've paid a fairly large amount in a year, only then does their insurance kick in and start covering the costs. Are suggesting that Obamacare should start to discourage plans that cover costs right off the bat?

[RN4JUSTICE]

Its unfortunate that the health care system in the USA compared to some countries in Europe , Canada and Thailand is sub standard. By that I mean here we have a wealthy country (used to be wealthy) where a huge portion of the population does not have adequate, affordable access to basic health care. However that being said some common sense has also been lost in the process where based on a technicality the hospital cannot charge for something appropriately. Things that have improved are quality measures in the hospital as an example the prevention/reduction of bed sores . The insurance companies do run health care in the USA and that is unfortunate because they are profiting through the misery of others. It all depends philosophically where you stand on these issues. As far as nursing goes there are many employment opportunities in the USA , Australia etc both in hospital and private business. Do not let anyone discourage from your ultimate goal.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

Good day:

As it relates to healthcare including nursing, as Obamacare is a 100% partisan sold on a lie (see

for starters) where health insurance does not equate to healthcare access, it is reasonable that there are going to be changes in healthcare. You have more and more doctors dropping out of the system, and nurse practitioners are becoming more and more popular; and, there's a push to have NP's and related being able to practice as a doctor under their own license.

Just because you state "including nursing" does not address the subject of the thread.

As the liberals continue to push their pro death agenda, you are going to see more and more nurses fired for standing up for their faith/religious beliefs when they refuse to participate in murdering an innocent baby. New Jersey Nurses Threatened with Job Loss for Refusing to Assist in Abortions | SBA-List and Hospital Tried to Force Nurses' Help in Abortion | National Review Online for example (please note I'm not stating these are Obamacare related, but as Obama and the democrats push abortion through Obamacare and other venues, it will most likely become more prevalent).

As the lies that sold Obamacare continue to be proliferated with money not growing on trees, our national deficit will continue to expand as our country is not living within its means, and sooner or later, there's going to be a downfall of our country. For those that don't know, the CBO stopped scoring Obamacare. See GAO Report: Obamacare Adds $6.2 Trillion to Long-Term Deficit | National Review Online , Social Security Institute | CBO: Obamacare Would Increase National Debt, Spend Medicare 'Savings' (btw, another Obama lie that Obamacare would be deficit neutral).

Thankfully we do have a number who are using their freedom to rebel such as The Voice of Hippocratic Medicine in America | , We Stand FIRM , and others who believe honesty, integrity (review the posts for those that review to discuss the lies that sold Obamacare - does that mean they are ok with being dishonest and lacking integrity; I don't know, but it does raise the question as to the value of telling the truth to sell something vs. lying about it), and freedom matters to try and promote change.

As it has been shared over and over again, the Democrat controlled senate has blocked every conservative measure for change; so it is a straw person argument stating the conservatives don't care or don't have any ideas to for positive improvement. President threatens to veto, democrat controlled senate refuses to bring up things for a vote... then either lie or be ignorant about the facts the conservatives have spoken, have tried, and continue to try to resolve the problems created by a 100% partisan bill sold on lies.

Thank you.

This is political agenda. Please stick to topic. Start another thread to discuss the "liberal agenda" and the democratic controlled senate.

This thread is HOW WILL THE ACA AFFECT NURSING CARE.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

Closing for time out...