Population Health Case Study

Greater emphasis on population health During the past decade, there was worry that the United States’ health care system was becoming increasingly privatized. This worry became so prominent that many people feared the lower income families living in the country would soon not be able to receive any health care due to a combination of increasing costs and medical prioritization. However, health care professionals have made recent strides to halt this process of health care privatization and revert the health care system’s focus back to the entire population of the country. The United States’ health care system has taken a “triple aim” approach to increasing its emphasis on the overall health of the population by bettering the individual

This act eliminated out of pocket fees for many preventive health services, prevented insurance companies from refusing to cover patients with pre-existing conditions, allowed dependents to remain on their parent’s care plans up to 26 years of age, and screened 32 million Medicare patients at no cost (Hokanson 2012). New care models are being implemented at the macro-level due to the Affordable Care Act as well, including nurses that perform home visits for children and pregnant women, school-based health centers, and delivery systems built around patients instead of hospitals or clinics (Hokanson 2012). By focusing its attention primarily on improving many aspects of the health care system at the macro-level, the Affordable Care Act hopes to have its positive impact trickle down to the micro-level and improve it over the next few years. Additionally, the Affordable Care Act has greatly accelerated the rate at which population health is being increased; it has developed 8,500 new health centers, which provide physical and psychological care to their communities and has prepared over 17,000 nurse practitioners to assist the less fortunate (Hokanson 2012). These changes resulting from the Affordable Care Act have even inspired many companies to offer their employees incentives for visiting the gym, losing weight, and quitting smoking; all as a way to improve the health of the working environment (Hokanson