Preventive Care Policy

Preventive Care Policy

Choose a current health policy and discuss how evidence-based practice has influenced its development and implementation.

Instruction:

Be sure you have first submitted your initial discussion post to this module’s “Initial Post Screening” before proceeding

Your initial post should be at least 500 words, formatted and cited in current APA style with support from at least 2 academic sources.

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APA

Preventive Care Policy

A current health policy that reflects the influence of evidence-based practice (EBP) is the Affordable Care Act (ACA), specifically its preventive care provisions. The ACA, enacted in 2010, was designed to expand access to healthcare, reduce costs, and improve health outcomes. One notable component of the ACA mandates that private insurance plans cover a set of preventive services without charging a copayment, deductible, or coinsurance. This policy shift is rooted in evidence-based research indicating that preventive services can improve public health outcomes and reduce long-term healthcare costs by identifying and addressing health issues early on.

Evidence-Based Influence on ACA’s Preventive Care Policy

Evidence-based practice was crucial in the development and implementation of the ACA’s preventive care policy. Studies conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other research organizations demonstrated that preventive services, such as cancer screenings, immunizations, and counseling for smoking cessation, play a significant role in reducing the incidence and severity of chronic diseases. For example, findings showed that early detection of conditions like cancer and diabetes not only improves individual prognosis but also reduces the economic burden on the healthcare system. Policymakers used this data to argue that making preventive services widely accessible would lead to a healthier population and, ultimately, to cost savings.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), an independent panel of experts in prevention and evidence-based medicine, played a key role by identifying services with proven efficacy. The ACA’s preventive care mandate requires insurance companies to…