NR 503 Week 8 Discussion Paper

NR 503 Week 8 Discussion Paper

The Overview of the State Policy

On October 8^th, 2021, the California Governor approved Senate bill 221, titled health coverage: timely access to care. Senator Scott D. Weiner sponsored the bill alongside five cosponsors and coauthors, including Connie M. Leyva, Sydney Kamlager, Josh Newman, Marie Waldron, and Dr. Joaquin Arambula (California Legislative Information, 2021). The legislature focuses on various declarations regarding enhancing access to quality care and treatment for people with mental health and substance use disorders. Secondly, it emphasized closing loopholes in existing laws and regulations that result in failures to provide enrollees follow-up appointments with nonphysician providers of health and substance use disorder services.

Thirdly, the bill amended section 1367.03 of the Health and Safety Code to include various provisions. For instance, the amended section 1367.03 of the Health and Safety Code requires a healthcare service plan that provides and arranges the provision of covered healthcare services promptly, consistent with good professional practice. Care plans for mental health services should establish and maintain provider networks, policies, procedures, and quality assurance monitoring systems to comply with clinical standards (California Legislative Information, 2021). Other provisions captured by the bill include the need to ensure enough contracted providers to maintain care standards, the arrangement of 24/7 triage or screening by telephone, and follow-up appointments with nonphysician mental health care or substance use disorder providers.

Finally, the bill requires a plan, including a Medi-Cal Managed care plan to arrange coverage outside the plan’s contracted network to address shortages of providers, ensure timely access to care, and meet geographical standards. These provisions are consistent with the need to improve access to quality care for people with mental health or substance use disorders.

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Critical Analysis Summary of the Policy

Senate bill 221 reflects on the state government’s commitment to addressing the restraining factors and issues that compromise access to quality and timely care for people with mental health or substance use disorders. For instance, the bill requires healthcare professionals to develop care plans that establish and maintain provider networks, policies, procedures, and quality assurance monitoring systems that comply with clinical standards (California Legislative Information, 2021). Also, the bill provides the need to arrange telephone triage and follow-up plans with nonphysician mental health or substance use disorder professionals.

Another essential provision of this legislature is the determination to arrange care coverage outside the contracted networks to address provider shortages, improve access to care in geographically constrained areas, and enhance care utilization. These approaches strengthen the advocacy role of healthcare providers, address social determinants of health that affect care access, affordability, and utilization, and call for consistent compliance with ethical and professional standards when providing care to people with mental health or substance use disorders.

Advocacy in nursing entails empowering at-risk populations, safeguarding patient autonomy, and improving care quality to ensure patient safety. According to Nsiah et al. (2017), nurses can advocate for patients by challenging the traditional healthcare power structures, promoting patients’ rights and interests, and championing social justice. In the context of people with mental health or substance use disorders, championing social justice entails addressing unfavorable social determinants of health that compromise care access, affordability, and utilization. Deferio et al. (2019) contend that low income, unemployment, unfavorable neighborhood conditions, poor housing, child abuse and neglect, and poverty are social determinants of health that contribute to inequalities and disparities in mental health. As a result, working collectively by forming networks, developing effective care plans, and addressing geographical constraints, as well as provider shortages, can intercept the effects of these social determinants of health.

Finally, the bill is strict on complying with appropriate clinical standards, including ethical and professional obligations when developing care plans for mental health or substance use disorders. According to Haddad & Geiger (2022), the American Nurses Association (ANA) code of ethics for nurses requires nurse practitioners to practice with compassion and respect for the inherent dignity of every person, show commitment to patients, promote, advocate for, and protect the rights, health, and safety of the patient, and collaborate with other professionals and the community to protect human rights, promote health diplomacy, and reduce health disparities. By implementing Senate bill 221, mental health or substance use disorders providers can reduce health inequalities, safeguard people’s health and safety, and promote social justice consistent with ANA’s ethical codes for nurses.

References

California Legislative Information. (2021, November 10). Bill text – SB-221 health care coverage: Timely access to care. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB221

Deferio, J. J., Breitinger, S., Khullar, D., Sheth, A., & Pathak, J. (2019). Social determinants of health in mental health care and research: A case for greater inclusion. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 26(8-9), 895–899. https://doi.org/10.1093/jamia/ocz049

Haddad, L. M., & Geiger, R. A. (2022, August 22). Nursing ethical considerations. StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526054/

Nsiah, C., Siakwa, M., & Ninnoni, J. P. K. (2019). Registered nurses’ description of patient advocacy in the clinical setting. Nursing Open, 6(3). https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.307

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Assignment Requirements

Go to your state government web page. Find one health policy enacted within the last two (2) years at the state level. Write down the bill number and the sponsors of the bill and include this information in your initial post.
Write a minimum of a one-page critical analysis summary of the policy. (250 words double spaced, APA). Your summary should integrate the concepts of advocacy, population health, and the ANA ethical statements (“The Code”), and course readings, to include a minimum of one course scholarly article (provided within the course). Be sure to speak to the role of advocacy and population health.

Respond to a minimum of two (2) peers/faculty posts with one (1) paragraph of 4-5 sentences integrating one scholarly source utilized in an in-text citation/APA.
Kaiser: Beyond Health Care: The Role of Social Determinants in Promoting Health and Health Equity.