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Evaluation Template for Healthcare Programs/Policies
- Program or Policy Evaluation Selected: “The Affordable Care Act (ACA)”
- Describe the outcomes of the program or policy: In 2010, the Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare, became law with the intention to reduce healthcare costs and increase healthcare access. The ACA’s key outcomes include increasing the number of insured individuals, improving the quality of healthcare services, and reducing the growth of healthcare costs.
- What was the method used to measure the success or failure of the policy? The success of ACA could be measured by several methods, such as:
- Number of people who have health insurance. The number of people who signed up for private and public insurance was used to measure this.
- Quality of health care services provided to individuals. The quality of healthcare services received by individuals is measured using patient satisfaction surveys, and analysis of patient outcomes.
- This is measured by tracking changes in health care spending and premiums over time. It was calculated by tracking the changes in premiums and healthcare expenditure over time.
- How many people have been reached by the selected program or policy? The ACA is estimated to have provided health coverage for over 20 million people.
- What was the impact of your chosen program? The ACA has had a major impact on healthcare in the United States. Over 20 million people were insured, while the healthcare system improved in many cases. The growth in healthcare costs has also slowed down, but not as much as the policymakers had expected.
- When was a program evaluation or policy evaluated? Since its inception, the ACA’s implementation has been regularly evaluated. Evaluations are conducted annually as well at milestones.
- Which data sources were used in the evaluation of the policy or program? To evaluate the ACA we used data from a variety of sources including:
- Statistics on the health insurance enrollees from public and private insurance plans.
- Patient satisfaction surveys.
- Data from different sources on the healthcare expenditure and usage.
- Was there any specific data on the unintended effects? Unintended consequences have been found for the ACA, including:
- Some individuals will pay more for healthcare, especially if they do not get subsidies.
- For some people, the choice of providers is limited. This applies to those with narrow-network plans.
- Administrative burdens on healthcare providers are increasing, especially for those that have to deal with complex reporting and regulatory requirements.
- How did you identify the key stakeholders in the evaluation process? Who will benefit the most from results and reports of program or policies evaluations? Please be specific with examples. Included in the list of stakeholders identified for the ACA evaluation are:
- Patients and healthcare consumers. Patients and consumers of healthcare would gain from the findings of any program or policy evaluation, as they will be able to better understand the impact the Affordable Care Act has on their ability to access quality health care services.
- Hospitals and doctors are healthcare providers. The results of any program evaluation or report would help them to better understand the impact the ACA has on their financial and practice performance.
- Insurance companies and payers. Insurance companies and other payors would gain from the evaluation results by gaining a greater understanding of how the ACA impacts their risk and financial exposure.
- Officials, such as elected officials and regulatory agencies. Results and reports of program and policy evaluations would be beneficial to policymakers and elected officials, as well as regulators.
- Does the policy or program meet its original objectives and intent? What is the reason for this?