According to whitehouse.

gov website, the Affordable Care Act can protect

people from abusive practices through a new patients bill of rights. This new
healthcare law reform the existing healthcare system: 1) insurance companies now
cannot deny people who have a pre-existing condition such as asthma and diabetes;
In Hawaii, up to 560,000 people with preexisting condition, including up to 69,000
can benefit from this healthcare law 2) people who have chronic illnesses are no
need to worry about reached a dollar limit imposed by their insurance company;
462,000 Hawaiians will no longer have to worry about annual limits 3) insurance
companies cannot deny coverage when people make mistake in their applications.
Also, the Affordable Care Act supports Medicare by increasing benefits such as;
paying lower cost for prescription drugs; receiving free preventive services (flu
shot, diabetes screenings, and annual wellness visit). Under the healthcare law, the
center for Medicare and Medicaid innovation is established to reduce costs and
improve quality of health care. This whitehouse.gov states that 90,000 uninsured
Hawaiians will have new health insurance options through Medicaid or private
health plan (whitehouse.gov).
According to Hawaii.gov, the Hawaii Health Connector, which is the establishment of
health insurance exchanges or online marketplaces created by the Affordable
Care Act, assist individuals and employers purchase health plans through the
website; provide information regarding health insurance plan to shop and compare;
administer the health insurance premium assistance tax credits. For example, small
businesses can get a Small Business Tax Credit when they have fewer than 25
employees. In order to receive these premium assistance programs, health plans
should be purchased through the Hawaii Health Connector. Another information
that is unique to Hawaii is that the 1974 Hawaii Prepaid Health Care Ate still applies
even after the passage of the Affordable Care Act. Because of that, business
employer in Hawaii can continue to select health plans to provide employees and
purchase directly from insurers and licensed brokers or agents (Hawaii.gov).
The Institute on Medicine (IOM) states that nurses are poised to function as
principal participants for achieving the goals of the 2010 Patient protection and
Affordable Care Act (as cited in Dykema Sprayberry, 2014, p61). Dykema
Sprayberry (2014) states that the Affordable Care Act transforms American health
care. The proposed changes in nursing under this new law including: practice
environments, nursing education, scope-of-practice laws, reimbursement practices,
and role expectations. According to Dykema Sprayberry (2014), safety goals and
quality initiatives outlined by the Affordable Care Act can impact on nurses,
especially direct-care nurses because services from hospital direct-care nurses are
related to achieving quality standards. The author argues that nursing is targeted
for reform so nurses must be informed fully about transforming healthcare system,
economic realities of health care, and adequate resources to meet growing
responsibilities (Dykema Sprayberry, 2014).
I believe that nurses have an important role to play in the implementation of health
insurance exchanges. For example, nurses should inform the patients about new

changes of healthcare plans as patients educators and advocators. In order to help

the patients, nurses need to consider following facts regarding the Affordable Care
Act: 1) what are the main changes 2) how these exchanges will work 3) how it can
benefit to patient 4) available resources that are reliable to educate the patient.
References
Dykema Sprayberry, L. (2014). Transformation of America's Health Care System:
Implications for Professional Direct-Care Nurses. MEDSURG Nursing, 23(1), 61-66.
Hawaii.gov. Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. (2013). Insurance.
Retrieved from October 5, 2014. http://cca.hawaii.gov/ins/affordable-care-act-inhawaii/affordable-care-act-overview/
The White House President Barack Obama. (n.d.). Health Care that Works for
Americans. http://www.whitehouse.gov/healthreform/healthcare-overview#access