Second Opinion: How can we make progress on access?

Care availability remains the cornerstone of most decision-making in healthcare. So what can be done to expand services?

How do you believe the industry has moved the needle on improving access in recent years?

April Kapu: Access to care continues to be a huge challenge across the country. According to Health Resources and Services Administration data, more than 90 million Americans lack access to primary care. And that’s just primary care. Nurse practitioners are helping to fill the gap, with over 90% of NPs educated and trained to provide primary care. … Many are working in rural areas.

Jeanette Thornton: Heading into the COVID-19 pandemic, there were a lot of fears around people losing coverage. And those really didn’t bear out. From our perspective, we’re actually looking at a quite strong state of coverage and relatively low uninsured rates compared with what we’ve seen in the past. … Employer-provided coverage, the bedrock of coverage in this country, remains quite strong.

What are some policy issues you would like to see addressed in the coming year?

Kapu: Full practice authority for nurse practitioners is on the legislative agenda in a lot more states. Arizona is a great example of what can be achieved. Five years after going to full practice authority, the state saw the NP workforce double, with a 70% increase in NPs in rural areas. In Congress, the bipartisan Improving Care and Access to Nurses (I CAN) Act has some really important components related to access.

Thornton: We have laid out an initiative called “Healthier People Through Healthier Markets.” We call it our competition agenda, for which we’ll really be advocating in 2023. It addresses a number of issues that directly impact affordability, such as hospital consolidation, hospital contract terms that aren’t friendly to competition, dialysis costs and others. We’ve also seen interest from policymakers in looking at hospital pricing in the new Congress.

Equity issues also affect access. What are some of your organization’s efforts related to addressing inequities?

Kapu: Health equity is a core philosophical principle of nursing care. We see the healthcare disparities out there, and it’s so important that everyone should have access to care. That’s why you’re seeing NPs working in all settings and underserved areas. In terms of patient populations, mental health is a big area of concern. More than 158 million Americans lack access to mental health services.

Thornton: Our plans take this issue extremely seriously. They have been creating programs related to the social determinants of heath, as well as increasing efforts to make sure supplemental benefits are available under Medicare Advantage to assist members—such as support for healthy food, transportation, dental or vision care, hearing aids and similar needs. Health plans have also partnered with providers across the country on these issues.

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