Author Question: Which of the following best describes how hospitals initially coped when Medicare reimbursement ... (Read 43 times)

tiffannnnyyyyyy · **on:** Jul 8, 2018

Which of the following best describes how hospitals initially coped when Medicare reimbursement became based on diagnosis-related groups (DRGs)?

a. Charged more for patients whose care was paid by insurance
b. Decreased nursing staff to cut labor costs
c. Lobbied politicians to increase Medicare reimbursement to reflect actual costs
d. Refused to accept Medicare patients

Question 2

A nurse suggests to the students that they attend the local district nurses' association meeting, where the nurse is an officer. Which of the following provides the best rationale for this action?

a. Meeting outside the clinical area allows for more effective informal learning based on discussion and interaction.
b. Role models are typically the major influence on nurses choosing to become politically active.
c. Students are often given extra credit from their instructor for such community involvement.
d. Such groups want students to attend their meetings to encourage them to join and to accept a committee responsibility.

joechoochoy · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 8, 2018

Answer to Question 1

ANS: A
Hospitals developed cost shifting to supplement losses caused by Medicare funding. Because private insurance reimbursements were cost based, hospitals included the loss in their total costs; therefore private insurance paid for covering care to both their enrollees and Medicare patients. The implementation of DRGs did not cause hospitals to decrease nursing staff, lobby politicians to increase Medicare reimbursement, or refuse to accept Medicare patients.

Answer to Question 2

ANS: B
Professional groups do not usually accept students into membership (especially since many students may want a different specialty practice). Nurses most often identify positive role models as the major influence that assisted them to become politically active. Therefore, mentorship at the student level up to the expert level is important. Providing extra credit should not be the motivator for students to learn from these role models. The learning that occurs is a formal learning process related to learning more about political advocacy and something that is difficult to demonstrate in a classroom environment.