HEALTH CARE POLICY - Research Paper Example

The biggest blow on cost due to this legislative bill may be on small businesses such as restaurants and bars, in which the profits may reduce. In addition, smoking bill lowers the market value of the hospitality industry whereby owners would opt to transfer their businesses to other parts of the country without the ban. When it comes to benefits of this bill, empirical studies reveal a 17% fall on acute coronary problems and heart attacks, exemplified by Scotland after smoking was banned in public spaces (Pakko, 2006).

Moreover, the studies suggest that smoking bans do not cause adverse economic effects on restaurants and bans, but rather studies suggest that they improve profitability of the hospitality industry (Pakko, 2006). Finally, ban on smoking would help the healthcare budget, as well as lessen risks of chronic diseases including COPD and heart disease, and obstructive lung diseases. Analyzing cost containment with regard to this bill, it is evident that costs related to chronic diseases would go down.

As such $90 million of healthcare costs could be saved from a smoking ban on public paces nationwide. In addition, there will be a reduction in hospitalization at an estimated number of 18,600 hear patients. Consequently, health costs will also likely reduce by $16 million as reported by a study, within the first one year of a smoking ban implementation (Pakko, 2006). Thus, the smoking ban is meant to reduce the state healthcare costs such as Medicaid. Chronic diseases such as cancers, heart disease and lung related diseases among others put great demand on health resources.

Furthermore, chronic diseases and fatal illness requires maximum and high intensity medical care, and all these have cost implications on healthcare budget (McConnachie & Sutton, 2004). As a result, much of the healthcare budget is allocated to care and management of these diseases. Healthcare equity requires that the distribution of health care based funds reflects the existing burden of a particular disease(s). A ban on smoking bill if enacted would lead to decline in chronic diseases associated with smoking such as lung related diseases; as a result, it would ease on the healthcare budget.

The money that would otherwise be used for management of such diseases will be allocated to other critical areas of healthcare. A smoking ban would impact positively on the administrative resources because much of the funds allocated to diseases associated with smoking are likely to be directed somewhere else. Enacting the legislative bill would also influence healthcare delivery by releasing a burden on the healthcare providers who have to manage cancer patients and other suffering from smoke related illnesses (Daniels, 1995).

Similarly, legal cases related to smoking will drastically reduce. In the past, tobacco producing companies have had to compensate people billions of dollars to settle cases related to health effects of smoking. However, a ban on smoking would also impact the economy negatively because it is one of the major sources of tax for the government. The move to enact a smoking ban bill would see many individuals discontinue their smoking habits, and eventually overcome tobacco addiction. As such, nurses will assume the role of assisting such