Abstract
Within the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 or healthcare reform is a relatively small provision about concurrent curative care that significantly affects terminally ill children. Effective on March 23, 2010, terminally ill children, who are enrolled in a Medicaid or state Children's Health Insurance Plans hospice benefit, may concurrently receive curative care related to their terminal health condition. The purpose of this article was to conduct a policy analysis of the concurrent curative care legislation by examining the intended goals of the policy to improve access to care and enhance quality of end-of-life care for terminally ill children. In addition, the policy analysis explored the political feasibility of implementing concurrent curative care at the state level. Based on this policy analysis, the federal policy of concurrent curative care for children would generally achieve its intended goals. However, important policy omissions focus attention on the need for further federal end-of-life care legislation for children. These findings have implications nurses.