Health Policy Initiative Agenda

/in /by

GRADING RUBRIC MUST BE FOLLOWED

Evaluate a current or upcoming change to a health care policy. Based on your evaluation, create a 3–5-page executive summary recommending a health care policy change initiative to add to an organization’s lobbying agenda.

Questions to Consider:

  • What is the definition of value-based health care?
  • What are the trade-offs a health care organization must face when weighing different health care system values such as equality, efficiency, freedom, solidarity, fairness, and acquisition of wealth?
  • What are the reasons a health issue has received attention and support?
  • Who were the key supporters and/or interest groups?
  • What is the role of research and the impact of possible solutions, political circumstances, and problem definition on the legislative agenda?

Scenario

Continuing your role as an intern for your selected organization, as a relative newcomer to the group, your work supervisor is interested in your observations and insights regarding the group’s advocacy position and the effectiveness of its political process to take on a new health care policy initiative.

You will present your case to your supervisor in the form of an executive summary that is intended to convince senior leadership to financially support a health policy change initiative.

Include the following elements in your executive summary:

  • The health policy focus.
  • Value proposition.
  • The supporting evidence.
  • Proposed solutions.

Preparation

Use the Capella University Library, the Policy and Legislative Resources (found in Resources), and the Internet to ensure you are familiar with the structure, strategies, and resources related to health care policy development. Once you are comfortable with the resources available, identify a specific health care policy important to the organization that is in need of change.

Health Policy Analysis

Organize Your Ideas

Note: Executive summaries do not spring fully formed from anyone’s mind. If there is ever a time to be reminded about the need for developing habits and practices of a skilled writer, it is when you are tasked with creating a concise executive summary. The most effective way to synthesize your research, impressions, and ideas is to break your task down to smaller, workable steps.

Each of the following sections should be “pre-written” so that you can look at them a second time and then summarize each section for your final deliverable.

The Health Policy Focus
  • Describe a health care policy issue where one or more changes in a specific health care policy are needed.
  • Identify the driving forces behind why the policy should be changed.
  • Explain who the proposal would impact and how retaining the status quo has a negative impact on this population.
Value Proposition
  • Describe why the special interest group should support this proposal and how changing the policy would serve to advance the mission, vision, values, and goals of the organization.
Supporting Evidence
  • Describe the provisions of the current law the proposal would change or, if no law exists, explain and analyze the problems this causes. Cite your sources.
  • Determine the strategic impact of the health policy issue (enacted or possible), projecting the strategic influence on population health and impact on the health industry over the next 3–5 years and beyond, and future needs for the policy. Support your determination with authoritative sources.
Proposed Solutions

Suggest improvements to the community health and national health care policy identified:

  • Outline a specific vision for the change and how the change would impact those affected.
  • Describe the legislative process to accomplish the change.
  • Cite studies supporting the proposed action.

Executive Summary

Create a 3–5-page executive summary of your analysis. Your summary should challenge the status quo by comparing the existing policy to an ideal vision. Your summary must contain the following elements:

  • A description of the problems and how the health policy change initiative would resolve them.
  • Summary of the evidence that supports the reasons the organization should fund a health policy change initiative.
  • A recommendation for a strategy to deliver the message or vision for change to those affected. Include methods for influencing the legislative process to achieve change.

Resources:

  • Longest, B. B., Jr. (2016). Health policymaking in the United States (6th ed.). Chicago, IL: Health Administration Press. Available from the Bookstore.
    • Chapter 2, “The Process of Health Policymaking,” pages 83–102.
    • Chapter 5, “Policy Formulation: Agenda Setting,” pages 135–160.
Executive Summaries and Business Writing

These resources may be helpful in understanding the elements involved in writing a good executive summary for your policy statement.

Additional Resources for Further Exploration

The following optional resources explore examples of health policy initiatives.

Leading Health Initiatives
Health Care Initiative Examples

Policy and Legislative Development Resources

These links may be helpful in setting the framework for personal research expected of MHA-FP5032 learners. A number of the links in this document are “bookmarked” by professionals in the field of policy development as “go to” resources used repeatedly on the job.

Advocacy Strategies

These readings provide information in how to advocate for health policy, and the policy process.

Policy Evaluation

This website from the CDC provides information on the evaluation process using the CDC framework.

American Government – History
Government Resources – General
Health Care Research, Data and Statistics
Laws and Regulations
Lobbying
Policy Statements

"Our Prices Start at $11.99. As Our First Client, Use Coupon Code GET15 to claim 15% Discount This Month!!":

Get started