Question
Your primary goal is to compose a compelling presentation that convinces other students to vote for the HEALTHCARE topic area. The presentation should be about 15 minutes long.
The following questions must be answered in the paper:
1) Why would this topic area be a great one to write a policy memo on?
2)Would it be easy?
3) Is it interesting? Is it particularly topical right now?
4) Are there many sources available?
5) Does it affect New Jersey in a particular way?
6) Why is it important?
7) An analysis of why and how this topic area is particularly relevant today both nationally but also to the state of New Jersey?
8)Why you think that writing a policy memo on this topic area would be a rewarding experience for all students.
The presentation grade will be graded on the following criteria:
1)Professional quality of the presentation.
2)Was the presentation practiced and thought out?
3)Did you make logical and effective transitions between agruments?
4) Was the use of audio-visual aids effective and professionally done?
5)Did the presentation make effective use of the time allotted?
6)Did you bring in and adequately source additional materials that expand on the Dye chapter
7)Did you make a compelling argument for choosing the broad HEALTHCARE topic area?
A broad outline of the Healthcare topic area is available in the Thomas Dye Book “Understanding Public Policy”. Please use at least an additional [4] outside scholarly sources.
Answer
Name of student:
Course name:
Class name:
Date assignment due:
Contents
Why would this topic area be a great one to write a policy memo on?. 3
Would it be easy to write a memo on this area?. 3
Is it interesting? Is it particularly topical right now?. 4
Are there many sources available?. 4
Health care professional shortages need to be addressed with immediate effect from a policy-change point of view. The shortage presents many challenges to the development of this country. Many aspects of public health policy need to be addressed and advocated for. However, without sufficient professional workforce in the health sector, it is not possible for policy changes to be jumpstarted. These professionals always play a critical role in giving a sense of directions to all public health policies. They do this by providing all the required information from a professional point of view.
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Access to public health information is at the heart of any public policy initiative. This is the easiest way of influencing the progress of the advocacy process. Support from everyone is needed in order for this policy to see the light of day and reach the legislative level where the public will have a chance to scrutinize its contents.
Today, many diseases that are proving to be a challenge to entire communities such as obesity seem to be getting out of control not because of lack of curative measures, but rather due to lack of enough health personnel to ensure that the best medications are taken and that proper follow-ups are made.
Why would this topic area be a great one to write a policy memo on?
Increase in number of healthcare professionals is an important area to concentrate on, being a topical issue that the federal government has tried to come up with a policy on at different times this year. Special emphasis needs to be put on the roles played by Health Plan Employer Data Information Set (HEDIS) together with National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) in setting the right professional standards regarding the number of health care specialists needed in a population that continues to change all the time.
Would it be easy to write a memo on this area?
Inadequacy of healthcare professionals is a rather tricky issue and one that requires a multifaceted approach in order to be properly implemented well. However, with the right theoretical framework being put in place, advocating for policy changes promises to be an interesting thing to do. In this case, an incrementalist decision making processes would be the best approaches to take in order to write convincing memos relating to the policy implementation process.
Incrementalism involves carrying out an exhaustive analysis of all the costs as well as benefits that come with all conceivable options that can be used to deal with a problem. This process, though expensive and time-consuming, is the best bet at arriving at an amicable policy solution in the health sector. It is ideal for use by federal policymakers who have the expertise to seriously examine all the variables that make up the existing problem before corrective measures are proposed.
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When corrective measures are finally proposed, they have to involve minimal changes to the existing procedures and policies instead of constituting radical innovations. In other words, changes are made at the margin only. This approach is necessary in a sector such as health, which is very sensitive in that radical public policy changes might endanger the lives of many people.
Is it interesting? Is it particularly topical right now?
Today, many people all over the country are concerned about the state of health system. Any positive policy changes would be timely and welcome. Conversely, any policy debate on the best approach to use to handle the challenges brought about by inadequate medical practitioners would be welcome in both the mainstream media and in political forums.
Are there many sources available?
There are many available sources of information available from both scholarly journals and policy debates both at the national as well as among stakeholders in the health sector within Jersey. At the federal level, logistical information would be very helpful to policymakers who have to make critical decisions all the time while operating on tight budgets. Access to information on health care policy matters, notes Howlett, is never a problem; conceptualizing this information for the benefit of all stakeholders is the greatest challenge. This is where the incrementalist approach should come in (106).
Dye proposes many analytical models for implementing public policy (24). One of these approaches is the incrementalist, which, as Dye notes, can be use either in isolation or in combination with other analytical models in order to generate specific public policies that target different key domestic issues in a unified manner.
Through Dye’s analyses of the incrementalist approach to public health care policy, it is easier for everyone to understand the policies that pursue, their weaknesses, why they continue to pursue them regardless of these weaknesses, their consequences, and available alternatives (64).
An analysis of why and how this topic area is particularly relevant today both nationally but also to the state of New Jersey
Healthcare, owing to their sensitive nature, require careful planning. In New Jersey, for instance, there have been many attempts to change health care policies in order to ensure that every citizen has access to affordable health care. The New Jersey Commission on Legal and Ethical Problems in the Delivery of Health Care, through its taskforce relating to Public and Professional Education, notes Birkland, highlights lack of enough health care experts as one of the greatest problems that this sector faces (241).
However, focus by The New Jersey Commission on Legal and Ethical Problems in the Delivery of Health Care to focus on legal issues relating to health care, notes Birkland, seems more or less like a misplaced priority since the underlying problem is that of inadequate medical experts as well as lack of enough funds for provision of medical services (242).
Writing a policy memo on this area would be an exciting and rewarding area for students for many reasons. First, health care issues touch on very weighty matters involving life and death. Secondly, it is an inalienable right of every New Jersey citizen to get affordable healthcare services. For public policy students with interest in political theory, focusing on this area leads to exposure to different theoretical approaches that have been used in different scenarios by the U.S government.
The practical aspect of making a presentation on this policy issue is what many students will find very rewarding. The scenarios used are based on real-life problems that call for practical, objective solutions. Additionally, an analysis of problems affecting the health sector would have positive implications not only for New Jersey citizens but also for everyone in the country. For policymakers, it would be interesting to note to analyze the point of intersection between public policy and political theory.
Works Cited
Birkland, Thomas. An Introduction To The Policy Process: Theories, Concepts, And Models, Massachussets: M.E. Sharpe, 2005.
Dye, Thomas. Understanding Public Policy (12th Edition) New York: Prentice Hall 2007.
Goodin, Robert . Political Theory and Public Policy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1982.