Health Policy making in The United States, 5th Edition

Answer

Question 3

In political markets, demanders include individuals, organizations and interest groups. They are motivated by economic advantage and pursuit of health for those they care about and themselves. Interest groups are people with similar goals (Longest, 2010). They have the advantage of greater power and combined resources. Organization has the advantages of pooled resources and can more effectively utilize time and money. Individual consumers are limited by money and time. In political markets the cost/benefit relationship is not as clear as in economic markets. The demanders in apolitical market look for policies that satisfy them. Suppliers of include elected officials, executives and bureaucrats and judiciary. They are motivated by either public or private interests.  Self interests include reelection while public interest is concerned with the well being of the masses.

Question 4

The effectiveness of demanders especially organizations and interest groups to exercise influence in the policy environment, depends on having a basis for their influence and knowing where and when to focus their efforts (Longest, 2010). Power is the basis of influence. It is the potential to exert influence. By virtue of their existence and recognition as legitimate participants in the market place for policies, groups and organizations have the potential to exert influence. They can be able to make policy makers listen and can reward or punish actions by the policy makers. However, this ability depends on the amount of influence an entity has. In addition, an entity must also concentrate its effort on a specific objective to be effective. They choose policies that are strategically important to them and seek to influence relevant policy makers in the government.

Question 5

When the outcome of a decision is important to interest groups, they try to influence it. Litigation enables interest groups to exert great influence on policy making through influencing the rules, regulations and administrative practices which guide how public statute or rules are implemented. Rules and regulations are established to implement laws and are authoritative decisions. Rules give guidelines on how to implement laws (Longest, 2010). Laws are often vague and leave the interpretation to the implementing organization.  Rules created to implement health related public laws often target members of interest groups. Because of this, the interest groups always seek to influence rule making to try and sway it in their favor. Since different interest groups have different amount of influence, the one with the greatest influence will more likely have the rules their way.

Question 6

Policy analysis provides ways to be used in assessing the policy options recommending the course of action in achieving the desired goals (Longest, 2010). The policy can also be analyzed and compared to existing policies with the aim of modifying it. It is a process aimed at comparing different policy alternative with existing ones. Analysis provides a way to identify the strengths, weaknesses and areas that require improvement. It takes into consideration costs, benefits and political implication especially since different groups and interest groups can either decide to oppose or approve a policy which can have far reaching effects.  ACA established a federal agency known as the Centre for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (Longest, 2010).. Its mandate was to analyze the payment and service delivery models for Medicare, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Question 7

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website provides the summary of the Privacy Rule. It was drafted to implement the requirement of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). It determines who will have access to personal information and how that information can be used. It prevents covered health providers from providing information that can be used to identify an individual.  It also ensures security of the information and prevents unauthorized modification and access. In essence it ensures safety of the information in computers. Privacy is part of the basic human right. If information meant TO BE private is made available to unauthorized person like an employer or friend, it can cause stigma, embarrassment or discrimination depending on its content. Assurance of privacy encourages people to give accurate information about their health to concerned parties.

Question 8

Salat: the Muslim prayer (2005), states that Muslims pray five times a pray; before sunrise,   midday,    the late part of the afternoon, just after sunset and between sunset and midnight. Considering that working hours are between 8.00A.M to 5.00PM, the first and the last two the employee will be at home.  The employee will be given a forty minute lunch break to both pray and take lunch. In the afternoon he will have a ten minute break that coincides with the time of the prayer. Instead of fifteen minute break in the morning, he will have a ten minute break. Despite the differences, he will have had the same one hour total break like the rest of the employees. The place for the prayer will be any available and private space.

Question 9

Every policy enacted   affects different groups differently. Depending on the policy, groups can then either push for modification to reduce or eliminate the negative consequence of a policy or advocate for modifications that increase or protect the benefits a policy accords them (Longest, 2010). The most preferred method to enact changes especially by the power elite is incrementalism. It aims at slowly changing existing policies in ways that do not greatly affect people. Ligation, influencing public opinion and lobbying are some of the methods used to influence legislation that affects them.  An example is the incremental policies in national institutes of health which has occurred in over 130 years. However, crises can cause deviation from incrementalism. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 made provisions for $10billion to be infused once into the NIH budget. 

Question 10

The process of policy making is divided into formulation, implementation and evaluation stages (Longest, 2010). In all these phases, interest groups, individuals, organizations and elected officials have impact. In the formulation stage, ideas, information and research are collected from relevant sources. They identify the issue, purpose and desired outcome, strategies to be used and planning and identifying the needed resources. During implementation stage the information on the adopted policy is broken down and put into action. The final stage involves evaluation and modification of the process in relation to changing situations. Since those with the most influence have the largest impact in the process regardless of their intentions or effect of the policy, an independent group that disseminates and gives the long and short term effect of all these policies as their pass through the stage should be created.