Assignment: Agenda Comparison Grid and Fact Sheet or Talking Points Brief
It may seem to you that healthcare has been a national topic of debate among political leaders for as long as you can remember.
Healthcare has been a policy item and a topic of debate not only in recent times but as far back as the administration of the second U.S. president, John Adams. In 1798, Adams signed legislation requiring that 20 cents per month of a sailor’s paycheck be set aside for covering their medical bills. This represented the first major piece of U.S. healthcare legislation, and the topic of healthcare has been woven into presidential agendas and political debate ever since.
As a healthcare professional, you may be called upon to provide expertise, guidance and/or opinions on healthcare matters as they are debated for inclusion into new policy. You may also be involved in planning new organizational policy and responses to changes in legislation. For all of these reasons you should be prepared to speak to national healthcare issues making the news.
In this Assignment, you will analyze recent presidential healthcare agendas. You will also prepare a fact sheet to communicate the importance of a healthcare issue and the impact on this issue of recent or proposed policy.
To Prepare:
Review the agenda priorities of the last three U.S. presidential administrations.
Select an issue related to healthcare that was addressed by each of the last three U.S. presidential administrations.
Reflect on the focus of their respective agendas, including the allocation of financial resources for addressing the healthcare issue you selected.
Consider how you would communicate the importance of a healthcare issue to a legislator/policymaker or a member of their staff for inclusion on an agenda.
The Assignment: (2- to 3-page Comparison Grid and 1-page Fact Sheet)
Part 1: Agenda Comparison Grid
Based on the presidential administrations you are comparing, complete the Agenda Comparison Grid. Be sure to address the following:
Identify and provide a brief description of the healthcare issue you selected.
Identify which administrative agency would most likely be responsible for helping you address the healthcare issue you selected.
How does the healthcare issue get on the agenda and how does it stay there?
Who was the entrepreneur/champion/sponsor of the healthcare issue you selected?
Part 2: Fact Sheet or Talking Points Brief
Based on your Agenda Comparison Grid for the healthcare issue you selected, develop a 1-page Fact Sheet or Talking Points Brief that you could use to communicate with a policymaker/legislator or a member of their staff for this healthcare issue. Be sure to address the following:
Summarize why this healthcare issue is important and should be included in the agenda for legislation.
Justify the role of the nurse in agenda setting for healthcare issues.
By Day 7 of Week 1
Submit a draft of Part 1 to the Discussion Board
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Agenda Comparison Grid
Healthcare Issue This analysis focuses on national healthcare insurance within the US and the positions adopted by successive presidential administrations of Johnson, Obama and Trump
Description The issue of insurance in the healthcare market has been a matter for debate over the years as different government regimes attempt to ensure medical coverage for citizens. This analysis focuses on Affordable Care Act which was enacted by the administration of president Obama in the year 2010 as the basis for effective medical insurance for the vulnerable members of the American population. Moreover, an assessment of Medicare and Medicaid of 1965 will also be undertaken.
Administration (President Name) Barack Obama Donald Trump Lyndon Johnson
Describe the administrative agenda focus related to this issue This administration introduced the Affordable Care Act of 2010. This statute became effective in 2014 and it marked a fundamental departure from the 1965 enactments of Medicare and Medicaid in the US (Pipes, 2010). The main agenda under the Affordable Care Act was to expand the scope of coverage under the national healthcare insurance by including the previously marginalized members of the society. The intention of the enactment was to lower the cost of healthcare delivery while improving the quality of services rendered to the general public. The initiative under Obamacare is currently implemented through a structured system of service delivery enhancement.
The focus of this administration is to lower the perceived burden on the citizens which was introduced by the enactment of the Affordable Care Act of 2010. Under this, the prevailing agenda aims towards imposing a limit on the pricing of certain drugs which have led to the rise in cost of healthcare insurance in the country since the Affordable Care Act became effective in 2014. This presidential administration primarily sought to expand the protection for citizens by passing laws which offered national health insurance. Principally, the passage of Medicare and Medicaid plans of 1965 served to expand the scope of protection for the elderly members of the society (Pipes, 2010). The enactment of the Social Security Act Amendments of 1965 created the plans of Medicare and Medicaid which catered for the health needs of US citizens who are above the age of 65 years.
Allocation of financial and other resources to this issue
The Affordable Care Act increased the rate of subsidy offered for premiums under employer-based insurance plan for the vulnerable groups such as the youthful members of the US population (Pipes, 2010). The enactment of other supporting laws assured citizens of subsidized premiums as they paid for the national healthcare plans.
The Trump Administration has offered subsidies to the manufacturers of prescriptive drugs within the healthcare industry as the basis for lowering the cost of national healthcare insurance within the US. The subsidized program allocated funds to pay the medical bills for elderly citizens who are above the age of 65 years and to cater for the amount payable to the medical doctors.
Notes on Administration’s approach to the issue
The Obama administration approached the subject of national healthcare insurance through positive initiatives which received overwhelming support from the congress and a better fraction of the civilian population (Peden, 2016). The approach was also effective because the administration sought to address the issue of medical insurance during its first term in office. As a basis for lowering the cost of national healthcare insurance in the United States, the Trump Administration has offered subsidies to manufacturers of prescription drugs in the healthcare industry. The subsidized program provided funds to pay medical bills for elderly citizens over the age of 65, as well as to cover the amount owed to medical doctors.
Notes on the Administration’s stance on the issue
The Obama administration approached national healthcare insurance through positive initiatives that received overwhelming support from Congress and a larger proportion of the civilian population (Peden, 2016). The strategy was also successful because the administration attempted to address the issue of medical insurance during its first term in office.
The Trump administration has demonstrated its inability to independently tackle the gaps which still exist in national healthcare insurance. Instead, the efforts by the administration to lower the cost of prescriptive medication have reduced the effectiveness of the Affordable Care Act as originally intended by the drafter of the statute. The Johnson Administration adopted a positive approach towards offering health insurance to the elderly members of the American society who are vulnerable.
General Notes/Comments
This administration did well by enacting the Affordable Care Act to seal the gaps in protection of all members of the society through subsidized healthcare. Trump administration should focus on adopting new laws to bolster the effectiveness of the Affordable Care Act in its implementation. The enactment of the Social Security Act Amendments which introduced Medicare and Medicaid helped in offering national healthcare insurance or the elderly hence a progressive agenda (Peden, 2016).
Which administrative agency would most likely be responsible for helping you address the healthcare issue you selected?
-The congress which is in-charge of passing laws relating to national healthcare insurance
How does the healthcare issue get on the agenda and how does it stay there?
-This would happen through lobbying for introduction of a congressional bill into the floor of the house by a member before debate and enactment.
Who was the entrepreneur/champion/sponsor of the healthcare issue you selected?
-The sponsor of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 was Representative Charles Rangel. The bill was championed and campaign for by President Barack Obama.
FACTS SHEET
The issues relevant to the discussion on national healthcare insurance include the following:
a) whether the current laws on healthcare insurance are adequate in addressing the existing gaps;
b) whether there are measures which the current government regime could adopt to make healthcare insurance more accessible to all classes of the American society; and, if so,
c) whether what the Trump administration is doing in repealing the Affordable care Act is a positive step in addressing the problems of national healthcare insurance in the US.
Notably, the issue of national healthcare insurance is important in ensuring good living standards for citizens hence the need for enactment of laws which bolster the implementation of the Affordable care Act of 2010 (Cowen & Moorhead, 2014). This is important for legislative enactment because such a measure will make healthcare affordable to all the classes of the society such as the youthful members. This position expands the gap under the Social Security Act Amendments of 1965 which introduced Medicare and Medicaid to capture other classes within the society (Cowen & Moorhead, 2014). The nurses are important in agenda setting in healthcare issues in the sense that this category of healthcare workers understands the intricacies of problems which patients experience on a daily basis hence the usefulness of their perspective in healthcare matters.
References
Cowen, P. S., & Moorhead, S. (2014). Current Issues In Nursing- E-Book. Mosby.
Pipes, S. (2010). The truth about Obamacare. Washington, DC: Regnery Pub.
Peden, A. H. (2016). Comparative health information management. Australia: Delmar.
