GRADING RUBRIC MUST BE FOLLOWED

Create a 1–3-page infographic addressing the state and federal regulatory climate surrounding a specific health care policy.

Questions to Consider:

• How have broader societal and intellectual trends shaped developments in health law?
• What kinds of recent trends suggest an erosion of state governing capacity? Are they for the better or the worse?
• What is the definition of value-based health care?
• What is the difference between moral, traditional, and individual political subcultures when it comes to health care policy development?
• Should the federal government or the states take the lead in health care policy?
  • Which health system values support your choice?

Scenario

Your role in this assessment is that of an intern who has been hired to work on a health care policy initiative. Your supervisor has asked you to prepare an infographic that will be used to inform new hires and volunteers about the health care policy stage related to the mission, vision, values, and goals of the organization.

The research you do to gather the information for this infographic is also intended to ensure you understand the connection between the existing health care policy stage and why this organization is interested in spending valuable resources on lobbying for a change to a health care policy.

Note: You are encouraged to select a health care issue that compliments your professional career interests and goals.

Overview and Preparation

In order to complete this assessment, you must understand the functions of special interest groups in the health policymaking process and be familiar with how the groups use power to influence the political process.

Step One: Familiarize Yourself With the General Health Care Policy Stage

Use the Capella University Library, the Policy and Legislative Resources (found in the Resources), and your own Internet searches to learn how health policies get on the agenda, and what kind of information is needed to influence policy change.

Step Two: Select a Health Care Policy Issue

Once you have established a clear understanding of the health care policy stage in general, identify a specific health issue and survey the existing literature related to the following:

• Identify the important players and influencers on the national, state, local, and global stage related to your selected health care policy issue.
• Identify 2–3 special interest groups you think might have the most influence for your issue.

Step Three: Select a Special Interest Group Advocate Organization

Visit the 2–3 key organizations’ Web sites and locate their stated organizational mission, vision, and values, and find examples of public health care initiatives they support.

Narrow your choice to one specific group, and from this point forward, your selected organization will be the focus of this assessment.

• Examine the political action structure of your selected special interest group.
• Locate policy statements and initiatives that have significance to the organization from a national, state, local, and global perspective. You will use this information to create the infographic.

Step Four: Analyze Alignment to Mission, Vision, and Values

Analyze how your chosen health care policy issue aligns with the organization’s stated values and goals. Identify 2–3 health system values that are most often reflected (or implied) in their online statements and public health care initiatives. Use the health system values listed below.

• Equality.
• Efficiency.
• Freedom.
• Solidarity.
• Fairness.
• Acquisition of wealth.

Health Care Policy Stage Infographic

Create a 1–3-page infographic addressing the state and federal regulatory climate related to a health care policy and issue that aligns with a specific organization’s mission, vision, values, and goals. At the end of the infographic, provide a reference list citing your sources using APA style and formatting.

• The purpose of this infographic is to inform new hires and volunteers about the health care policy stage related to the mission, vision, values, and goals of the organization.
• Use the Internet to become familiar with typical examples of health care infographics. Refer to the suggested resources listed in this assessment.

Resources:

Special Interests and Health Policy Making

This article describes some of the key ingredients likely to affect public members’ ability to deliberate productively with professionals and influence collective health care choices, using an evaluation of public involvement.

• Boivin, A., Lehoux, P., Burgers, J., & Grol, R. (2014). What are the key ingredients for effective public involvement in health care improvement and policy decisions? A randomized trial process evaluation. Milbank Quarterly, 92(2), 319–350.

This article discusses the failed efforts by politicians to expand health care coverage and the involvement of different stakeholders.

• Giaimo, S. (2014). Chapter 26: Interest groups, think tanks, and health care policy (1960s–present). In T. R. Oliver (Ed.), Guide to U.S. health and health care policy (pp. 375–392). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

The Political Process

This article describes a unique program in Kansas that brings state legislators together to work collaboratively toward advancing policies to improve health care in their state.

• Blacksher, E., Maree, G., Schrandt, S., Soderquist, C., Steffensmeier, T., & St. Peter, R. (2015). Health policy, ethics, and the Kansas Legislative Health Academy. American Journal of Public Health, 105(3), 485–489.

This is a viewpoint on the nurse’s role in the legislative process in health care.

• Fuchs, J. (2014). The legislative process. AAACN Viewpoint, 36(1), 14–15.

This is a very helpful video describing the overview of the legislative process.

• U.S. Library of Congress. (2013). Congress.gov: Overview of the legislative process [Video]. Retrieved from

This is an informational website that describes the process of state and local governments and how they work and what authorities that have and do not have.

• USHistory.org. (2016). State and local governments. Retrieved from http://ushistory.org/gov/12.asp

Infographics

This is a great website from APHA that provides graphics of many areas of health, including issues that affect health, such as climate change.

• American Public Health Association. (2016). Infographics. Retrieved from https://www.apha.org/news-and-media/multimedia/inf…

Many global health infographics are available at this site with data and fact sheets.

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016). Global health infographics. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/infographics/defa…

Suggested Resources for Further Exploration

You may use the following optional resources to further explore topics related to competencies.

This article discusses the process of defining value and the principles of brining value to patient care.

• Jain, S. H. (2016). 6 habits of high-value health care organizations. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/sachinjain/2016/04/13…

This website has many topic areas associated with the Healthy People 2020 objectives, including measurements and data. This may be helpful in defining a certain disease or preventive measure to help address policy.

• Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (2016). 2020 topics and objectives. Healthy People 2020. Retrieved from https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectiv…

These iTunes free downloads provide podcasts and interviews that cover a wide range of health care issues.

• Health Affairs. (2016). Conversations. Retrieved from https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/health-affairs…

From the website, “This handbook is designed as a resource for providing up-to-date and practical guidance on national health planning and strategizing for health. It establishes a set of best practices to support strategic plans for health and represents the wealth of experience accumulated by WHO on national health policies, strategies and plans (NHPSPs).”

• World Health Organization. (2016). Strategizing national health in the 21st century: A handbook. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/healthsystems/publications/nhps…

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.

• Lusting, S. L. (2012). Advocacy strategies for health and mental health professionals: From patients to policies. New York, NY: Springer.
• CARE International. (n.d.). Southern voices advocacy toolkit. Retrieved from http://careclimatechange.org/toolkits/advocacytool…
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2015). CDC policy process. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/policy/analysis/process/index….
• American Hospital Association. (n.d.). Advocacy issues. Retrieved from https://www.aha.org/aha-search?search_api_fulltext…
• American Public Health Association. (n.d.). Advocacy for public health. Retrieved from https://www.apha.org/policies-and-advocacy/advocac…
• SOPHE. (n.d.). Advocating for public health. Retrieved from https://www.sophe.org/advocacy/

Policy Evaluation

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

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016). Practical evaluation using the CDC evaluation framework—A webinar series for asthma and other public health programs. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/asthma/program_eval/evaluation…

American Government – History

• USHistory.org. (n.d.). How a bill becomes a law. Retrieved from http://www.ushistory.org/gov/6e.asp
• Anonymous. (1993). How a bill becomes a law. Transportation & Distribution, 34(9), 54. [Note: You must be logged into the Capella courseroom to access this reading via the Capella University Library.]
• USHistory.org. (n.d.). Policy making: Political interactions. Retrieved from http://www.ushistory.org/gov/11.asp
• University of Virginia Miller Center. (n.d.). U.S. presidents. Retrieved from http://millercenter.org/president
• University of Texas Austin. (n.d.). Congress. Retrieved from http://www.laits.utexas.edu/gov310/CO/index.html

Government Resources – General

• U.S. Library of Congress. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/
• United States Copyright Office. (2016). Podcasts. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/podcasts/

Health Care Research, Data and Statistics

• American Public Health Association. (n.d.). State fact sheets. Retrieved from https://www.apha.org/policies-and-advocacy/advocac…
• American Hospital Association. (n.d.). Research and trends. Retrieved from http://www.aha.org/research/index.shtml
• Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (n.d.). National health expenditure data. Retrieved from https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-S…
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). National Center for Health Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/
• U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. (n.d.). Databases, tables & calculators by subject. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/data/

Laws and Regulations

• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Laws & regulations. Retrieved from http://www.hhs.gov/regulations/index.html
• Social Security. (2010). Patient protection and affordable care act of 2010. Retrieved from https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/comp2/F111-148.html
• National Conference of State Legislators. (2016). Tracking state laws for health care transformations, 2015–2016. Retrieved from http://www.ncsl.org/research/health/health-innovat…

Lobbying

• CBS News (Producer). (2011). Jack Abramoff: The lobbyist’s playbook [Video]. Retrieved from
• Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum. (1975). Regulation of lobbying [PDF]. Retrieved from https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/document…
• The National Institute for Lobbying and Ethics. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://lobbyinginstitute.com/
• National Conference of State Legislatures. (n.d.). Lobbyist regulation. Retrieved from http://www.ncsl.org/research/ethics/lobbyist-regul…

Policy Statements

• American College of Healthcare Executives. (n.d.). ACHE’s policy statements. Retrieved from https://www.ache.org/policy/policy.cfm
• American Medical Association (n.d.). PolicyFinder. Retrieved from https://policysearch.ama-assn.org/policyfinder
• American Nurses Association. (n.d.). ANA official position statements. Retrieved from https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/nursi…
• American Public Health Association. (n.d.). Policy statement database. Retrieved from https://www.apha.org/policies-and-advocacy/public-…