Topic Selection will be uploaded. NYS laws and policies should be used to complete this assignment Overview Your final paper should demonstrate an integrated understanding of the effects of public policy development, political institutions and processes, interest groups, and other relevant aspects of the United States’ political system on a health care issue chosen for study. Clearly identify a health care issue and describe why it is important to the health care system and to the general public. Identify the specific change in policy you recommend. The topic chosen should be directly affected by the political system – perhaps a government policy, program, regulation, funding system, or other governmental activity. Your topic should be related to health policy and politics. It should not be a technical or clinical problem to be solved by technical or clinical means, or a managerial problem to be solved by an improvement in management methods. Research and Interviews Research You may have to obtain and review the relevant state or federal statutes. You should also review the professional and academic literature for information. Interviews You should interview at least one of the following types of individuals:
A member of a state trade or professional association (preferably their lobbyist) with an interest consistent with yours A member of an organization or interest group whose interests are adverse to yours A state or federal legislator, preferably one on a committee that would deal with your issue, or if that is not possible, then your local legislator (even better would be to interview two legislators with opposing views) A state or federal regulatory (executive branch) official whose responsibility includes oversight or regulation related to the issue If it is not feasible to interview any of these types of people, identify another type of individual to interview and provide details on what interests are at stake or what information is available from their source, and explain your choice. Analysis In studying your topic, you should reflect on the issues we covered in this course, including, but not limited to,the following:
The history of this particular issue, and what has occurred or why you believe it is time to move it onto the political agenda Who the significant players are, either in the government, interest groups, or elsewhere, and what their involvement is What the roles of the three branches of government are with regard to the issue What two alternative courses of action government can take on the issue, and what the advantages and disadvantages of each are Strategy Assimilate the factors from your analysis, the materials from the lecture notes and readings, your research and interviews, and insights gathered from your personal experiences to outline a strategy you would engage in to accomplish the policy change you want. You should make use of course readings in analyzing these questions.
