...The Policy Process: Formulation, Legislation and Implementation HCS/455 24 November, 2014 The Policy Process: Formulation, Legislation and Implementation In order to first start a policy process, the problem for which a policy is to be created must be identified and the policy holding a solution to the problem. Researchers and stakeholders will investigate the problem to identify if the policy will reach the policy making agenda. Policies must be to improve society’s health and wellbeing. In the United States (U.S.) public health related issues that require a formulation of a new policy and come from local, state, or federal legislations which ruling govern the provision of health care services and regulations. In this paper the stages in which a topic becomes a policy will be discussed. Objective of Policy For many, it is a scary thought to go to a hospital. This is because of fear of contracting an infectious disease while at the hospital. The disease could be contracted from the waiting room or from improper procedures from staff members. When a patient enters a hospital, that person could have a serious illness and that illness could potentially be highly contagious. The Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) is put in place from the federal government as an advisory committee to provide guidance on the processes for infection control. The primary activity of the Committee is to provide advice on periodic updating of...
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...The Policy Process: Part I HCS/455 In the United States, Veteran’s health care at an economical rate is a continuous debate. It is warranted that the health care should improve at a constant rate to uphold the health needs of veterans, new and old. Government has the veterans association (VA) and with all the help it has available for veterans there are still times when that care is not enough. There are so many individuals that are without health care because of one reason for another and it leaves many injured and hurt veterans without the care they need and deserve. Better access to health for veterans, men and women is important since many new problems such as PTSD have become better understood and need more focus and to be better addressed. (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2007). Policies are evaluated to enhance the health care system. Steps are closely followed to ensure successful policy implementation. Three major phases, namely formulation stage, legislative stage, and the implementation stage, are positioned to enhance the policy on care and assistance for health care policies with the VA. (va.gov, 2014). Formulation phase encompasses evaluating ideas, concepts, proposals, solutions, and researching data prior to policy process. Legislative phase aims to help health care organizations in policy process. Policy is presented before legislators and health care agency then must negotiate execution and any possible modifications may occur at this point (Williams-Crowe &...
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...The Policy Process: Part 1 HCS 455 January 13, 2014 The Policy Process: Part I – Health Care Reform Policies are considered and reviewed on a daily basis with intentions of solving problems and improving quality of life. The policies that are implemented in order to improve the health care system for Americans have an affect on every individual person. With this being said, it is especially essential that all policies are carefully contemplated before they are actually implemented. This paper will address how topics become policies. This will include three stages, which consist of the formulation stage, the legislative stage, and the implementation stage. There are several stages that a policy must go through before it can be established. These steps are essential to the process and need to be efficiently followed through throughout the policy process in order to be certain the the policy will in fact solve the problem that is at hand as well as be able to improve the quality of life for all citizens. The stages included in the establishment of a policy include: agenda building, formulation, adoption, implementation, evaluation, and termination. There are many situations that represent the economic need that America has for an improvement in health care as well as the introduction of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which is also known as the Health Care Reform. Before the country was able to experience the benefits of this policy, going through...
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...Medicare Policy Process The health care, policy-making process is composed of three major stages; the formulation stage, legislative stage, and the implementation stage. The policy process refers to the specific decisions and events that are required for a policy to be proposed, considered, and finally either implemented and/or set aside. It is an interactive process with multiple points of access providing opportunities to influence the multiple decision makers involved at each stage (Abood, 2007). Each stage presents a unique set of events for a policy to be proposed, considered, and either implemented or rejected. In the formulation stage there is an input of ideas, information, and research from government officials, citizens, and special interest groups. The issue is framed and the purpose and outcome is defined. Finally strategies are chosen and the necessary resources are identified. In the legislative stage the policy must be discussed by congress, agreed on and signed into law. In the implementation stage the policy is put into effect, human resources and funding are allocated. After a new policy is implemented, advocates, opponents, or other “interested parties” begin to consider the consequences of the decision and its implementation (Cockrel, 2007). Abood (2007), “The overall health care system, including the public and private sectors, and the political forces that affect that system are shaped by the health care, policy-making process” (The Policy Process and...
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...The Policy Process University of Phoenix The Policy Process The policy process is an ongoing event according to Kronenfeld (1997). When a policy is formulated there are two major parts; agenda setting and development of legislation. After these stages then the implementation stage begins. The way issues emerge can bring public awareness to a situation, such as the need for healthcare reform in the United States and eliminating the uninsured population. This paper will discuss and define the various stages of the policy process required to address this issue and will include the formulation stage, legislative stage and the implementation stage. Policy formulation begins with problems, possible solutions and political circumstances (Kingdon, 2009). Identifying problems and agenda setting is the first step in the policy formulation process. The problem in this scenario is that 46 million Americans are without health insurance in the United States (Census Bureau, 2008). With the number of uninsured American’s, policy formulation is critical; issues need to be straightforward, who is involved in the process, and what needs to be done has to be clearly defined in order for policy to be considered at this stage (Fafard, 2008). The Institute of Medicine reported that between 2000 and 2006, 137,000 American’s died due to lack of health insurance (Dorn, 2008); this number includes 22,000 alone in 2006. This is evidence enough for health reform to be on a political agenda for policy...
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...HIV/AIDS Policy Process Sheila Zinnerman HCS/455 Health Care Policy: The Past and the Future University of Phoenix, Augusta Campus June 9th, 2011 Sharon E. Reed. MA, MPA HIV/AIDS Policy Process Part I The Offices of HIV/AIDS Policy spear-headed by the president of the United States promotes health and human services policies concerning implementation and development of HIV/AIDS policy, programs and resources. This paper will describe the first three stages of the policy process. The stages of interest here are the formulation, legislative and implementation stages. The goal of the HIV/AIDS Policy is to engage individuals, schools, organizations, and communities for the fight against HIV/AIDS. The policy’s objective is to change people’s attitudes about those living with HIV and those who are most at-risk for the disease (OHAP, 2010). In order to attain these goals unified groups and agencies are needed to form a policy. The Formulation Stage During this stage of the policy process information from institutional and national research programs are gathered from reports, research projects, resource flows like human resources and development patterns, medical research councils, and ministries whose activities affect the health of people. Within this stage long and short term goals are stated considering future of health scenarios and relative research needs. Policy guidelines specifying priority topics and themes are formulated. Listed below are eight other factors...
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...Healthcare reform advocates are undoubtedly relieved to have successfully facilitated a historical legislative process - the culmination of which resulted in President Barack Obama passing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), a federal statute which, in tandem with the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (HCERA) of 2010, formed the Health Care Reform Act of 2010. This dual set of reforms jointly address many of the undesirable issues that have transpired within the United States health care system, such as offering citizens a cost-effective broad choice of Insurance coverage, bringing skyrocketing healthcare costs under control, making Medicare more efficient, and enacting consumer protection laws which will hold insurance companies accountable for the prevalent discriminatory actions which have pervaded the system (Obama, 2009). However, HCERA opponents will continue to utilize legislative protocol to upend the policy. As with any perceived discrepancy in the legislative process, opponents of HCERA are outraged that the “Democratic leadership’s decision to “ram through” reform using budget reconciliation to modify the Senate-passed bill sufficiently to make it acceptable to the House” (Aaron & Reischauer, 2010). As much as “outrage” may have no legitimate place in policy-making, high emotions will nonetheless negatively affect future debate. The level of vitriol from the opposition to health care reform reached unprecedented heights, with people...
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...Health Care Spending Policy Health care spending continues to rapidly rise in our nation and shows no means of slowing down in the near future. Health care in our nation is labeled as a crisis because the cost of care is steadily outpacing the economy which puts a burden on families, businesses, and the public. The cost of care is rising at a rate that will exceed the average income and cause devastating effects on the public because of the inability to afford care. This issue brings tremendous stress to families that are working to survive in our nation and have to worry if they are financially able to afford care if needed. The health care expenditure data for our nation must be examined to identify where we can safely provide cuts to the cost while continuing to provide quality care. An important aspect of cutting costs is identifying how the public pays for the services they receive and the percent of total expenditures they represent. Health care spending is a crisis in our nation and steps must be taken to alleviate this issue. The future must also be considered because health care is an important aspect of any country. A forecast of the future economic needs of our health care system is important to identify because this issue will not go away if we do not take action. Our nation must work together to establish a more efficient and effective health care system. Initiating effective policies are the way to address the growing concerns of healthcare spending. ...
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...Process of Budgetary Policy Dilan Tharaka Senevirathne Process of Budgetary Policy The national budget is the most important statement that any government has to make. Far from being a mere compilation of income and expenditure, it is the blueprint for a nation’s socioeconomic policies for each financial year. It defines in concrete terms the direction of national policy, the plan of action and the cost implications of government programmers and projects. This process mainly involves five stages. Those five stages are, 1) Agenda setting. 2) Policy Formulation. 3) Policy Adoption. 4) Policy Implementation. 5) Policy Evaluation. Agenda Setting Under this, public attention focuses on a public problem or issue. Then the issue will get the attention of relevant authorities. The main issues raised by people during this few years were mainly Poverty, Unavailability of electricity and clean water, quality roads. Irrigation system for lands in the dry zone, better schools, hospital facilities, housing, sanitation and environmental preservation. In order to address these issues the government needs a policy which is directed towards giving proper solutions. Under this phase the government realized the areas that need attention and according to that they formulate the policy. For an example if lack of proper education in remote areas was raised as a problem...
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...adopted into the business strategy as organisations were unwilling to accept or change their ways. Their focus was on economic growth for the company. However researchers such as Hezberg, Maslow and Lewin revealed that employee performance was influenced by their social and emotional needs and their desire for interesting work. This is when the shift began for companies to not only focus on economic growth, but to satisfy the needs of their employees in order to improve performance and productivity which will bring greater success to the company. Human resource management has a number of key policy areas including recruitment and selection, job analysis and design, workforce planning, performance management, training and development and career planning. It is through these policies that we can understand the concept of strategic human resource management (SHRM). SHRM explicitly links these policies, practices and systems to enable the achievements of an organisations strategy and goals. In my understanding, SHRM represents an attempt to methodically manage employees in a proactive manner with a clear view to the future as well as the present. The main principles that tie this definition together include; organisational strategy, visions of the organisation, organisational culture, ensuring employees have the relevant skills, abilities and attitudes, viewing employees as an investment and not a cost and evaluating and assessing HR practices. These...
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...governance is the high quality of law - made by the state. The quality of the legislative process is influenced by many conditions and operationalization of the policy cycle process, as those implementing new law orders. Because of the fact that the entire political process is complex, the stages in the policy cycle can become quite blurred (Burke et al. 2012, p.2). One of the inalienable characteristics of this process is the accountability, clarity and participation in the implementation process. Transparency can be achieved through the establishment of clear procedures and strong leadership where people making individual decisions are those who work on a policy drafts...
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...POLICY AND PEACEBUILDING FINAL PAPER University of Notre Dame THE LAND QUESTION AND DISPLACMENT IN KENYA: SUPPORT FOR EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL LAND POLICY By William Kiptoo EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In 2010 Kenya enacted the National Land Policy following the promulgation of the new through the referendum. This was achieved through many years of consultation between the government and stakeholders of the land sector, mainly civil society organizations. The need for land reform was also identified by the Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation as key to long-term peace and reconciliation. The policy aims to address Kenya’s land tenure problems that have caused political violence during elections and mass displacements of the local population due to unresolved land grievances. Internal displacement and land problems in Kenya are a product of the colonial legacy, where the land policy favored the white settlers against the African natives. After independence successive governments inherited these policies and land became political tool to rewards loyalties further creating divisions and discontent. A myriads of land-related conflicts followed pitting communities against each other as political elites continue to benefits. The inability of the government of Kenya to adequately address the land question has implied that the basic needs of significant proportion of the Kenyan population are not met. The basis of the new law is address the root causes of...
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...Policy Making and Policy Implementation Public policy refers to the actions taken by government — its decisions that are intended to solve problems and improve the quality of life for its citizens. At the federal level, public policies are enacted to regulate industry and business, to protect citizens at home and abroad, to aid state and city governments and people such as the poor through funding programs, and to encourage social goals. A policy established and carried out by the government goes through several stages from inception to conclusion. These are agenda building, formulation, adoption, implementation, evaluation, and termination. 1. Agenda building Before a policy can be created, a problem must exist that is called to the attention of the government. Illegal immigration, for example, has been going on for many years, but it was not until the 1990s that enough people considered it such a serious problem that it required increased government action. Another example is crime. American society tolerates a certain level of crime; however, when crime rises dramatically or is perceived to be rising dramatically, it becomes an issue for policymakers to address. Specific events can place a problem on the agenda. The flooding of a town near a river raises the question of whether homes should be allowed to be built in a floodplain. New legislation on combating terrorism (the USA Patriot Act, for example) was a response to the attacks...
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...to facilitate Serbia's path towards full membership in the European Union. Following the process of Serbia's joining European Union, the Center for Democracy in September 2008, began with the realization of the project "Implementation of EU values, policies and standards in the local community." European values, policies and standards in the local community The project is designed in accordance with the current status of Serbia in the process of Euro-integration. The ratification of the Stabilization and Association Agreement Serbia has pledged to implement comprehensive reforms through harmonization of national legislation with the EU acquits. "Action Plan for the harmonization of the laws of the Republic of Serbia with the EU in 2007" provides for the first stage of harmonization, which implies changes and the adoption of 44 laws, which are mainly related to the field of food safety, environmental protection and consumer protection. The new laws provide for the adoption of European standards, which are largely different from the existing standards in Serbia. All these innovations will be necessary to implement at all levels, and their most direct impact will be seen at the local level by improving the quality of life of citizens. The project aims to better understand the process of European integration, as well as the efficient implementation of European values, policies and standards, which concern primarily the protection of consumers,...
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...Health care policy goals toward the society are delivery and financing of health care services. Health policy generally clarifies the movements occupied by governments---local, state, and national---to improve the society's health. It is a policy that stays focus more on discussing the health needs on majority of the population. The United States of America is the foremost spender on health care than any other country on earth (policy almanac, 2010). For a number of years, health care expenditures grew at a far more rapid rate than the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), using majority of the country‘s capitals. The cost of health care and the determination to control the intensification in spending is a major conflict. The upsurge in cost and spending of health care affects many policies as well as the consumer, physicians, government, children, and senior citizens. The focal focus is based on the first three phases of how the procedure works with Medicare/SCHIP. Policies are dynamic. There are three interconnected phases of health care policy making: the formulation stage, legislative stage, and implementation stage. These three important organized stages occur in the process in order to convert a topic such as Medicaid, into a policy. To begin, the formulation stage is a planning cycle by stating a theory. It is the main and frequently most challenging stage in obtaining proper decision methods. The obligation of this stage is to set priorities, set objectives and goals, define...
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