This assignment will prepare you to be involved in changing policies by creating an objective policy brief. A policy brief is a concise summary of a particular issue, the policy options to deal with it, and some recommendations on the best option. This assignment has two parts, both of which should be submitted through the assignment portal by the due date and time.
What is a policy brief?
A short document presented to decision-makers providing the most essential information about a policy and presenting specific and detailed recommendations to improve a specific policy. It should be both informative and persuasive.
What assumptions should be made about your readers?
Your readers are policy-makers who may need to make a decision about the policy. Assume the policy-makers do not have detailed knowledge about the policy. Assume that the policy-makers are busy, and need to quickly understand your arguments.
Your readers do not necessarily share your opinion on the policy, on the policy problem, or even your values. Thus, language that assumes your readers share your worldview should be avoided.
General Requirements:
Use the following information to ensure successful completion of the assignment:
- Everything about a policy brief should be designed with the reader (a policy decision-maker) in mind. The format should be professional, and it should look and be easy to read. Consider using bold or italicized fonts, bullets to identify a list, single or multiple column formats, etc.
- Use specific headings to tell your story, to communicate your take-home message, and to entice your audience to read further.
- No APA cover page, nor running heads, are needed.
- All arguments and recommendations should be evidence-based. Relevant evidence (statistics, research findings about the impact of your policy, etc.) and citations must be usedto justify your policy analyses and your recommendations.
- All words, ideas, data, graphics, etc. that you have learned or gotten from other sources must be citedusing either in-text citations or footnotes. All citations must include the author’s name(s) and year, and you must include a complete reference list consistent with APA requirements at the end of your brief.
- This assignment requires that at least two additional scholarly research sources related to this topic, and at least one in-text citation from each source be included.
- This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
- Turnitin will be used to evaluate this assignment.
Directions:
Part One: (2 single-spaced pages)
Write a policy brief regarding an issue relevant to health policy of approximately 2 single-spaced pages. You need to make sure to address and discuss all points necessary to educate and persuade your policymaker readers, but should be mindful to avoid any extraneous language or information not directly relevant to your analysis.
Include the following:
- Executive summary
- Introduction
- Approaches and results
- Conclusion
- Implications and recommendations
- Graphics and tables may be included as appropriate
- ***include $$ considerations
Part Two: (1 single-spaced page)
- Locate the contact information for a state, local, or federal official for your area.
- Locate information regarding the official’s stance on the issue you discuss in your policy brief.
- Write an official a letter that explains your position and offers suggestions on how the official should move forward with the agenda from your policy brief. Include the brief as an attachment. (1 single-spaced page)
| Healthcare Policy Brief Rubric | |||||
| Criteria | Ratings | Pts | |||
| This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Part One: Policy Brief
Required Elements: **Graphics and tables may be included as appropriate |
|
50 pts | |||
| This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Part Two: Letter/Email
1. State, local, or federal official for student’s area chosen. |
|
35 pts | |||
| This criterion is linked to a Learning Outcome Formatting/Grammar & Punctuation
Formatted using APA as described in the assignment. |
|
15 pts | |||
| Total Points: 100 | |||||
Healthcare Policy Brief Assignment
Student’s Name:
Part 1
Executive Summary
The National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report (QDR) indicates that there are inequalities in healthcare access among Americans. Variabilities in health care access among Americans are classified on the basis of ethnicity, age, gender, race, socio-economic status, disability status, and residential location among other factors (AHRQ, 2021). According to the 2016 QDR data, health disparities are widely observed among elderly Americans with chronic illnesses. A substantial number of elderly Americans from poor families lack sufficient health insurance and this is preventing them from accessing quality health care (AHRQ, 2018). The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality uses four primary indicators to measure access to health care. They include “having health insurance, having a usual source of care, encountering difficulties when seeking care, and receiving care as soon as wanted (AHRQ, 2018).” A policy that aims to improve healthcare access for elderly Americans will help to improve their health outcomes thereby enabling them to attain good quality of life. Three policy options that can be considered include: providing elderly Americans with adequate health insurance together with a monthly cash subsidy; providing elderly Americans with adequate health insurance alone without a monthly cash subsidy; providing elderly Americans with a monthly cash subsidy without adequate health insurance.
Introduction
- Limited healthcare access among elderly Americans is attributed to;
- Lack of adequate health insurance
- Lack of finances to pay medical bills and meet the high costs of living (AHRQ, 2018).
- The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities recently reported a gap in Medicaid coverage for the elderly stating that a good percentage of older adults still remain underinsured under the Medicaid program (Lukens, 2021).
- For the elderly in Nursing Homes, Medicaid only covers about 60% of their hospitalization costs. It is important to note that not all patients in nursing homes are receiving equal Medicaid benefits. Rather, the benefits vary according to a person’s residential location, actual age, and marital status. The age for older adults starts at 65 years (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 2020).
- Elderly Americans living in poverty and without adequate health insurance have negative health outcomes and poor quality of life, especially those with chronic conditions (Garnett et al., 2018).
Approaches/Resolutions and Results
Main Resolution: Provide elderly Americans with adequate health insurance together with a monthly cash subsidy of $100.
Results
Positive
- Increased access to quality health care
- Availability of cash to buy other basic needs such as food and clothing
- Improved health outcomes
- Improved overall quality of life
Negative
- High implementation costs
Alternative Resolution 1: Provide elderly Americans with adequate health insurance alone without a monthly cash subsidy.
Results
Positive
- Increased access to quality health care
- Improved health outcomes
- Slight improvement in overall quality of life
Negative
- Costly to implement
- Lack of cash to buy other basic needs such as food and clothing
- High readmission rates due to the lack of basic necessities such as good food that are necessary for improved overall quality of life
Alternative Resolution 2: Provide elderly Americans with a monthly cash subsidy of $100 but no adequate health insurance.
Results
Positive
- Reduced access to quality health care
- Only those who are able to plan properly with the subsidy will be able to use it to pay medical bills
- Slight improvement in overall quality of life for those who are able to pay medical bills
Negative
- Costly to implement
- Improved health outcomes are not guaranteed
- Lack of cash to buy other basic needs such as food and clothing
- High readmission rates due to the lack of basic necessities such as good food that are necessary for improved overall quality of life
Implications and Recommendations
The proposed solution has both financial and health-related implications that policy-makers should consider when making the final decision in relation to the issue. The two elements of the proposed policy are; the provision of adequate health insurance and a monthly cash subsidy for the elderly. The financial implication of a healthcare policy that captures these components is that it will relieve the elderly of the economic burden caused by huge healthcare costs as well as that caused by high costs of living (Joynt et al., 2019). According to Joynt et al. (2019), policymakers should consider creating affordable health policies that will not only reduce healthcare expenditures but that will also reduce the number of underinsured and uninsured, increase access to health care services, improve the quality of health care received by populations, improve the overall quality of life, and address disparities. For such a policy to be considered, the target population must maintain that repeatedly that it is important to them (Joynt et al., 2019). The health-related implications of the policy in improved patient outcomes due to increased access to quality health care. Additionally, the fact that the elderly will also have the cash to buy food and clothing means that they will have an improvement in the overall quality of life.
However, it is important to note that a policy that only considers either of the two components of the policy will not generate maximum benefits for elderly Americans. For example, a policy that only provides elderly Americans with health insurance without a monthly cash subsidy will only address issues related to healthcare access. Besides, a policy that only provides elderly Americans with a monthly cash subsidy without health insurance will only address the high cost of living (Joynt et al., 2019). Therefore, the best recommendation is to create a policy that will compel the government to provide elderly Americans with health insurance together with a monthly cash subsidy.
Financial Considerations
It is important to make appropriate financial considerations when making a decision to implement the proposed policy or not. The rise in the size of the elderly population has huge financial impacts on the health insurance costs incurred by the national government (Price, 2021). For instance, the current insurance provisions for the elderly under Medicaid alone are costing the government about 1,100 United States dollars on average in monthly premiums as shown in figure 1 below. The proposed policy, when considered, will increase the current monthly expenditures by approximately 500 United States dollars. However, the proposed policy is justified because it will not only reduce healthcare and living expenditures but will also reduce the number of underinsured and uninsured older adults, increase access to health care services, improve the quality of health care received by the elderly, improve their overall quality of life, and address disparities (Joynt et al., 2019). Additionally, there will be reduced readmission rates associated with the lack of basic necessities such as good food that are necessary for improved overall quality of life for the elderly.
Figure 1: Effects of Age on the Costs of Health Insurance
Conclusion
- The underlying issue that can best be addressed through policy is inadequate health insurance and lack of finances to meet the high costs of living among elderly Americans.
- The main resolution to consider: A health policy that will provide elderly Americans with adequate health insurance together with a monthly cash subsidy of $100.
- Alternative resolution 1: A health policy that will provide elderly Americans with a monthly cash subsidy of $100 but no adequate health insurance.
- Alternative resolution 2: A health policy that will provide elderly Americans with a monthly cash subsidy of $100 but no adequate health insurance.
- The best recommendation: A health policy that will provide elderly Americans with adequate health insurance together with a monthly cash subsidy of $100.
- Implications of the chosen recommendation: The chosen policy will not only reduce healthcare and living expenditures for the elderly but it will also reduce the number of underinsured and uninsured older adults, increase access to health care services, improve the quality of health care received by the elderly, improve their overall quality of life, and address disparities for the elderly.
Part 2
Registered Nurse XXX State,
Email address:
Date: 20th November, 2021.
Senator XXXX,
XXXX State Republican Party Office,
Address:
RE: PROVIDING ADEQUATE HEALTH INSURANCE AND A MONTHLY CASH SUBSIDY FOR THE ELDERLY
Dear Senator XXX,
I am a registered nurse licensed to practice in XXX state. My role as a nurse entails providing care to patients and families as well as participating in advocacy to support the creation of health policies that are aimed at improving health outcomes (Milstead & Short, 2019). The underlying issue that can best be addressed through policy is inadequate health insurance and lack of finances to meet the high costs of living among elderly Americans (AHRQ, 2018). I am addressing this letter to you owing to your stance regarding the need to provide adequate health insurance coverage and reduce the cost of living for the elderly.
Inadequate health insurance and high costs of living among the poor elderly Americans are contributing to reduced healthcare access, negative health outcomes, and poor quality of life. A good percentage of elderly Americans are still underinsured under the Medicaid program (Lukens (2021). The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (2020) further asserts that Medicaid only covers about 60% of health care costs for elderly Americans, which is still not enough to meet their healthcare costs. According to Garnett et al. (2018), elderly Americans living in poverty and with inadequate health insurance have negative health outcomes and poor quality of life, especially those with chronic conditions.
As a legislator, I believe you can help me push for the creation of a health policy that will relieve elderly Americans of the huge healthcare costs and high cost of living. My position regarding the issue is for the lawmakers to pass a bill that will compel the federal government to provide elderly Americans with adequate health insurance together with a monthly cash subsidy of $100. The rationale for the proposed policy is that it will not only reduce healthcare and living expenditures for the elderly but it will also reduce the number of underinsured and uninsured older adults, increase access to health care services, improve the quality of health care received by the elderly, improve their overall quality of life, and address disparities for the elderly (Joynt et al., 2019). I am, therefore, asking that you create a bill related to my recommendation and convince your colleagues in the House to pass it so that there can be a policy in place that will ensure that elderly Americans have adequate health insurance and a monthly cash subsidy of $100 to meet the high costs of living. I have included the policy brief as an attachment to this email for your review. I look forward to a positive response from you on this matter. Thank you in advance for considering my request.
Yours faithfully,
Registered Nurse XXXX, XXXX State.
References
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). (2018). 2016 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report: Access and Disparities in Access to Health Care. https://www.ahrq.gov/research/findings/nhqrdr/nhqdr16/access.html
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). (2021). 2019 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report. https://www.ahrq.gov/research/findings/nhqrdr/nhqdr19/index.html
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. (2020). Policy basics: Introduction to Medicaid. https://www.cbpp.org/research/health/introduction-to-medicaid
Garnett, A., Ploeg, J., Markle-Reid, M., & Strachan, P. H. (2018). Self-management of multiple chronic conditions by community-dwelling older adults: A concept analysis. SAGE Open Nursing, 4, 2377960817752471. doi:10.1177/2377960817752471.
Joynt, M. K. E., Bauchner, H., & Fontanarosa, P. B. (2019). US Health policy—2020 and beyond: Introducing a new JAMA Series. JAMA, 321(17):1670–1672. doi:10.1001/jama.2019.3451
Lukens, G. (2021). Medicaid coverage gap affects even larger group over time than estimates indicate. https://www.cbpp.org/research/health/medicaid-coverage-gap-affects-even-larger-group-over-time-than-estimates-indicate.
Milstead, J. A., & Short, N. M. (2019). Health policy and politics: A nurse’s guide (6th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Price, S. (2021). How age affects health insurance costs. https://www.valuepenguin.com/how-age-affects-health-insurance-costs