The Policy Process
Policy making is a decision making process that involves authoritative decisions which are part of a complex process. With that being said, polices are part of the American Healthcare system and were created to form laws, regulations, judicial decisions and implementation decisions. Furthermore, there is a similar process used for decision-making for various types of polices at the federal, state and local levels of government (Longest, Jr, 2016,). Lawmakers are able to help guide policies through the institutions of our government by using a policy cycle approach that starts with identifying a targeted issue and provides a specific course of action to take (Longest, Jr, 2016,). Due to the process behind developing polices there are different levels of review, evaluation and revisions which continue in a cycle. That said, the steps that are in a policy cycle go hand in hand and serves as a dialogue for main stakeholders. For that reason, it is important to understand the process behind policy making and how it leads to implementing healthcare laws that have an impact on healthcare and our society (Longest, Jr, 2016,).
Stages of Policy Process
There are various stages and key components that are associated with different stages in the policy process. The various stages begin with the formulation phase which involves the main components of creating an agenda and development of legislation. Within this stage, policy makers and decision/action influencers engage on a set of activities that form policies specific to new public laws (Longest, Jr, 2016,). The process includes other phases that create polices in the forms of rules and regulation. In addition, throughout the entire process policies can be created in the form of judicial decisions or implementation decisions. One of the most crucial initial steps in policy making is agenda setting. Within the agenda setting, problems or issues related to healthcare are addressed with potential solutions and advance to the next stage; legislation (Longest, Jr, 2016,).
If a problem or issue arises along with its surrounding political circumstances it may or may not move to legislation development. If the problem or issue does go to legislation, then policymakers will propose specific legislation. A proposal is another word for bill and is technically a hypothetical solution to the problem (Longest, Jr, 2016,). When bills are process through this point in the policy cycle, they go through a series of steps which involve politics in the form of new public laws. Sometimes amendments are made to previously enacted laws. Having said that, the legislation process can be very lengthy. As mentioned above, there is a series of steps that involve multiple steps for review with a committee or subcommittee. Within the committee there are different members of the legislation. These are the executive branch, experts, supporters and other public officials (Longest, Jr, 2016,). Hearings are held to record the views of each office official’s views. Before the bill is recommended to the full committee, changes and amendments can be made by the subcommittee. If the subcommittee decides not to move it to the full committee then the bill basically dies or goes nowhere. Then once the full committee reviews it they can make changes and decide if it should be passed to the House or Senate for further review. After extensive review by the House or Senate members vote on the bill and it either passes or it doesn’t (Longest, Jr, 2016,).
The implementation phase of policy making includes four different steps which are designing, evaluating, rulemaking and operating. These steps are considered necessary in order for healthcare policies to have an effect on determents of health once they are implemented. This process is carried out by implementers who are part of an organization or department or agency in the executive brand of a federal or state agency (Longest, Jr, 2016,). Therefore, it is up to the implementers to bring policies to life and that is why Legislators rely so heavily on them. Lastly, implementation also is the process in which human, financial, and other resources are utilized and geared towards the objectives of public laws (Longest, Jr, 2016,).
Once a policy is implemented it is then evaluated which helps to determine the significance of the policy and determines if modifications should be made. This process involves designing the new policy, creating rules and determining how the policy will operate (Longest, Jr, 2016,). Parts of this process also includes asking how effective the policy will be as well as figuring out if the objectives were met. Furthermore, evaluations are conducted to include cost effectiveness. Furthermore, evaluating the policy will include analyzing it by the legislative and executive branches of government to check for performance (Longest, Jr, 2016,). Policy evaluation is supported by different agencies at a federal level, agencies such as Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality are involved in the ACA coverage expansions (Longest, Jr, 2016,).
Conclusion
Because policies typically evolve due to amendments, they have a history, old versions are modified to create new versions. Therefore, the new policy would then be modified if needed to help minimize any negative consequences (Longest, Jr, 2016,). In general, policies are modified to help enhance the current benefits of the policy. So if the policy is not meeting the objectives it was created to meet, then any part of an interest group such as individuals, organizations or interest groups that would benefit from enhancing the policy would seek modification (Longest, Jr, 2016,).
References
Longest, Jr, B. B. (2016). Health and Policy Making in the United States (6th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.
Washington State Legislature (n.d.). Retrieved from http://leg.wa.gov/legislature/Pages/Bill2Law.aspx
Congress.org (2009-2019). Retrieved from http://congress.org/advocacy-101/the-legislative-process/