Policy Analysis

ANSWERS

Policy analysis is the process of identifying potential policy options that could address your problem and then comparing those options to determine which one is the most effective, efficient, and feasible.

What is the significance of policy analysis?

Conducting a policy analysis ensures that you follow a systematic process to select the policy option that may be best for your situation.

Who should be a part of your policy analysis?

People who can provide or interpret policy information

They are as follows:

Experts in their fields

Economists

Partners in the Community

What they can do to help:

Provide and interpret the data required for your policy analysis.

People who are affected by the policy

They are as follows:

People whose jobs or lives may be jeopardized as a result of the policy

Members of the community

Partners in the community

Local policymakers

What they can do to help:

Contextual knowledge should be provided, such as potential social, educational, and cultural perspectives.

People in charge of managing policy-related resources

They are as follows:

Public servants and administrators

What they can do to help:

Include these stakeholders in the policy analysis process to help you understand the policy options’ potential economic or fiscal consequences under consideration. They can also assist you in understanding the legal landscape surrounding potential policies.

How does one go about conducting a policy analysis?

1. Conduct research and identify potential policy options.

To understand what other communities are doing, review research literature, conduct an environmental scan, and survey best practices.

2. Describe the policy alternatives.

As you conduct your policy analysis, consider each option’s health impact, implementation cost, and feasibility. You can describe these three factors by asking yourself and your stakeholders questions like:

What population(s) will each policy option affect? How much is it? When will this happen?

What is the context for potential policy options, such as political history, the environment, and policy debate?

From a fiscal standpoint, what are the costs and benefits of each policy option?

When evaluating feasibility, it is critical to identify any obstacles that might prevent a policy from being developed, enacted, or implemented. A policy may be more feasible in one city or at a particular time but not in another. You may discover that as circumstances change, so does what is considered affordable or publicly acceptable.

3. Sort the possible policy options and select the best one.

Compare policy options regarding their health impact, economic and fiscal impact, and feasibility. Then, order them according to those criteria. Stakeholders can advise on how to proceed. Because your rankings will always be partially subjective, it is beneficial to document your reasoning systematically. Your review may reveal a clear winner in some cases. This policy is:

1. Feasible.
2. Has a strong, positive impact on public health.
3. It is economically and fiscally viable.

In other cases, ranking the options may be more difficult and require weighing trade-offs.

How do you know when you’ve finished your policy analysis?

You researched and identified potential policy options using a literature review, environmental scans, and best practices surveys.

You described potential policy options, including their health impact, implementation cost, and feasibility.

You ranked each policy option based on its health impact, economic and fiscal impact, and feasibility and then selected the one you believe is best for your situation.

QUESTION

Policy Analysis

This document is an analysis of local, state, or federal health policy.

1. Select a state health policy reform innovation
2. Discuss the rationale for the policy, how it was adopted (e.g., federal waivers, passage by state legislature), the funding structure, and (to the extent statistical data are available) its impact. ethical outcome based on evidence.
3. Examples of state innovations include Maryland’s hospital rate setting, Vermont’s single payer system, and Massachusetts’ health reforms

Submission Requirements:

• The  is to be clear and concise and students will lose points for improper grammar, punctuation and misspelling.
• The  is to be formatted per current APA style,6 pages in length, excluding the title, abstract and references page. Document MUST INCLUDE AN ABSTRACT.
• Incorporate a minimum of 6 current (published within last five years) scholarly journal articles or primary legal sources (statutes, court opinions) within your work.
• Journal articles and books should be referenced according to current APA 7 ed style. NO WEBSITES allowed for reference entry. Include doi, page numbers, etc. Plagiarism must be less than 10%.