MSN 601 Module 3: Discussion — Public Policy Development – Section 010: Monroe

The focus of this discussion board is for you to gain a better understanding of how social, ethical, and economic issues can affect health policy.  In this assignment, you will have the opportunity to think about a practice issue that is of concern to you and then put together a plan for how you might get this issue addressed by a local politician. 

Discussion Board Items

  1. Identify one contemporary health care issue in government and discuss the a. social, b. ethical and c. economic impact of the issue related to health policy.  (List the issue and then address a, b, c.)
  2. With the increase in the number of baby boomers reaching retirement age and holding strong political power, what are two economic issues that both the federal and state governments will need to address?
  3. Give one example of how nurses can affect public policy in various appointed positions.
  4. Identify a practice issue and describe the steps you would take to influence a local politician to draft a bill in favor of your concerns.
  5. Go to , click Legislation at the very top, then check the current Congress on the left margin, and look for bills that are related to your practice issue.  List the bills that are related here, include the bill number and bill name  If none, write NONE and the search terms you used to search for bills of interest to you.
  6. If you were to need the support of one of your legislators specific to a health policy of interest to you, which one of your representatives as you identified in previous Discussion Board Module 2 would you choose as your legislative contact?  Why?  Go to either your state website or back to Congress.gov and see which committees your legislator is on and/or what their policy interests are….this could give you rationale for the why in this item.  Be specific and share what committees he/she is on and/or their policy interests…not all of them but the ones that relate to your rationale.    This DB item will be useful to you as you complete your Letter to a Legislator assignment.