Overview:In this milestone you will submita first draft of your open comment letter. An open comment is an informed opinion written in the form of a letter to counsel authors of legislation on the perceived benefits and consequences of the opinion. It should include background on the key health issue and your assumption of the risks inferred by the legislative action (i.e. unintended consequences public reaction loopholes etc.). The economic analysis should be more complete than that of your executive summary taking into account the nature of the U.S. healthcare system socioeconomic factors behavioral models of stakeholders that shape interpretations and outcomes. The document should not be based solely on emotion though it should not be divorced of sentiment as it needs to rouse the proper energy needed to effect change. The goal of the document is to convince the reader that your suggestions for inclusion exclusion and adaptations to the legislation should be included in the final version of the action.
Specifically the following critical elements must be addressed:
Open Comment Letter
a. Describe how the intended consequences of the legislation will positively and/or negativelyimpactthe key health issue that it is tasked to affect once applied to a realistic environment.b. Differentiate between the manner in which themajor tenetsof the legislation would beinterpretedby a health economist health practitioner and/or consumer of healthcare services.c.Summarize the logical interpretationsof the legislation in a document with a member of Congress as the proposed audience.d. Hypothesizethe outcomesof the legislation in a document with a member of Congress as the proposed audience.e. Decide whether thekey health issueis being servedby creating or subduing supply demand or cost of healthcare services and which stakeholder group (providers consumers or payors) bears the primary responsibility for its implementation.f. Discern to what extent thelegislation will impact the reimbursement and/or financial health of providersoperating as for-profit nonprofit military or government-sponsored care financing models.g.Propose changesto the legislation that could be adopted tofurther affect socioeconomic determinants of health such as poverty education and diversity.h. Propose whattacticscould be implemented to ensure that the initial intent of the legislation could besafeguarded against perversionby macroeconomic forces and agents looking to exploit those forces to their advantage.
Guidelines for Submission:Your paper should be no longer than five pages (not including references and supporting appendices) with double spacing 12-point Times New Roman font one-inch margins and at least three sources cited in APA format.
Textbook:Economics for Healthcare Managers
As you read these chapters consider the following questions:
Challenges for Improving Health Care Access in Rural AmericaThis case found on pages 60 – 65 provides a customary view of poverty in association with healthcare and focuses on the residents ability to pay. Financial difficulty in a region has compounding effects on utilization and demand extending from provider supply to access to insurance. This case will be used as a basis for the module discussion.