2 ), 45 – 52 H e a l t h M e d i c a l

PLEASE, SEE BELOW CLASSMATE DISCUSSION ANSWER TO WEEKLY DQ AND WRITE A response EITHER AGREEING/ DISAGREEING FOR FUTHER ELABORATING ON THE SUBJECT POSTED BY CLASSMATE.

PLEASE:

– minimum of 150 words or more

– strong academic writing / APA style 7th ed (please use in-text citing and References at end )

– must be scholarly articles only no older than 5 years or website that is gov/ org. no blogs

– please be original writing ( will check for plagiarism ).

Classmate Discussion: (SK) (w1 dq1 Pub650)

Both the state and federal governments participate in making and enforcing policies that affect Americans’ health and other general guidelines. The federal government is divided into three branches, each of which serves different functions. The legislative branch consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate, otherwise known collectively as the Congress. This branch exerts the most influence in policy-making as they approve or reject laws. The executive branch includes the president, who does have power in directing policies but does not have the ultimate approval power alone. Finally, the judicial branch interprets and enforces the laws made by the legislative branch. Federal policies provide blanket guidance to be implemented by all state agencies, but individual state governments can develop stricter laws or policies if in the state’s best interest. State governments also have three branches in which laws and policies are developed in the legislative branch. Regarding healthcare policies, state governments vary significantly amongst the United States but, in general, are responsible for professional licensing, accreditation, some insurance, and public health concerns. Because there are too many categories of matters to be addressed by the governments’ entirety, committees are developed to provide a more in-depth focus on each topic. Committees are a group of members from a particular branch who are in charge of becoming experts on a specific matter and then presenting laws and policies regarding this matter to the other branch members for voting. The roles of all three bodies, federal, state, and committee, are similarly structured. They are all assigned leaders like the president, governor, and committee leaders who preside over meetings and give direction. They all also get further divided into branches or sub-committees for greater oversight. However, their scopes of power get reduced as you move from federal to state to committee. While it has been noted that state legislatures are primarily responsible for regulating healthcare policies in individual states, Congress does have influence in determining how federal tax money can be granted to states for healthcare initiatives as well as handing down nation-wide public health initiatives that must be implemented by state agencies. The Medicaid program can be used as an example of a federal mandate for a public health insurance program that is executed at the state level with both guidance and funding at the federal level (Moore & Smith, 2005).

Reference

Moore, J. D., & Smith, D. G. (2005). Legislating Medicaid: Considering Medicaid and its origins. Healthcare Financing Review, 27(2), 45–52. Retrieved from