Make the Biggest Difference

Bryan CurranHPA 430

June 27, 2014

Make the Biggest Difference

Agenda

The Health Policy ConundrumChanging PrioritiesEvidence/research base background on

issueOur PlanThe actionDescription of selected venue

The Health Policy Conundrum

Health Policy directs the use of society’s limited resources so it is the responsibility of those who help create policy to use those resources wisely and responsibly.

Wise and responsible use recognizes there are more good causes than resources, different causes benefit different amounts of people and not all causes can currently reach success.

Changing Priorities

At the same time in today’s world of constant communication mixed with a celebrity culture many of our initiatives are driven by publicity and good intentions. A celebrity has an illness and suddenly there is a rush to ‘find the cure’.

Evidence/research base background on issue

In 1995 “The direct costs of federal environmental, health, and safety regulations are probably on the order of $200 billion annually, or about the size of all federal domestic, nondefense discretionary spending. The benefits of those regulations are even less certain.” (Arrow, 1996)

Our Plan

An overall framework should be applied to heath care policy initiatives. ◦Think of this as policy on creating public health

policy. Requirements that the CDC Health Impact

Analysis process be followed combined with the Economic Evaluation Technique Cost Benefit Analysis.

Proposed action

Amend the bipartisan bill, the “Preventive Health Savings Act,” (H.R. 2663) by adding:

“All Health Care Policy Initiatives presented for consideration will have both the CDC Health Impact Analysis the Economic Evaluation Technique Cost Benefit Analysis applied.”

Marketing and MessagingMake the Biggest Difference

References

Chantrill, Christopher, June 2, 2014, US Health Care Spending http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/us_health_care_spending_10.html

Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, May 6, 2014, NHE Fact Sheet http://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/NationalHealthExpendData/NHE-Fact-Sheet.html

Health Care and Reform: Issues and Groups Larry Romans, Government Information Services, Central Library, Vanderbilt University, http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/ginfo-pubpol.pl?searchtext=Health%20Care&Type=LTR&Resource=DB&Website=GOVTINFO

References

Quote - https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/18163.Jane_Goodall

Image – from http://www.natureleadership.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/shareasimage-5.jpg

Apendix

CDC Health Impact Analysis

The CDC Health Impact Analysis is defined by the National Research Council as ““a systematic process that uses an array of data sources and analytic methods, and considers input from stakeholders to determine the potential effects of a proposed policy, plan, program, or project on the health of a population and the distribution of those effects within the population. HIA provides recommendations on monitoring and managing those effects.” (CDC, 2014)

Cost Benefit Analysis

Cost Benefit Analysis is an economic analysis tool used in a range of public policy analysis where costs of the project and the benefits of the project are quantified and then compared for public officials. The usefulness of process has been described as “Benefit-cost analysis can help the decision maker better understand the implications of a decision. It should be used to inform decision makers. Benefit-cost analysis can provide useful estimates of the overall benefits and costs of proposed policies. It can also assess the impacts of proposed policies on consumers, workers, and owners of firms and can identify potential winners and losers. (Arrow, 1996)