Agenda Comparison Grid and Fact Sheet
It may seem to you that healthcare has been a national topic of debate among political leaders for as long as you can remember.
Healthcare has been a policy item and a topic of debate not only in recent times but as far back as the administration of the second U.S. president, John Adams. In 1798, Adams signed legislation requiring that 20 cents per month of a sailor’s paycheck be set aside for covering their medical bills. This represented the first major piece of U.S. healthcare legislation, and the topic of healthcare has been woven into presidential agendas and political debate ever since.
As a healthcare professional, you may be called upon to provide expertise, guidance and/or opinions on healthcare matters as they are debated for inclusion into new policy. You may also be involved in planning new organizational policy and responses to changes in legislation. For all of these reasons you should be prepared to speak to national healthcare issues making the news.
Analyze recent presidential healthcare agendas. You also will prepare a fact sheet to communicate the importance of a healthcare issue and the impact on this issue of recent or proposed policy.
To Prepare:
Review the agenda priorities of the current/sitting U.S. president and at least one previous presidential administration.
Select an issue related to healthcare that was addressed by two U.S. presidential administrations (current and previous).
Consider how you would communicate the importance of a healthcare issue to a legislator/policymaker or a member of their staff for inclusion on an agenda.
Sample Solution
Health reforms has had a profound day-to day impact on tens of millions of Americans – no matter where they are in their lives. But what does that actually look like? For millions of Americans, health reform has meant finally having access to the preventive services that will keep them, and their families, healthy for good. In the day-to-day, that means getting regular checkups and screening. In the long run, it means safeguarding against chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. That is a big deal. Harry Truman, who became President upon FDR`s death in 1945, considered it his duty to perpetuate Roosevelt`s legacy. In 1945, he became the first president to propose national health insurance legislation.
