For this Performance Task Assessment, you will write a letter to a state or national legislator, proposing a healthcare policy that addresses a health issue currently impacting your state.
Advocating for Healthcare Policy
You are a health program director for your state health department. In your work, you have become aware of the many areas where reform is still needed in order to fulfill the healthcare goals of the future. In order to better serve your community, you have decided to write a letter to a legislator to propose a healthcare policy that will address one of the pressing health issues facing your state. Your letter will be a persuasive, fact-based call to action that will encourage positive social change.
Click each of the items below to complete this assessment.
Instructions
Choose a health issue that is currently impacting your state and that you link to what you predict to be future trends in healthcare. Research the breadth and depth of the health issue and, then, compose your letter according to the following guidelines: Address your letter to a legislator at the state or national level, depending upon the state-wide or national relevance of the health issue.
- Note: If your health issue is a national-level concern, you may choose a member of the U.S. House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate from any state who would be likely to support your policy. If your health issue is a state-level concern, you should choose a member of your state’s House of Representatives or Senate.
- The following website can help you find the appropriate legislator:
- USA.gov. (2019). How to contact your elected officials. Retrieved from https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials
- This sample letter can be used as a guide:
- North Los Angeles Country Regional Center. (n.d.). Sample letter that you can use to write to your legislator. Retrieved July 30, 2019, from https://www.nlacrc.org/home/showdocument?id=272
Paragraph 1:
- Introduce yourself and describe your experience and knowledge of the health issue.
- Introduce your purpose for writing by briefly stating the health issue.
- Identify the effect of the health issues on your state.
- Advocate for the policy proposed to solve the health issue.
Paragraph 2:
- Describe the health issue and its impact on your state population using quantitative and/or qualitative data to support your claims, where possible.
Paragraph 3:
- Elaborate on the policy that you would propose.
- Include the actionable steps that it would take to resolve the health issue.
- Propose a method for implementing the policy.
- Project the possible effects of the policy (e.g., lower incidence of disease, higher life expectancy for a population, etc.), estimating realistic quantitative or qualitative impacts, where possible.
Paragraph 4:
- Identify stakeholders from your state—such as insurance companies, medical professional associations, etc.—that would potentially support the policy and describe what kind of assistance they might provide.
Paragraph 5:
- Describe to the legislator the advantages and/or disadvantages if he or she chooses to support the policy, indicating how constituents might respond.
- Restate the impact that this policy will have on the future of healthcare.
- Thank the legislator for his or her time and consideration of your issue and conclude your letter.
Use at least three credible sources and cite them using APA format.