By successfully completing this assignment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assignment criteria:

• Competency 2: Evaluate significant federal and state legislation that affects the scope of, access to, availability of, and reimbursement for health care services.
  • Analyze the effects of specific legislation on health care facilities, health plans, communities, and patients.
• Competency 3: Analyze the effects of values and assumptions inherent in the changing priorities in health planning and resource allocation.
  • Determine the influence of values and assumptions in setting health care priorities and allocating resources.
• Competency 4: Evaluate the combined effects of social, economic, ethical, legal, and political forces on health care.
  • Analyze the effects of social, economic, ethical, legal, and political forces on health care.
• Competency 5: Recommend possible initiatives available to address current gaps in health care policy.
  • Determine the nature and extent of current health care policy gaps.
• Competency 6: Communicate effectively, in an appropriate form and style, consistent with applicable organizational, professional, and scholarly standards.
  • Support main points, arguments, and conclusions with credible evidence from peer-reviewed sources.

Scenario

Over the last two weeks, you have spent your time analyzing the data and information that you gathered during your literature review. Your supervisor in the health policy think tank is pleased with your literature review and has asked you to move forward with your analysis, considering various perspectives.

The think tank serves multiple health care organizations and policy makers. Health care organizational leadership will depend on your analysis to help them determine strategic, legally compliant measures and lobby policy makers for needed change. You must develop a solid factual analysis to support policy makers in evidence-based policy making.

Consider topics such as painful versus painless cost controls and reimbursement models or quality initiatives that could be improved as indicated by your analysis.

Instructions

Conduct an in-depth analysis that answers the research question that you posed in Unit 3.

Analyze your findings from the literature:

• What were the research findings?
• What do the findings mean to you?
• What is your own perspective on the legislation and scholarly support for your analysis?
  • Do not simply copy information from the literature or agree with a single source.
• How would you answer your research question?
  • You may also wish to restate your research question based on your analysis.

Document Format and Length

• Consider adding appropriate headings to this section to help delineate your thoughts. No two papers will require the same headings, as each piece of legislation is different.
• Your analysis and answer to your research question should be 3–5 pages in length.

Supporting Evidence

Cite at least 10 sources from the literature review you completed in Unit 5 and add 3–5 credible sources from peer-reviewed journals or professional industry publications to support your analysis.

Evaluation

The following requirements correspond to the scoring guide criteria, so be sure to address each point. Read the performance-level descriptions for each criterion to see how your work will be assessed.

• Analyze the effects of social, economic, ethical, legal, and political forces on health care.
  • What evidence supports your analysis?
• Determine the influence of values and assumptions in setting health care priorities and allocating resources.
  • Are there areas of uncertainty or ambiguity reflected in the literature?
  • What evidence supports your conclusions?
• Determine the nature and extent of current gaps in health care policy.
  • Is there a general consensus on this issue or key points of disagreement?
  • What evidence supports your assertions and conclusions?
• Analyze the effects of the legislation you have chosen to investigate on health care facilities, health plans, communities, and patients.
  • Consider the scope of services, access, availability, and reimbursement.
  • Answer your research question.
• Support main points, arguments, and conclusions with credible evidence from peer-reviewed sources.
  • Be sure to apply correct APA formatting to source citations and references.