Hide Assignment Information
Instructions
The required texts will be used and cited within the paper.
In an 6-8 page paper, please respond to the following prompt:
The case study assignment requires that you study the Affordable Care Act (ACA), often referred to as Obamacare. I am not interested in learning more about the ideological differences between liberals and conservatives. The liberal and conservative typologies have no direct relevance to the assignment. You may employ any other typologies referenced in the textbook, except the liberal / conservative typology. Please avoid ideological arguments. You may also want to reference agenda setting and how various health related issues are placed on or blocked from the agenda.
1) I would like each of you to do some web research on the history of health care in America. This part of the case study should provide the historical background for the ACA. Why did the ACA emerge when it did? What triggered the initiative? Why did the law pass when it did, and why did national health care reform fail in previous efforts?
*Note: The history of healthcare in America should be brief, not more than 1 page for the historical background.
Or:
Select a specific policy proposal from any level of government. Review and analyze in detail the proposal as if you were a policy analyst. Make recommendations to the decision maker, weighing the costs and benefits and winners and losers.
Be sure to reference the previous assignments, employing theories and concepts previously covered in the course.
2) I would like you to focus on the economic interests of groups who stand to benefit from the ACA and the economic interest that stand to lose from the ACA. In sum, who are the winners and who are the losers affected by the ACA? What role did specific interest groups play in helping the bill become a law?
*Note: For this section you need to be selective. Try to focus on 1 or 2 interest groups and not all interest groups that were involved.
3) How much will the ACA cost and which group or groups will bear the expense? Is the ACA a distributive or redistributive policy (see Birkland). What are the regulatory aspects of the law?
4) What impact will the ACA have on you and your family? What impact will the ACA have on your work or on your employer?
5) Finally, in a conclusion of not less than one page, analyze and draw conclusions about the policy process that resulted in the ACA. In the conclusion, use your own analysis and your own words. Demonstrate that you understand the ACA and that you can employ theories and concepts fron the required textbooks and assigned readings found in the beginning of the course.