Steps on Becoming a Grassroots Lobbyist

Steps on Becoming a Grassroots Lobbyist

1. Imagine that you are going to make a visit to your representative in Congress. Develop a one-page document that supports your position on the AHCA that you would leave with your representative or his or her aide when you make your visit. This one-pager, also called a “leave behind,” should state your position clearly in bullet points and give your reasons why your position is preferred. This “leave behind” should have 1 inch margins and utilize 14-point font throughout. If you were making this visit in person, you would present your “leave behind” to the person with whom you speak during your visit. Include a second page that describes your rationale for the position in your “leave behind” page supported by at least two journal articles.
2. Write a two-page brief to describe the scenario surrounding your legislative visit. Understanding the political affiliation of your representative, include answers to the following:
   • Was your member in support or in opposition to the AHCA?
   • State three points that you would cover in support or opposition to your representative’s position.
   • How does your nursing experience influence the advocacy position that you take on the AHCA?

SAMPLE ANSWER

Steps on Becoming a Grassroots Lobbyist

Part 1

The AHCA may introduce many changes and enhance the American healthcare system. The country has changed drastically during the last decade. As such, the health care policies that may have worked during the past may not be the most effective during the current period. The American Health Care Act of 2017 (AHCA), therefore, may be the solution that is needed to address some of the key challenges associated with the current healthcare system in the country.

Steps on Becoming a Grassroots Lobbyist

Enacting the bill would result in better healthcare services since it will be addressing some of the challenges related to healthcare that the American people face. AHCA would be better relative to AHA for some reasons, which include:

• Increased flexibility since not having health insurance would not attract a federal penalty, thus making AHCA more flexible.
• Tax credits to aid in the payment of tax premiums, which tends to be particularly important for low-income earners. Furthermore, these credits phase out as incomes rise, which in turn increases equality.
• The introduction of a maximum subsidy or tax credit the government can pay. Such ensures that public resources are utilized in the best way possible.
• People can buy plans that do not cover benefits that they may not want. Such increases the flexibility, which in turn may lead to increased insurance coverage in the country (Fielder et al., 2017).

For the above reasons, therefore, it is my believe that enacting AHCA and repealing ACA would be more beneficial to the American people considering the former addresses new healthcare challenges, increases flexibility, and results in a better use of public resources relative to the latter.

Steps on Becoming a Grassroots Lobbyist

The rationale for the position that I take in the letter is that AHCA offers a better opportunity to improve healthcare in the United States compared to using the current Obama Care are system. One of the reasons for supporting AHCA is that it will lead to a repeal of AHA, which is associated with multiple problems and it does not fulfill on the promises that it made.

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One of the reasons why I support AHCA is that it will increase flexibility in taking insurance cover in the country since not having an insurance cover would not attract penalties. With AHA, failing to take an insurance cover attracts some penalties. By removing such penalties and introducing incentives, more people would take insurance cover. Furthermore, citizens would have the option to select the benefits that they would like to be covered for, unlike the AHA, which has mandatory areas that need to be covered. Such may lead to lower insurance premium, thus attracting more people to take insurance cover (Rice et al., 2018).

Moreover, enacting AHCA would lead to better use of resources, which includes having a cap on the amount of tax credits and subsidies that the government can pay. Such would result in better uses of resources for other critical elements, such as making healthcare affordable for all people, and not only those who have insurance cover. Moreover, the cost of healthcare in the country may decrease because of introducing maximum credits, and paying them based on the income of families, which would contribute to equality (Thompson et al., 2018). For instance, when family or individual incomes exceed certain amounts, they do not qualify for the tax credits or subsidies.

Part 2

The member was in opposition of AHCA in congress. He was strongly opposed to the bill and strongly campaigned against it. However, such may have been caused by his party affiliation, but not an analysis of the bill fully to understand how it would affect healthcare in the United States. As such, it would have been prudent for the representative to support the bill since it would have been more beneficial to the American people compared to AHA.

Steps on Becoming a Grassroots Lobbyist

One of the reasons for the need for supporting is increased cost of health insurance. While AHA promised to save around $2,500 per family each year, it has not. In fact, the Department of Health and Human Services notes that since 2013, insurance premiums have more than doubled. However, the family incomes have only risen by around 19%, which shows that the rise in premiums is not because of an improving economy (Fielder et al., 2017). Therefore, introducing AHCA may control the increasing cost of insurance premiums, while at the same time offering individuals with more flexibility since they can choose whether to be covered or not, or the benefits that they would like to be covered for.

Furthermore, there is an urgent need to repeal AHA because entitlement spending has increased drastically during the last few years. AHA has caused entitlement spending to increase more than it had been expected. For instance, the projected costs of Medicaid and AHA subsidies are expected to be $4.8 trillion, with both being responsible for an estimated 44% of the anticipated increase in entitlement spending in the future (Williamson & Singe, 2017). Therefore, enacting AHCA would ensure that such costs spending are controlled, which will be beneficial to the economy.

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Furthermore, AHCA presents a new opportunity for lowering the costs of healthcare in the United States. With the enactment of AHA, it was hoped that healthcare in the country would become more affordable. However, with the enactment, healthcare costs have continued rising. Before the implementation of AHA, healthcare costs amounted to an estimated 17.2% of the GDP. However, in the year that followed, it rose to 18.3%, which represented an increased or around $200 billion on healthcare spending (Fielder et al., 2017). Forecasts indicate that medical by 2025; medical expenses will make around 20% of the country’s GDP (Rice et al., 2018). Therefore, there is a need to enact a bill that would lower and control the increasing costs of health care in the country since AHA has not been addressing the issue. Enacting AHCA may be the ideal solution for addressing the problem in the country.

Steps on Becoming a Grassroots Lobbyist

My nursing experience has considerably influenced the advocacy position that I have taken with regard to AHCA. The experience has introduced me to some of the critical elements that need to be considered in the healthcare sector. For instance, medical expenses and healthcare costs are some of the key considerations that influence the quality of healthcare in a country. At the same time, nursing experience has enabled me to gain the relevant research skills, which means that I can be able to search for the right resources to support or opposes elements related to the healthcare sector. The research findings, coupled with my experience, inform the decisions that I make regarding whether to support a healthcare issue or not.

References

 Fiedler, M., Aaron, H. J., Adler, L., & Ginsburg, P. B. (2017). Moving in the wrong direction—health care under the AHCA. New England Journal of Medicine, 376(25), 2405-2407.

Rice, T., Unruh, L. Y., van Ginneken, E., Rosenau, P., & Barnes, A. J. (2018). Universal coverage reforms in the USA: From Obamacare through Trump. Health Policy, 122(7), 698-702.

Thompson, F. J., Gusmano, M. K., & Shinohara, S. (2018). Trump and the Affordable Care Act: Congressional repeal efforts, executive federalism, and program durability. Publius: The Journal of Federalism, 48(3), 396-424.

Willison, C. E., & Singer, P. M. (2017). Repealing the affordable care act essential health benefits: Threats and obstacles. American journal of public health, 107(8), 1225.

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