Policies are constantly being reviewed and considered to help improve the federal, state, or local health care systems. Each one has the potential to affect each of us on a daily basis, so careful consideration must be given when policies are proposed. It is important to understand the process of how a topic eventually becomes a policy.

Choose a health care topic for which a policy might be formed.

Note: be sure to look ahead and choose a policy topic that will be suitable for the second part of this assignment as well, due in Week Four.

Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper on the complete process of how your chosen topic becomes a policy. In your paper, include the following information:

State the objective of the policy.

Define Formulation stage (explain the process to formulate your policy, including the involvement of stakeholders and the role of special interest groups in this stage)

Define Legislative stage (include an explanation of how the legislative body debates policies and approves policies; the role of committees, the role of the executive branch as relevant to your policy's legislative process, and the way that stakeholder voices are heard in this stage)

Define Implementation stage (identify the accountable parties--agencies, state or federal departments, etc.-- and their roles in the various implementation of your policy)