Health Policy

Health Policy Analysts: How do they do it? The description of a policy analyst is pretty much straight forward; they basically evaluate and formulate a policy. With that being said the job is not so easy, they can work for nonprofit organization, government agencies, and news outlets. If they are highly skilled the demand for their services is great, especially if their skills lie in area of policy that currently is important to social or political interests. Some policy analysts are involved in the development of new policy for government agencies and other organizations. The policy analyst is also involved in formulating the best approach to addressing issues. With the health industry it is very important that they have incredible skills in order to navigate through the political arena. Health care is one of the top social, economic, and political problem facing Americans today. The cost of insurance is steadily rising which is putting a significant economic strain on families. Unfortunately the uninsured are not the only ones suffering, the insured are feeling it just as much. In 2007, nearly 50 million Americans did not have health insurance, while another 25 million were underinsured (Commonwealth Fund Biennial Health Insurance Survey 2007). The amount people pay for health insurance increased 30 percent from 2001 to 2005, while income for the same period of time only increased 3 percent (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation). The underinsured are people who have health insurance, but still struggle to pay their medical bills. This is where the need for policy analysts comes to the front; they have to be able to handle health policies with ease among the political arena. They need to be able to present the facts they gathered in a clear and concise way, so that they are able to explain the policy problems. When an analyst presents a problem they need to know the political repercussions, as well as favorable outcomes. If the analyst has not looked

References: wisegeek.com “What does an analyst do?” healthcareproblems.org “A Collection of Problems with the US Health Care System” bls.gov “Policy analysts: Shaping society through research and problem solving” Sadie Blanchard