Policy Brief
Policy assigned to use for this paper:
Maintain Increased Patient Access to Telehealth Services
Increased flexibility to provide telehealth to patients has been essential to providing care during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) and will continue to be integral to clinicians and patients moving forward. AANP applauds Congress two year extension of the Medicare telehealth waivers to remove the geographic limitation and originating site restriction, increase coverage and reimbursement for audio- only telehealth services, and expand telehealth to previously uncovered, clinically appropriate services and visits. These Flexibilities have enabled NPs to reach patients who otherwise may have been unable to receive medically necessary health care, particularly in rural and undeserved communities. AANP calls on Congress to pass legislation to permanently implement these Medicare telehealth waivers.
Learning Outcome: Student will be able to write a concise paper using standardized policy brief format.
What is a Policy Brief?
A policy brief is a document that succinctly explains and analyzes a policy, issue, or problem. Policy options are described, and recommendations are provided for addressing the policy, issue, or problem. Policy briefs are created for a more general reader or policymaker who has an interest in the issue, and the writer should propose a solution to a well- defined problem that can be solved through the use of policy ( The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, n.d)
Assignment instructions:
You will write a 2-4 page paper. Your paper should not be longer than 10 pages.
Option 1: Your paper will focus on a health problem in your community or state. You will identify a solution to the problem The solution will be at the policy level.
Option 2: For this assignment, you are serving as a Health Policy fellow for a senator. The senator will vote on a bill in 30 days. The senator needs your guidance to decide what is best for their constituents when voting on the bill. Choose a bill about a health policy issue currently introduced in the state senate. You will be providing the policy analysis to the senator.
Your policy brief will contain the following information. You will not label each part.
Title- Consider an attention- grabbing title to make the reader curious about the content of the brief
Executive summary- 1-2 paragraphs that give an overview of the problem and the proposed policy action. Succinctly describe the sim of the policy brief.
Context or scope of the problem- 1-2 paragraphs that communicate why the problem is important and why policy action is necessary. Describe the problem related to the health issue. Give the background of the problem. Describe why the issue is important.
Identify stakeholders- 1-2 paragraphs describingat least 4 stakeholders, possibly individuals or groups that support or oppose the policy.
Policy Alternatives- 1-2 paragraphs that describe the current policy and give information on atlas one proposed option. Persuasion techniques should be used to explain why the proposed policy option is the best option. Describe potential approaches and solutions.
Policy recommendations/ call action- 1-2 paragraphs explaining in detail the concrete steps to address the policy issue. In this section, you are making your ask. What do you want the policymaker to do? Describe recommendations and implications. State what the call to action is.
