Introduction
The following paper will outline the outcomes of the public policy meeting, which took place on the 16th of May 2017 in Nevada City, California. The meeting was devoted to the state’s health care situation; during its course, various aspects of citizens’ health behavior and care delivery within the state were closely discussed. The director of Public Policy for National Nurses United Michael Lighty explained to the audience the principles of Healthy California Act, SB 562. By the act, every citizen of California could receive comprehensive health care services regardless of his or her social or financial status (“Healthy California Act,” 2017). The meeting was divided into several stages allowing the key participants to make their reports followed by a documentary film.
The Purpose, Logistics, and Participants of the Meeting
The purpose of the meeting was to draw the attention of the community to the health care situation in California and introduce the new model of care delivery. By the act introduced by Michael Lighty, “the State of California is considering a bill to create a statewide single-payer health care system” (Pollin, Heintz, Arno, & Wicks-Lim, 2017, para. 1). This system is primarily aimed at creating conveniences for regular citizens to receive a proper level of care from medical establishments. As to the main participants, those were represented by such names as Michael Lighty (one of the architects of the bill), Algebra Schroll, Cathy Kennedy, and Keith McCallin. The meetings took place at the Nevada Theatre hall, which is also known as the Cedar Theatre. Regarding the other meeting logistics, the stage contained a spokesman lectern, a table for participants, and a broad wall display used for representing the video content. The key agenda included the speakers’ reports, presenting a documentary film, and answering the audience’s questions (YubaNet, 2017). The entire meeting was broadcast live on KVMR on 6:45 PM.
Background Information
The main idea of the meeting was to inform citizens of California about the changes in the state’s medical system. It is known that the State Senate Health Committee approved the Senate bill 562 on April 26, thus, giving the green light for improving the state’s health care situation. Naturally, the duty of the Health Committee, consisting of nine members, is to investigate bills having relation to public health (Pollin et al., 2017). The authority reserves the right to call in witnesses or material documents if some inconsistency arises. In the case with SB 562, there were no reasons to dispute the Senate’s decision.
Discussed Topic
The topic of the public policy meeting was ‘Healthcare for all,’ which presupposed the explanation of the main principles of the Healthy California Act. The participants of the meeting provided citizens with all the available information regarding the action implementation. It is known that the adoption of a bill is always followed by a specific committee process, which involves introducing a bill to several government bodies, i.e., standing, select, conference, interim, and oversight committees (Pollin et al., 2017). Considering this fact, one may suggest that the process of act adoption was accompanied by serious challenges associated with a complicated committee process.
Stakeholders’ Position
The groups of stakeholders, such as the League of Women Voters for Placer County and the California Nurses Association express their full support of the active principles. They back the idea of providing every California resident with the level of health care that would guarantee a free choice of services and access to professionals a person would like to consult with. All the participants are ready to lobby legislators each time the need for further model implementation arises.
Key Interactions
The interactions were performed in the form of a questionnaire, where speakers were offered to give answers to the list of earlier prepared questions. Those questions arrived from a variety of health care organizations and were read aloud for the speakers to answer them in the chain (YubaNet, 2017). All of the reporters acquired an opportunity to respond to the problems that bothered viewers most. By the applauds coming from the hall, one could clearly understand that the answers met the expectations of the audience and provided the exhaustive information regarding the issues.
Outcomes of the Meeting
As to the outcomes of the meeting, the majority of act supporters agreed that the model needs to be in general practice. It is known that the idea was carried out by other states. The Healthy Nevada Project was launched shortly after the Healthy California Act adoption. On June, 6 Nevada’s legislature passed a radical plan to let everybody sign up for Medicaid (Pollin et al., 2017). By analogy with the California act, the project will focus on close interaction with stakeholders, such as the Nevada school district, community organizations, and local employers, and creating a culture of health in the state.
Conclusion
The public policy meeting held on May, 16 gave start to serious changes in the existing principles of health care delivery and introducing the new models of patients’ treatment. The fact a person can choose a service he or she is willing to consult with serves as the evidence to the fact that the medical sphere is now accessible for all the residents of the State of California. The idea is known to be positively reviewed by both stakeholders and regular patients and borrowed by the governments of other states.
References
Healthy California Act. (2017). Web.
Pollin, R., Heintz, J., Arno, P., & Wicks-Lim, J. (2017). Economic Analysis of the Healthy California Single-Payer Health Care Proposal (SB-562). Web.
[YubaNet]. (2017). Healthcare for all town hall in Nevada City. [Video File]. Web.