In 2010, shortly before the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) passed into law, the Journal of Health Politics, Policy, and Law published an article attempting to predict whether the measure would pass. The article analyzed the health care reform efforts of then-President Bill Clinton in 1992. You might even argue that the landscape for health care reform was more favorable at that time, compared to 2010:

In November 1992 health care reform appeared to be a foregone conclusion. The country had elected a new, charismatic Democratic president and a Democratic Congress. Both the incoming president and members of Congress vowed to make health care reform a priority. Health insurance premiums were rising, and the economy was in recession. Yet, despite these favorable conditions, no major health care legislation passed the Congress. (Brady & Kessler, 2010)

Based on their analysis of prevailing public opinion and the propensity of a modern Congress to gridlock as the previous Congress had, the analysts concluded that health reform would, once again, fail. They were wrong. What changed between the two efforts at health reform? Were the opinions of American voters drastically different? Had interest groups applied pressure to legislative groups? Had the economic factors surrounding health care facilitated change?

Paper : 3-4 pages

1. Review the forces opposing U.S. health reform in the last 100 years. Present an analysis of one of the opposing forces that addresses each of the following questions. If possible, select a force that impacts the public health policy you have selected for your Final Project: (Preventive Human Services)

2. How has the opposing force you selected complicated health reform efforts within the last 100 years? Be specific.

3. Explain whether changing political climates have or have not affected the force you selected.

4. Analyze how policymakers and policies have attempted to combat the opposing force and explain how successful their efforts have been.

5. Explain how health reform will or will not impact the policy you selected for your Final Project.