Question

Explain how interest groups affect health care policymaking in the United States

Answer 1

Interest groups refer to the group of people having shared philosophy and work for the interest of general citizens. The interest group is not defined by the constitution of the United States, but the scholars define interest groups as the group of people who work together to influence government in their favor. With respect to the health care policy, interest groups influence the governments to bring changes in health policy or come up with new health legislation at the local, state, or federal level.

The interest groups collect the information and disseminate it to the public to aware of health-related issues. On the other hand, the interest groups communicate the information and loopholes to the government (legislators) to design the policies more effective.

For instance, American Heart Association is an interest group that encourages the people associated with heart diseases and strokes such as doctors, patients, nurses, survivors, and family members of such survivors to sign up and then ask them to speak to the lawmakers of that district regarding the issues and needs related to cardiovascular diseases and treatments. Such conversation influences the lawmakers and then they make appropriate changes to the policies at the local level. For the state and federal level, the interest groups attempt to connect with the people who are on distinguished designations and can influence the decisions.