PROJECT SAVE

Health Care in the United States

Presented by: Mr. Sandberg

Fredrick Douglass Academy II

New York City, NY

INTRODUCTION

Over 50 million people in the United States

do not have health insurance. People are

dying because of this problem. Many

politicians have tried to extend coverage to

these uninsured people but without success.

Hillary Clinton was one of these politicians who attempted to introduce national health care in the 1990’s but was defeated. The U.S. is the only western industrialized country without health coverage that protects all of its citizens. The key question is “Can all people in the United States become insured?” Now it is your turn to try and do something about this problem. You are an adviser to the newly elected President of the United States. Presidential and Vice-presidential candidates all talk about “healthcare reform” but no one seems to have the right answer. We cannot leave 25% of our country in danger! You will have the opportunity to actually create public policy that could affect the lives of 50 million people. Good luck!

TASK

Your task is to create a plan to cover the 50 million people who are uninsured. You will research the whole question of health care in the US today with the objective of developing a governmental policy to improve people’s access to medical care.

Each group will write a PERSUSIVE ESSAY as if you were an adviser to the newly elected President of the United States. The Essay length will be determined by your instructor.

The essay must be typed using MS Word and may contain charts, graphs and other illustrations that clarify your key policy points.

All essays MUST use the SIX-STEP PUBLIC POLICY ANALYST format described in the process.

PROCESS

Will she have health Care?

Meeting in groups of three, you will research the health care delivery system in use in our country today.

Each group will use the Public Policy Analyst as the outline and basis for your persuasive essay. You will review the nature of the problem and consider proposed solutions: Each of the six steps linked below have important worksheets. These worksheets correspond to the steps of the “PPA”. This is how public policy analysts evaluate social problems. Each group will complete the questions on the six worksheets and then use them as resource material for your essay. All six steps must be included in your final product. SRTEP # 7: Cost and benefits is an optional step. Use the INTERNET links in the resources section and other text material to complete the worksheets. Click on the links below, read the about each step, then complete the worksheets.

Step #1: Define the Problem

Step # 2: Gather evidence

Step # 3: Identify causes

Step # 4: Evaluate a policy

Step # 5: Develop solutions

Step # 6: Select best solution

Step # 7: Benefits and Costs (optional)

Most importantly you will then select a health care plan that you feel is most feasible and most effective. Then persuasively argue why you feel this is the best health care plan according to the rubric below.

RESOURCES

Envisioning the Future: The 2008 Presidential Candidates' Health ...

The Case for Universal Health Care in the United States

Barack Obama | Change We Can Believe In | Health Care

Why McCain has the best health-care plan - Mar. 11, 2008

GENERAL SEARCH ENGINES

WWW.GOGLE.COM

WWW.YAHOO.COM

WWW.ASK.COM

EVALUATION

Persuasive Essay : #2 Persuasive Essay Rubric

CATEGORY	4 - Above Standards	3 - Meets Standards	2 - Approaching Standards	1 - Below Standards	Score
Focus or Thesis Statement	The thesis statement names the topic of the essay and outlines the main points to be discussed. Uses all six PPA steps	The thesis statement names the topic of the essay. Uses five of the six PPA steps.	The thesis statement outlines some or all of the main points to be discussed but does not name the topic. Uses PPA steps inaccurately	The thesis statement does not name the topic AND does not preview what will be discussed. Does not use PPA steps.
Attention Grabber	The introductory paragraph has a strong hook or attention grabber that is appropriate for the audience. This could be a strong statement, a relevant quotation, statistic, or question addressed to the reader.	The introductory paragraph has a hook or attention grabber, but it is weak, rambling or inappropriate for the audience.	The author has an interesting introductory paragraph but the connection to the topic is not clear.	The introductory paragraph is not interesting AND is not relevant to the topic.
Closing paragraph	The conclusion is strong and leaves the reader solidly understanding the writer's position. Effective restatement of the position statement begins the closing paragraph.	The conclusion is recognizable. The author's position is restated within the first two sentences of the closing paragraph.	The author's position is restated within the closing paragraph, but not near the beginning.	There is no conclusion - the paper just ends.
Persuasiveness	The final product was extremely persuasive, giving more than 3 supporting arguments.	The final product was persuasive, giving more than 2 supporting arguments.	The final product was somewhat persuasive, giving 2 or less supporting arguments.	The product was not persuasive at all, giving 1 or no supporting arguments.

GRADING: A=14-16 P0INTS

B=11-13 POINTS

C=8-10 POINTS

D=5-7 POINTS

F=0-4 POINTS

CONCLUSION

Upon completion of this web quest, you should now understand the difficulties involved in making public policy decisions. Universal health Care is one of the MOST complex issues facing Americans today. You should also have gained a better understanding regarding the deep complexities for creating a budget that includes $ Billions in expenditures. Moreover, you now see democracy in action. There are many differences between Democrats and Republicans on health care which leads to involved compromises and political debate. Yet there is urgency for creating a sensible health care plan to cover the uninsured. Many lives are at stake!

You now know what it is to be a public policy analyst. This social scientist makes investigates social problems and makes solid public policy decision from gathering evidence to selecting the best solutions. Let’s hope your investigation has yielded a workable public policy that will help millions. Let’s hope you made a difference.

Thanks for your participation!!!!

STANDARDS

Social Studies

Standard 1:   History of the United States and New York

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.

Standard 4:   Economics

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of how the United States and other societies develop economic systems and associated institutions to allocate scarce resources, how major decision-making units function in the United States and other national economies, and how an economy solves the scarcity problem through market and nonmarket mechanisms.

Standard 5:   Civics, Citizenship, and Government

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing governments; the governmental system of the United States and other nations; the United States Constitution; the basic civic values of American constitutional democracy; and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation.

English Language Arts

Standard 1:   Language for Information and Understanding

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for information and understanding. As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information.

Standard 2:   Language for Literary Response and Expression

Students will read and listen to oral, written, and electronically produced texts and performances from American and world literature; relate texts and performances to their own lives; and develop an understanding of the diverse social, historical, and cultural dimensions the texts and performances represent. As speakers and writers, students will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for self-expression and artistic creation.

Standard 3:   Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for critical analysis and evaluation. As listeners and readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to present, from a variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information and issues.

Standard 4:   Language for Social Interaction

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for social interaction. Students will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for effective social communication with a wide variety of people. As readers and listeners, they will use the social communications of others to enrich their understanding of people and their views.