Lobbying in Health Activist Organizations As medical research has advanced and scientists have discovered new information about various diseases, affected subsets of the American population have formed health activist organizations to fight for their interests. In order to represent such interests, organizations must acquire the necessary funds with which to conduct their research, advertising, and other activities. And while large, private donations play an important role in the fundraising process, successful organizations like Autism Speaks and the Parkinson's Action Network have also learned to lobby the American government for additional funds. Lobbying activities, however, do not necessarily translate into an organization fulfilling …show more content…
These statements often encompass items such as a desire to fund research to cure the disease or to help patients with a condition acclimate to and become accepted by society. To accomplish such goals, activist groups engage in a number of tactics to make themselves heard. These tactics include research, creating networks of cooperation and media, forcing their way into existing formal and informal institutions, and gaining supporters through information campaigns3. Not all activist groups, however, place equal importance on all of the above methods. Some activist groups like the National Down Syndrome Society focus only on easing the quality of life for those with a particular condition. Other groups such as the Breast Cancer Research Foundation solely focus on advancing research to ultimately cure and prevent the disease in question. Finally, a third category of groups including ones like the ALS Association attempt to combine both ideals by funding research while also providing individual support. Given the scope and breadth of the goals established by many of these activist organizations, acquiring money becomes essential to continue operating. Funding research requires large amounts of money to pay for laboratories, equipment, researchers, and other such essentials. Campaigns geared more towards social integration and acceptance also usually need significant …show more content…
For example, House Republicans have recently tried to prevent multiple forms of medical treatments and procedures (like abortions) from retaining coverage under President Obama's Affordable Care Act10. Other types of legislation can increase taxes on non-profits, limit certain types of research (i.e., on stem cells), or otherwise negatively impact the ability of health activist organizations to function in their fullest capacity. Activist groups must therefore lobby the federal government in order to have representatives for their causes and goals in Congress. Convincing policy-makers of the importance of funding an organization can lead to the easier passage of favorable legislation or prevent potentially harmful legislation from gaining traction. Lobbying thus plays an essential role in health activism and merits a deeper examination of its
One is by using specific, convincing, rhetoric, often referred to as “active rhetoric”. For example, on their website, they say: “We need you to take action on your pro-choice beliefs. Every day, anti-choice activists work to take away our right to choose. Pro-choice Americans can never stop standing up for access to abortion, birth control, and sex education. Your action will make a difference for women and families.” This type of rhetoric doesn’t prevent collective action problems, but it does try to combat them. They also give lists of ways you can get involved, providing links to websites that help people get active in protesting abortion clinic violence, defunding, and harassment, among others. Putting the information at people’s fingertips is an incredibly effective way of discouraging collective action problems. People are inherently lazy and self-interested, so going to the trouble to source websites, and search for associated causes and organizations would likely be a huge factor in them saying “oh well, so many other people are helping, I don 't really need to.” Further, they have a donation page that is easily accessible, and prominent on their home
Existing within the movement must be a leader or leaders, as well as a large number of committed followers or members. Additionally, social movements have “organizations or coalitions” working as a guiding backbone for collectivity and regulation (Stewart,
Hamilton provides an inside look at how congress really works and clears up popular misconception that make members of congress look like wasteful bickering crooks that support gridlock and are only concerned with the needs of interest groups and lobbyists. Hamilton argues that Congress has changed for the better throughout the years and that they are held at higher standards than they were before. Hamilton states that Congress is not only working at keeping the public happy but that have recently become faced with a lot more issues than before, they are not only more issues but more complicated and technical that are very high risk policies that take a long time to produce a decision (Hamilton, 1988, 65). Hamilton states that Congress is a system in which the viewpoints of everyone are taken into account and make sure there is a consensus when it comes to defining decisions. Even though many of us acknowledge that lobbyist and special interest groups play an essential role in the law making party, Congress is making an effort to make sure that everyone’s voice is heard. Congress is making sure that the balance of power is distributed properly. In recent years, there has been a decline in mega-lobbies and interest groups so that not only the wealthy powerful get their voice heard, but the everyday american people get an opinion in things that affect them as well. In Gary Lee’s article, The NRA Has Lost some Firepower, we can see that interest groups are beginning to have less of an influence on larger political decisions (Hamilton, 1988, 65). For example, the National Rifle Association’s defeat in the battle over the “Brady bill” and their war towards trying to revamp Medicaid was a great loss for lobbyists and
Interest groups, lobbyists, large corporations, and PACs try to influence the congressional committees' bills so they can have a say in the legislative process. When an interest group hears about a bill that is being debated on in a committee, they try to influence a members vote and they try to get a part of the bill changed. For example, a lobbyist came to me on a bill I proposed on making health care plans have no minimum requirement on benefits the company gives to its patients. He told me about how he did not get the right treatments and tests done on diseases he has and now is suffering badly from them. It was because the health plan did not have to give him anything extra. He changed my mind on the bill, and I changed the bill to setting a minimum standard on benefits given to patients.
Change.org is an online petition tool with over 68 million users and counting. Change.org users can either support causes by signing petitions or create petitions and request signatures. The purpose of Change.org’s website is to increase the number of users in its social network in order for more people to create and sign petitions. Change.org generates and retains a large user base by gaining the trust of a worldwide audience, inspiring users to action and retaining users through an effective website design. For profit, Change.org depends on large organizations like Amnesty International and the Humane Society to buy advertising to support their petitions. Thus, its website not only recruits more users but also convinces large organizations to buy additional advertising.
Many of these assemblies we can call voluntary or interest groups. A few examples of these types of groups include labor unions, banks, corporations, environmental activists, civil rights activists, and trade associations. These groups work to sway the public for or against certain issues, as well as lobby for political candidates who will represent those views.
These pluralistic interest groups are free to operate and lobby in the political arena, fighting against the majority and other competing factions for voice in Congress. With the influence of multiple factions operating throughout the political system, a balance of power is created (Kernell 2000, 429). This is much like the international theory of sovereign states balancing each other’s power to create a political system that focuses on stability, yet is always in a constant flux of power. With this in mind, special interest groups are constantly contending for power by raising money, campaigning, and lobbying in Congress. When a special interest group is threatened by a competing policy, the group will organize efforts to balance, or transcend the power of the competing group.
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the Legislative Process and Healthcare Lobbying in the United States of America. Before a law is passed and implemented in America under both state and federal level, it has to go often time through a very lengthy legislative process except in the case of an executive order. And, without the skills and expertise of the lobbying strategies, the idea which might intended to become law may not even make it to the level of a bill not to mention the chance of it to become law. It is important for us as nurses, to understand the legislative process and become very familiar with the lobbying process and take early and prompt action to defend our interests and help prevent any negative impact that any idea or bill that may become law may have on the nursing profession.
In the early years of 2009 to 2010 the political process pushed health care through legislation led by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Health care and government, 2013). This process was extraordinarily tiring, as many defenders of the bills passing were present. Many congressional members “dug their heels in”, and wanted to slow down the process even more as confusion about the bill was posed (Health care and government, 2013). Despite opposition by many sides of the American people, a Democrat-dominated House of Representatives passed the bill and the Affordable Care Act was signed into action on March 21, 2010 (Hogberg, 2013). Indeed, all three branches of government were instrumental with the passing the Affordable Care Act into place.
Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines an advocate as “one that pleads the cause of another,” or “one that supports or promotes the interest of another” (2014). Bu and Jezewski expanded on this by developing a mid-range theory of patient advocacy to implement into nursing (2007). They describe a patient as being “vulnerable and powerless” when stricken with illness and without knowledge of health care systems (Bu & Jezewski, 2007). The goal of the theory was to give the patient a voice in circumstances where they weren’t able to speak up for themselves and to maintain the patient’s integrity (Bu & Jezewski, 2007). They found three core attributes to what would make up
The “advocacy explosion” in the United States in the 20th century has been caused by the extreme increase in the number of interest groups in the United States. The general public views the increase and the groups themselves as a cancer that has come to the body of American politics and is spreading. The explosion in the number of interest groups and interest group members and finances has had an effect on the decline of the American political party and partisanship, the effect on democracy and the public interest, and the bias that has come with interest group competition.
Lobbying involves more than persuading legislators. Professional lobbyists investigate and examine legislation or dogmatic proposals, are present at congressional hearings, and teach government officials and company officers on imperative issues. Lobbyists in addition work to transform public opinion all the way through advertising campaigns or by control 'opinion leaders'. There are approximately 30,000 recorded lobbyists, other than that does not comprise the public relations experts, marketers, support personnel pollsters, and others who support their work. The majority lobbyists are hard–working professionals who comprehend how to find the way the political process, gain access to lawmakers and main executive–branch officials, and construct a strategy to accomplish their legislative objective. Whether or not you like the renowned place they engage in our system, lobbyists have turn out to be such an essential part of...
In Nursing, there will always be instances where the patient's nurse needs to advocate for their patient. There are numerous reasons why a nurse would advocate for their patient ranging from getting the doctor to change the patient’s orders, helping the patient’s treatment team understand what it is the patient is requiring for the day, to expressing the patient’s last wishes before death. In every situation, the nurse should do what is in the patient’s best interest. Tomajan (2012), “Advocacy skills are the ability to successfully support a cause or interest on one’s own behalf or that of another. Advocacy requires a set of skills that include problem solving, communication, influence, and collaboration”(p. 2). With those skills, the nursing staff will be able to work together to advocate for their patients. Along with those skills, nurses need to keep in mind the three core attributes that are: safeguarding patients’ autonomy; acting on behalf of patients; and championing social justice in the provision of health care. (Bu & Jezewski, 2006)
This summer if you were on social media you heard about the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. The concept was simple, just film yourself dumping a bucket of ice water over your head, challenge your friends to do the same, and donate ten dollars to the ALS Association. Opt out and donate one hundred dollars (Madison). Many Americans did not know what ALS was and by putting this challenge on social media has brought tons awareness to this devastating disease. Activism used to be taking action to bring social change, people in the 1960s used to gather in front of community centers and protest and or speak about their issue or cause. Now even though people still gather together it is much easier to use the internet. Hundreds of social media applications
woodchucks into the wild. (Americans for Medical Progress 2) These are only a few examples of intimidation and terrorism that activists use to get their point