Healthy voices, unhealthy silence : advocacy and health policy for the poor / Colleen M. Grogan and Michael K. Gusmano.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Grogan, Colleen M.

Contributor:

Gusmano, Michael K.

Series:

American governance and public policy

American governance and public policy series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Medicaid--Connecticut.

Medicaid.

Patient advocacy--Connecticut.

Patient advocacy.

Health care reform--Connecticut.

Health care reform.

Poor--Medical care--Connecticut.

Poor.

Health services accessibility--Connecticut.

Health services accessibility.

Equality--Health aspects--Connecticut.

Equality.

Medicaid--economics.

Equality--Health aspects.

Poor--Medical care.

Connecticut.

Advisory Committees.

Health Care Reform--economics.

Health Policy--economics.

Health Services Accessibility--economics.

Medical Subjects:

Medicaid--economics.

Connecticut.

Advisory Committees.

Health Care Reform--economics.

Health Policy--economics.

Health Services Accessibility--economics.

Physical Description:

xiv, 156 pages ; 22 cm.

Place of Publication:

Washington, D.C. : Georgetown University Press, [2007]

Summary:

Public silence in policymaking can be deafening. When advocates for a disadvantaged group decline to speak up, not only are their concerns not recorded or acted upon, but also the collective strength of the unspoken argument is lessened-a situation that undermines the workings of deliberative democracy by reflecting only the concerns of more powerful interests.

In Healthy Voices, Unhealthy Silence, Colleen M. Grogan and Michael K. Gusmano address issues of public silence through the lens of state-level health care advocacy for the poor. They examine how representatives for the poor participate in an advisory board process by tying together existing studies; extensive interviews with key players; and an in-depth, firsthand look at the Connecticut Medicaid advisory board's deliberations during the managed care debate. Drawing on the concepts of deliberative democracy, agenda setting, and nonprofit advocacy, Grogan and Gusmano reveal the reasons behind advocates' often unexpected silence on major issues, assess how capable nonprofits are at affecting policy debates, and provide prescriptive advice for creating a participatory process that adequately addresses the health care concerns of the poor and dispossessed.

Contents:

The problem and puzzle of public silence

Explanations for public silence: inequality, dependence, and infeasibility

Medicaid's persistent and conflicting goals

Medicaid's policy network and the ties that bind: nonprofit advocacy and social interactions

Medicaid reform and advisory boards: who will advocate for poor people's health?

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [137]-149) and index.

ISBN:

9781589011823

1589011821

OCLC:

85484940