Essay Example: Advocacy Strategic Budget and Action Plan

The healthcare policy proposed in the previous assessment requires funding as is with other nonprofit organizations. The strategy aims at addressing some of the significant challenges veterans face in accessing and using healthcare services offered in many of the health facilities, including facilities for primary care. Among the problems are noise and overcrowding which is often accompanied by post-traumatic stress disorder (PSTD) especially when they interact with civilians (Vassy et al., 2019), inaccessibility of treatment because of physical problems sustained in combat injuries and severe wounds, and ineffective care coordination with the hospital staff.

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As one of the major setbacks of the healthcare policy is risks and knowledge gaps, a change is necessary for the most efficient utilization of the plan. Knowledge gaps and uncertainties in addressing the veterans’ affairs (VA) is the driving force for the funding of the VA healthcare system in order to improve the veterans’ services. The financing of the policy will, therefore, be necessary to enact the proposed health policy. The funding will aim at addressing the knowledge gap, which is the biggest problem with the system hence limiting eligibility requirements for the veterans to access health services. Also, the funding will facilitate the improvement of the services offered to the veterans as the funding is aimed towards the entire health system; hence all problems the veterans face will be solved. Financing of the health policy will also offer services that will allow veterans unable to move to be transported to access healthcare services. Therefore the legislative process will be required in amending the desired change in the healthcare policy to ensure all veterans have access to the care they need hence improving their overall health. Addressing the knowledge gap, especially between veterans and civilians interactions, will be crucial to passing the legislative process.

Interest groups comprise people with a standard view regarding a specific topic that is to be regulated by public policy; hence they combine their efforts to ensure their views are reflected in the policy. In the case regarding the healthcare policy that will be an advantage to the veterans, special interest groups will influence the policy, which is their primary role. The main way in which these representatives will achieve this is through lobbying. Lobbying will require special interest groups to talk to people in powerful positions to make their interests. As many citizens are not involved in the work their representatives do, the special interest groups will represent these diverse groups of citizens in society. Therefore, another role of the special interest groups will be to meet groups of citizens who are representative of different groups of the population and also inform the public in aces there are new changes in the health policy. Moreover, as the special interest groups consider the interests of diverse groups in the population as they influence the policy, they act as the voice of regular citizens.

One of the main problems that have been identified with veterans is the inaccessibility of health services. This is the case mainly among the veterans that cannot move due to different reasons such as physical problems sustained from combat injuries and severe wounds. Also, some do not access treatment services due to weak interactions with civilians. The funding organization needs to offer independent transportation network to and from the nearby health facilities for individual veterans. The transportation services will also facilitate the movement of healthcare providers to groups of veterans in scenarios when they need group care and preventive services. Besides, the organization should also develop mobile clinics to healthcare providers to provide primary care services and preventive care services to the veterans in their specific areas. Facilitating these services by the funder will help solve the significant health challenges with the veterans.

The government regulates funding activities of organizations, including the funding of the advocacy functions, which impact the tax-exempt organizations, especially nonprofits. The organization, therefore, has to follow these regulations. Many nonprofit organizations benefit from the government through tax exemptions. The organizations must adhere to the state laws regarding this and also follow the rules on fundraising efforts. The organizations are not allowed to take part in electioneering. They also have limited power to advocate for policies that affect their cause and cannot dedicate any substantial portion of their activities to lobbying. They are also not allowed to divert any benefits to any person or organization (Fremont, 2009). Organizations that receive contributions from private parties that are tax-deductible to the contributor may not engage in direct lobbying activities to preserve the tax-exempt status. Therefore the proposed organization will strictly follow these guidelines by the government.

As the organization aims at achieving its goals, different funding sources will be necessary to facilitate the advocacy efforts, especially from the nonprofit funding models. The funding models include; Heartfelt Connector, Beneficiary Builder, and Member Motivator, funded by many individual donations, Big Bettor that is primarily funded by one person or few individuals or organizations (Foster, Kim, & Christiansen, 2009). Heartfelt Connectors build clear connections between volunteers through particular fundraising events to fund the organization. For the Beneficiary Builders, most of the funding is from the fees that beneficiaries pay for services offered by the nonprofits, as is the case in hospitals and schools. They establish long-term relationships with the people who have benefited from the ceremony to provide auxiliary support (Foster et al. 2009). Member Motivators depend on individuals who donate because they believe the issue is essential in their daily life, and they also get a collaborative benefit (Foster et al. 2009).

Advocacy Functions Budget and Financial Statement for the Healthcare Policy

References

Foster, W. L., Kim, P., & Christiansen, B. (2009). Ten nonprofit funding models. Stanford social innovation review, 7(2), 32-39.

https://www-cdn.law.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/SSIR-Ten-Funding-Models-edit.pdfFremont-Smith, M. R. (2009). Governing nonprofit organizations: Federal and state law and regulation. Harvard University Press.https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=ndjyoR5Twx8C&oi=fnd&pg=PR13&dq=government+regulations+for+nonprofit+organizations&ots=1ikVCcNxYo&sig=eHwkMwR1G4Xkk0s7OtBKrAwsqnQ

Moye, J., Harris, G., Kube, E., Hicken, B., Adjognon, O., Shay, K., & Sullivan, J. L. (2019). Mental health integration in geriatric patient-aligned care teams in the department of Veterans Affairs. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 27(2), 100-108. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1064748118304779

Vassy, J. L., Stone, A., Callaghan, J. T., Mendes, M., Meyer, L. J., Pratt, V. M., ... & Schichman, S. A. (2019). Pharmacogenetic testing in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA): policy recommendations from the VHA Clinical Pharmacogenetics Subcommittee. Genetics in Medicine, 21(2), 382-390.