Issue Brief Summary

Where Does the "Public" Fit Into "Public Policy"?
Trigger Points, Access, Impact
September 16, 1998

How are traditional citizen access points into the policy making process changing and what degree of impact is citizen input having on the public policy environment, especially in the often-defined "era of the consumer" in health care policy? Offers a general overview of the formal and informal triggers, access points and linkages through which individual citizens engage as players in the public policy arena. Raises questions regarding issues of public trust and confidence in elected officials and government in the era of a managed care "backlash," and summarizes studies of the public as an "engaged" or "disinterested" entity. Also looks at the questions of "where" does a public policy originate: individual legislators; executive branch staff; from the Governor's office; or from lobbyists who may or may not represent the concerns of average citizens? How is the world of representative government changing and what implications do these changes hold, in particular for health policy making? [11pp]

Click here to download the complete issue brief in PDF format.

If you don't have an Acrobat reader, you can get one here:

<< Back to Forums Institute issue brief listing