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HEALTH POLICY FORMULATION: THE LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY PROCESSES IN ILLINOIS

This elective is designed to enable students to develop an understanding of health policy formulation in Illinois with emphasis on the nature and scope of both the legislative and regulatory processes. Students will be involved in reviewing proposed legislation and regulations having impact upon the development of health policy and the practice of medicine in Illinois. Students will interact with the Illinois General Assembly and will attend committee hearings and other proceedings of the Illinois General Assembly with a view toward obtaining insights into the legislative process. In situations where interest groups are attempting to influence legislation affecting health policy, students will interact with members of these groups to explore and evaluate their views.

Learning experiences also will include interaction with regulatory personnel at state agencies having jurisdiction over medical practice, health care delivery, public health, and health welfare programs. Students will be afforded the opportunity to evaluate proposed regulations and to examine the assessment by the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules.

During the course of the elective, students will undertake sophisticated analysis of proposed health laws and regulations. Students also will attend seminars, lectures and tutorials with state agency regulatory personnel, General Assembly members and staff, and teaching faculty. In addition, students will be responsible for completing assigned readings describing the legislative and regulatory processes in Illinois as well as for maintaining a log book in which daily learning experiences are summarized.

Students will be able to describe the legislative process in Illinois with emphasis on the manner in which health policy is developed through enactment of state laws.
a.    Students will describe the role of legislative committees and subcommittees and the involvement of these committees in the legislative process.
b.    Students will describe the role of legislative sponsors in conceptualizing and advocating enactment of sponsored legislation.
c.    Students will explore the nature of interaction between legislators and representatives on interest groups relative to the development of state laws affecting health policy.
d.    Students will delineate the role and responsibilities of legislative and committee staff persons in the overall legislative process.
Students will demonstrate an understanding of the regulatory process in state agencies having jurisdiction over medical practice, health care delivery, public health, and health welfare programs.
a.    Students will delineate the manner in which agency regulatory professionals develop regulations, seeking input from appropriate constituencies.
b.    Students will explain the manner in which comments are solicited, evaluated and utilized by agency regulatory personnel to revise proposed regulations.
c.    Students will describe the applicability of the rule-making provisions of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act including the role of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules.
Based upon awareness of the legislative and regulatory process, students will critically analyze specific legislative and regulatory proposals and develop coherent arguments in support of or against the proposals as they bear upon the development of health policy in Illinois.
Students will describe the nature and extent of the physician's role in the legislative and regulatory process, giving examples of how physicians may impact health policy development.
a. Students will describe the role of organized medicine in this context.
b. Students will describe the role of other interest groups in this context.
Using the textbook entitled Administrative Rulemaking in Illinois: A Handbook for Rulemakers and Practitioners (2nd edition, 1990), and selected articles, students will discuss assigned readings with elective faculty in a tutorial setting.

Evaluation will be based upon student participation in learning activities involving the legislative and regulatory process in Illinois. Student oral presentations regarding analyses of proposed health legislation and regulations also will be evaluated. Student participation in tutorial discussions based upon assigned readings will be evaluated and students will be required to pass an end of elective written examination based on assigned readings.

Completion of all third-year clerkships
Enrollment in the M.D./J.D. Dual Degree Program

Faculty Responsible for Elective	Ross D. Silverman, J.D., M.P.H. rsilverman@siumed.edu
Telephone	217.545.5770
Additional Faculty	Theodore R. LeBlang, J.D. Selected guest lecturers
Maximum number of students	4 per experience
Schedule	2 weeks; Full-time
Credit Hours	2 non-clinical credits awarded

MD/JD Electives
Medical Humanities Electives