Evidence Base in Design- The Community and Public Health Programs Extension Act

The “Community and Public Health Programs Extension Act” (CPHPE Act), especially bill S. 192 (116th Congress), is the health policy I chose for this debate. Senator Lamar Alexander, a Republican from Tennessee, introduced this bill with the primary goal of extending several critical healthcare programs. These programs included the National Health Service Corps, community health centers, special diabetes programs, and teaching health centers operating Graduate Medical Education (GME) programs. The CPHPE Act was introduced during the 116th Congress (2019-2021) on January 18, 2019 (Rubio & García Conesa, 2022). While the measure did not become law and died in that Congress, it is crucial to note that its provisions may have been included in other laws, re-introduced in following congressional sessions, or merged into bigger omnibus bills. This is standard legislative procedure.

The CPHPE Act sought to extend several major healthcare programs that are critical to public health and access to healthcare in the United States (“US Congress S192 | TrackBill”, 2019). The fact that the law received bipartisan support, with six cosponsors (three Republicans and three Democrats), suggests that the relevance of these initiatives was recognized across the political spectrum. The continuation of these initiatives is critical for the preservation of the healthcare infrastructure and the provision of key healthcare services to underserved and vulnerable populations.

Data on the effectiveness and impact of the programs proposed for extension would almost certainly be included in the evidence supporting such a measure. Policymakers would need to assess the programs’ past performance, contributions to public health, and cost-effectiveness (Teerawattananon et al., 2021). They would also consider the potential ramifications of not extending these initiatives, such as limited access to care and negative health outcomes for underserved groups. Evidence-based arguments would be critical in establishing the necessity for these extensions and ensuring that healthcare policies are aligned with the public’s best interests.

References

Rubio, A. D. J., & García Conesa, I. M. (2022). Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: A Green New Deal Outrider. RAUDEM. Revista de Estudios de Las Mujeres, 10, 28–42. https://doi.org/10.25115/raudem.v10i1.6986

Teerawattananon, Y., Painter, C., Dabak, S., Ottersen, T., Gopinathan, U., Chola, L., Chalkidou, K., & Culyer, A. J. (2021). Avoiding health technology assessment: A global survey of reasons for not using health technology assessment in decision making. Cost Effectiveness and Resource Allocation, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12962-021-00308-1

US Congress S192 | TrackBill. (2019). Trackbill.com. https://trackbill.com/bill/us-congress-senate-bill-192-community-and-public-health-programs-extension-act/1643062/