INTEREST GROUP AND POLICY - Essay Example

The domestic policy will range from how to solve insignificantly simple problems to how to handle a n issue of a huge magnitude to the nation. In a nut shell, domestic policy entails setting laws and regulations to govern the internal affairs of the nation (Steffen Schmidt et al 2012-2013). The domestic policies are regulatory, redistributive and promotional policy. In setting the policies a particular policy, there are interested groups who petition the government to take into considerations their individual needs.

The interest groups comprises of the people with vested interests on how the government is planning to address a particular issue. They express engage the government on all phases of policy making by submitting proposals, participating in legislation, enlightening the beneficiaries on how the policy will impact on their lives and even demonstration and engaging the government in litigation if they feel aggrieved by the government actions regarding the policy issue being addressed. The policy issue of focus in this case is health care.

Health care issue According to Steffen et al, social security is redistributive policy as it aims at achieving fairness in the country by focusing on the wealth redistribution. The social security includes health care. The central government expenditure on health care has been on a rise since from about six percent in 1965 to about seventeen percent of the economy in the year 2012 (Steffen Schmidt et al 2012-2013). . Most nations adopted the universal health care system in the 20th century and so our nation was no exception (Steffen Schmidt et al 2012-2013).

With the need to help millions of people with affordable Medicare, the universal health care has become a political issue with former presidents like Bill Clinton putting in effort to introduce it without success. Several proposals were made including the one adopted by Massachusetts in 2006 where all citizens were to receive insurance and low income earners would receive subsidies from central government in effort to raise their ability to pay premiums. The 2010 universal healthcare plan guarantees every American the health cover of her/his choice.

Interest groups refer to the individuals who want particular interests catered for. This means that they are organizations that join forces to have the government hear their voice during policy making and implementation. According to pluralist theory, interest groups bring representation to all thus every one wields power and influence. The interest groups fall in categories like public interest groups that are mandated with fighting for public interests like fights against pollution, business industry interest groups that foster the interests of the respective business and lastly the professional interest groups that deal with particular professional , for instance the teachers union.

The interest groups are dominated by the more informed and well endowed thus meaning they may not necessarily be the face of democracy. The interested groups in the health care apart from the government include American medical associations, national