By Danielle Parnass, CQ Staff
The ever-evolving blogosphere is now helping to shape the health policy debate by allowing more interaction between the public and policy makers, said Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Michael O. Leavitt, a blogger himself.
Leavitt, who launched his blog on the HHS Web site in August 2007, said his entries follow a range of topics, from day-to-day experiences, to his thoughts and decisions surrounding health care issues and policies.
People can post comments on his blog, which Leavitt said has provided valuable information.
"There have been times when someone has made an argument to me that I found compelling that I am sure began to mold and shape my thinking," he said during a Kaiser Family Foundation event Tuesday.
Blogging can be a "very powerful engine for public policy setting," he added, citing a recent HHS blog established to advance a summit on pandemic flu. He said the pandemic flu blog was a "wild success" in terms of being able to communicate with active "flubies" on the issue.
Leavitt said his audience generally consists of staffers, reporters or foreign government officials who use the blog to get a deeper look into his thoughts that a regular interview or conversation might not offer. Topics have ranged from 5-day series on Medicare or Import Safety to policy analyses of administration programs, such as the State Children's Health Insurance Program.
Blogging "enhances the capacity of public policy figures to communicate well," Leavitt said.
Leavitt said HHS also is utilizing various new media outlets to attract a wider and younger audience, including a partnership with YouTube planned for the fall.
John McDonough, now senior advisor on national health reform to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., helped launch a blog when he served as executive director of Health Care For All, a consumer advocacy organization in Massachusetts. The blog provided a more in-depth look at issues surrounding health care overhaul that the organization said were only touched on in the mainstream media, he said.
He also said it was very helpful when insurance brokers and others heavily involved in Massachusetts health care would reply to posts and give examples of things they see actually going on.
"At its best, health policy blogging can help us arrive faster at the truth of what's gonna make us all healthier and wealthier," said Michael Cannon, director of health policy studies at the Cato Institute. Cannon also writes for Cato's blog.
![[RSS]](http://67.192.49.194/templates/images/rss_icon.gif){kind=icon}
Subscribe to RSS feed
Post A Comment