Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports 2019 Following the Leaders: Issue Attention and Agenda Dynamics in Women’s Health Care Policy Kara Anne Fisher kfishe19@mix.wvu.edu Follow this and additional works at: https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd Part of the American Politics Commons Recommended Citation Fisher, Kara Anne, "Following the Leaders: Issue Attention and Agenda Dynamics in Women’s Health Care Policy" (2019). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 4072. https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/4072 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by the The Research Repository @ WVU with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you must obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in WVU Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports collection by an authorized administrator of The Research Repository @ WVU. For more information, please contact researchrepository@mail.wvu.edu. Following the Leaders: Issue Attention and Agenda Dynamics in Women’s Health Care Policy Kara Fisher Dissertation submitted to the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science Jeff Worsham, Ph.D., Chair John Kilwein, Ph.D. Matthew Jacobsmeier, Ph.D. Simon Haeder, Ph.D. L. Chris Plein, Ph.D. Department of Political Science Morgantown, West Virginia 2019 Keywords: Women’s Health Care, Issue Attention, Agenda Setting, Public Policy Copyright 2019 Kara Fisher ABSTRACT Following the Leaders: Issue Attention and Agenda Dynamics in Women’s Health Care Policy Kara Fisher This dissertation focuses on shifts in issue attention in the policy process and examines policy changes. Describing agenda setting is important not only for understanding congressional behavior in general but also for understanding the institutional context of other political behavior. I focus on the processes of positive feedback to explain periods of dramatic policy changes observed over a long period of time. The purpose of this study is to examine the changes in the politics of health policy which opened the door to women’s health care as an important feature of health politics. Thus, my research is motivated by three questions: (1) How do women’s health concerns get on the agenda? (2) Does positive feedback through legislative entrepreneurship and composition of Congress shift attention? (3) How has women’s health care policy evolved over time? The results of this study not only contribute to the agenda setting literature but also have important implications for practitioners, professional organizations and associations, researchers, patients, and others who contribute to the policy community. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thank you to my committee for their patience, guidance, and willingness to see me through this process: Committee Chair, Dr. Jeff Worsham, Dr. John Kilwein, Dr. Matthew Jacobsmeier, Dr. Simon Haeder, and Dr. Chris Plein. I am especially grateful to my family, dear friends, and colleagues who challenged me to stay to the course. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................................ iii TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................................................ vii CHAPTER 1: Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1 ORGANIZATION OF THE DISSERTATION .................................................................................................... 5 CHAPTER 2: Literature Review .................................................................................................................... 11 AGENDA SETTING .................................................................................................................................... 11 POLICY IMAGE AND ISSUE ATTENTION ................................................................................................... 14 POLITICAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP .............................................................................................................. 17 WOMEN AS POLICY ENTREPRENEURS .................................................................................................... 19 INSTITUTIONAL DIMENSION ................................................................................................................... 22 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................... 26 CHAPTER 3: Mapping the Agenda ............................................................................................................... 27 MAPPING THE HEALTH CARE AGENDA ................................................................................................... 28 Public Attention .................................................................................................................................. 29 Congressional Attention ..................................................................................................................... 30 Presidential Attention ......................................................................................................................... 34 INFANTS AND CHILDREN ......................................................................................................................... 36 Public Attention .................................................................................................................................. 36 Congressional Attention ..................................................................................................................... 38 Presidential Attention ......................................................................................................................... 42 MAPPING WOMEN’S HEALTH POLICY ..................................................................................................... 43 Public Attention .................................................................................................................................. 44 Congressional Attention ..................................................................................................................... 45 Central Themes Women’s Health Bills Introduced ............................................................................. 48 Presidential Attention ......................................................................................................................... 65 Congressional Attention: Hearings ..................................................................................................... 66 Following the leaders? ........................................................................................................................ 68 iv Congressional Attention: Legislation Passed ...................................................................................... 70 AGENDA DYNAMICS ................................................................................................................................ 72 CHAPTER 4: Entrepreneurship in Women’s Health .................................................................................... 74 BILL INTRODUCTIONS .............................................................................................................................. 75 Committees ......................................................................................................................................... 75 Individual Members ............................................................................................................................ 78 COMMITTEE HEARINGS .......................................................................................................................... 90 Committees ......................................................................................................................................... 90 Individual Members ............................................................................................................................ 94 LEGISLATION PASSED .............................................................................................................................. 99 Committees ....................................................................................................................................... 100 Individual Members .........................................................................................................................