| Course | HS810 Advanced Health Policy |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 8 |
| Paper type | Testimony draft |
| Length | About 830 words, 6 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | Doctor of Health Science (DHSc) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for HS810 Unit 8
Five Minutes, One Number, One Family: A Unit 8 Testimony Draft Supporting a Payroll-Funded Long-Term Care Benefit
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
HS810: Advanced Health Policy
Unit 8 Testimony Draft
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The composite state, its bill, committee, the witness and the family are composite; the program facts and sources cited are real.
Oral Testimony (about 650 words, five minutes)
Good afternoon, Chair Whitcomb and committee members. I am Dr. Elena Ruiz, and I am a health economist at the state university. I am testifying in support of Senate Bill 214, with two amendments.
[pause]
Here is the number I want you to remember. Medicaid pays for a large share of all long-term services and supports in this country, more than any other single source (Congressional Budget Office [CBO], 2013). That is not because Medicaid was designed for middle-class families who need care in old age. It is because those families run out of money, spend down their savings and then qualify.
[pause]
Let me tell you about one family, a composite drawn from many I have interviewed. Mr. and Mrs. Alvarez ran a hardware store for thirty years. When Mrs. Alvarez developed dementia, her husband cared for her at home until he could not lift her safely. A home care aide for twenty hours a week cost them about 2,800 dollars a month. In two years, their savings were gone. She now receives care through Medicaid, paid for by every taxpayer in this room.
[pause]
Most of us will face some version of that choice. Federal analysts estimate that about half of Americans turning 65 will need significant long-term care at some point, and a substantial minority will spend more than a year needing help (Favreault & Dey, 2016). Private long-term care insurance has not solved this; the market has shrunk, premiums have risen sharply, and few middle-income families buy it.
[pause]
Senate Bill 214 creates a modest public benefit, paid for by a payroll contribution of 0.58 percent of wages. Workers who contribute for ten years, or for three of the last six years, earn a lifetime benefit of 36,500 dollars, adjusted for inflation, to pay for home care, family caregiver training, home modifications or care in a facility. That design follows Washington's program, which began collecting contributions in 2023 and paying benefits in 2026 (Long-Term Services and Supports Trust Program Act, 2024).
[pause]
You will hear that such a fund cannot be solvent. That concern is fair, and it is the reason for my first amendment. The bill should require an independent actuarial review every two years and give the board authority to adjust the contribution rate within a set range. Washington built in actuarial review, and its studies have shaped later changes. A benefit that is reviewed and adjusted is far safer than a promise left to drift.
[pause]
My second amendment concerns portability. The bill should let workers who move out of state keep their earned benefit if they continue contributing, as Washington's legislature later allowed. Otherwise younger workers, who are most mobile, will reasonably ask why they should pay.
[pause]
In closing: this bill will not pay for all long-term care. It is designed to keep families like the Alvarezes out of poverty for the first year or two of need, and to slow the growth of Medicaid spending that every taxpayer carries. I urge you to pass it with these two amendments. Thank you. I welcome your questions.
The testimony asks the committee to remember one figure, one family and one fix for the strongest objection, because listeners keep about that much.
Written Statement (summary)
The written statement, submitted for the record, expands each point: sources for the Medicaid share and the lifetime risk estimates; a table comparing the bill's contribution, benefit and vesting terms with Washington's; a short review of the decline of the private long-term care insurance market and the 2013 repeal of the federal CLASS Act, which had attempted a voluntary national program; and the proposed amendment language for actuarial review and portability.
Preparing for Questions
The witness prepares for three likely questions. A member worried about cost may ask whether the fund could require general revenue; the answer is that the bill prohibits it and relies on the contribution rate and actuarial review. A member skeptical of new deductions may ask whether workers can opt out; the answer is that opt-outs weakened Washington's early finances and should be narrow. A member concerned about rural access may ask whether there are enough home care workers to use the benefit; the answer is that the benefit's family caregiver option helps where agencies are scarce.
Why the Two Documents Differ
The oral text uses short sentences, rounded numbers and one story because a listener cannot reread. The written statement carries the citations, tables and amendment text because staff will read it later when drafting. Testimony that tries to read the written statement aloud loses the committee within the first minute.
References
Congressional Budget Office. (2013). Rising demand for long-term services and supports for elderly people. Congressional Budget Office.
Favreault, M., & Dey, J. (2016). Long-term services and supports for older Americans: Risks and financing research brief. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Long-Term Services and Supports Trust Program Act, Wash. Rev. Code ยง 50B.04.010 (2024).
The Purdue Global HS810 Unit 8 instructions
The eighth unit commonly asks for testimony on a health bill, written for a committee hearing. Expect oral testimony sized to the time limit, often five minutes or about 650 words, and sometimes a written statement for the record. State your name, the bill and your position in the first sentence, because members decide how to listen almost immediately. Use few, rounded numbers and one story. Answer the strongest objection directly, ideally with an amendment rather than a denial. Mark pauses. Write the oral and written versions differently: the oral version is heard once, while the written statement carries citations, tables and amendment text. Prepare answers to likely questions. Rehearse aloud to check the timing.
How this HS810 Unit 8 example is built
The oral testimony opens with the witness, the bill and support with two amendments. It gives one figure on Medicaid's share of long-term care, citing a federal budget analysis, tells the Alvarez family's spend-down story, and cites lifetime risk estimates. It describes the contribution, vesting and benefit, citing Washington's statute, then answers solvency with actuarial review and adds portability, and the highlighted sentence explains why listeners keep one figure, one family and one fix. A section summarizes the written statement. Sections on preparing for questions and on why the two documents differ close the draft. Pauses are marked in the oral text so the speaker can breathe and members can absorb each point.
HS810 Unit 8 rubric: what earns full points
Testimony drafts are usually graded on clarity of position, fit to time and audience, persuasive structure, accuracy of evidence and handling of objections. Fit to audience and structure often weigh most: graders reward testimony written for listening, with the position first and a small number of memorable points. Accuracy is essential; a wrong figure undermines credibility. Handling the strongest objection with a constructive amendment earns credit. Distinguishing oral from written versions shows understanding of how hearings work. Correct citations in the written statement complete the grade. Testimony that reads like a paper, with many statistics and no story, tends to lose points. Preparing answers to likely questions is often worth extra credit.
HS810 Unit 8 help: mistakes that cost points
The most frequent problem with testimony drafts is writing a paper and planning to read it aloud. Another is burying the position until the end. Some students use too many numbers, which listeners cannot retain. Objections are often ignored, leaving members to raise them unanswered. Stories may be too long or not tied to the bill. Written statements sometimes duplicate the oral text instead of adding sources. When your bill is different, perhaps a nurse staffing measure or a tobacco tax, tell us your position and the one figure that matters most, and we will build the five minutes around it.
Get an HS810 Unit 8 example written to your instructions
Because testimony depends on the room, four details matter: the bill, the committee, the time limit and the side your Unit 8 witness takes. Add the rubric. The draft comes back in two parts, spoken text timed to the limit and a written statement for the record, with the likeliest objection answered. It arrives within 24-48h, and first-time requests pay nothing. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
More HS810 papers and DHSc samples
- HS810 Unit 1: Policy Problem Definition
- HS810 Unit 2: Discussion Board Post
- HS810 Unit 3: Stakeholder Power Map
- HS810 Unit 4: Legislative History Brief
- HS810 Unit 5: Policy Alternatives Memo
- HS810 Unit 6: Cost and Equity Appraisal
- HS810 Unit 7: Seminar Reflection
- HS810 Unit 9: Policy Brief
- HS810 Unit 10: Policy Analysis Paper
HS810 Unit 8 questions, answered
How many words fit in five minutes of testimony?
Roughly 600 to 700 at a deliberate speaking pace, which is slower than conversation because witnesses pause for emphasis and read from notes. The sample targets about 650 and marks its pauses. Committees set their own limits, often three to five minutes, and chairs do cut witnesses off, so a draft should be timed aloud before the hearing.
Why cite Washington if the bill is for another state?
Because it is the only state program already collecting long-term care premiums, so it is the evidence committee members will ask about. Citing it honestly means noting both its design and its troubles: the delay, the private-coverage exemption window and later amendments. A witness who mentions only the favorable parts loses credibility when a member raises the rest.
Should testimony include personal stories?
One, briefly, if it illustrates the mechanism. Committees respond to a concrete case, and a family that spent down savings before qualifying for Medicaid shows the problem the bill addresses. The sample uses a composite and says so. Stories should support the argument rather than replace it, and a real person's story needs that person's consent.
Where can I find a free HS810 Unit 8 sample paper?
This page contains the whole Unit 8 testimony draft, oral text with pauses marked plus a summary of the written statement.
How should testimony answer the strongest objection to a bill?
Directly and constructively, ideally by proposing an amendment that addresses it, such as actuarial review for a solvency concern.