Paul Saucier, a senior policy analyst at the Muskie School, is one of two Americans chosen to study aspects of the New Zealand health care system.
The program is sponsored by the Ian Axford Fellowship in Public Policy in partnership with the Commonwealth Fund of New York. Specifically, Saucier will look at New Zealand’s policies on people with disabilities and the role of government with disability issues.
“When I began researching New Zealand’s disability system,” said Saucier, “I quickly decided it would be very interesting to study.”
According to Saucier, New Zealand has recently appointed a Minister of Disability Issues for the first time and is adopting a formal Disability Strategy. The federal government is in the process of evolving their funding for disability services to elected district health boards.
“[This] raises questions about the role of government,” Saucier said.
Saucier is spending much of his time in New Zealand at the Ministry of Health doing background reading and interviewing government officials. He is attending meetings in Parliament and other government agencies as well.
“I plan to conduct a large number of interviews with consumers, disability service providers and local officials,” he said.
Saucier has also spent time at Victoria University, which is in the capital city of Wellington.
“They have a public policy and management program that is quite involved in the country’s public policy debate,” he said. “It reminds me in many ways of the Muskie School.”
The Ian Axford Fellowship is designed to enhance relations between New Zealand and the United States and improve the practice of public policy in both countries. Saucier has already had the opportunity to share some of the work being done at the Muskie School with policy makers in New Zealand. After his stay, he will come back to Maine with an understanding of the new policies that New Zealand has recently implemented and their effectiveness.
“By studying a system that is quite different than ours, I’m hoping to gain new perspectives that will help my colleagues and me work through difficult issues in Maine and other states in the U.S.,” said Saucier.
According to Saucier, the Supreme Court’s recent interpretation of the Americans with Disabilities Act has stimulated much new policy and service development throughout the United States.
“I hope that I can bring back some applicable lessons from New Zealand,” he said.
In the past, Saucier has worked with many states, including Maine, regarding their policies towards older people and people with disabilities. He has worked with the six New England states in an effort to improve the coordination of care between the federal Medicare program and the state Medicaid program.
Saucier is one of 200 faculty at the Muskie School who conduct applied research in community development and public policy.
“This fellowship represents an important acknowledgement of the national reputation that Paul and the Muskie School have developed in the area of long term care and disability policy,” said Andy Coburn, the director of the Muskie School’s Institute for Health Policy. “Paul’s work in New Zealand will provide policy makers there and in this country valuable insights into the implications of different approaches to disability policy.”
Staff Writer Tyler Stanley can be contacted at: [email protected]