NATIONAL VERSUS LOCAL POLICY IMPLEMENTATION 2

National Versus Local Policy Implementation

Policies formulated at the national level often have to be implemented at local/sub-
national level in order for them to achieve their stated goals. For implementation to be effective
at local level there is need for adequate resources needed for the policy’s implementation. More
importantly, local governments or authorities also need to have the will to implement the
policies. Without their buy-in, it is very hard for local governments to effectively implement
policies formulated at the national level regardless of the merits of the policies. This is especially
the case when the local authorities or governments enjoy some level of autonomy from the
national government.
The importance of local buy-in played out during the implementation of Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) or Obamacare. The Act sought to increase the
number of Americans with health insurance cover. With regards to its implementation, some
parts of the law were to be implemented at the federal level while others were to be implemented
at state level.
Once implementation began, it was clear that there had been very little buy-in from states
that were run by conservative administrations. States run by liberal administrations quickly
implemented sections of the law that they were supposed to implement. It was clear that since
the law had been formulated by a liberal administration at the federal level, there was high levels
of buy-in from liberal administrations at the state level. That was not the case with states run by
conservative administrations. Many of them resisted or were slow to implement sections of the
law that they were supposed to implement.

NATIONAL VERSUS LOCAL POLICY IMPLEMENTATION 3
The implementation of national policies at local levels, therefore, is often determined less
by the merits of the legislation and more by the local political environments. This is especially
the case when local governments have some significant autonomy.