2.Compare and contrast the roles of the federal, state and local levels of government and their impact on health policy Solution The federal government acts in six main areas related to population health: (1) policy making, (2) financing, (3) public health protection, (4) collecting and disseminating information about U.S. health and health care delivery systems, (5) capacity building for population health, and (6) direct management of services (Boufford and Lee, 2001) State and local government have the primary responsibility for the health under the U.S constitution. In order to achieve this responsibilities state and local engage on the following activities: monitoring diseases and injury of population, identifying groups that have conditions of public health importance, counselling and education. State and local governments also engage in a broad array of regulatory activities. They seek to ensure that businesses conduct themselves in ways that are safe and sanitary. They seek to ensure that businesses conduct themselves in ways that are safe and sanitary (through the institution of measures such as inspections, licenses, and nuisance abatements) and they oversee the quality of health care provided in the public and private sectors. Reference: The Future of the Public\'s Health in the 21st Century (2003).