ANA’s PAC and complementary political education program are key to ANA’s legislative success in the U.S. Congress and a strong part of ANA’s overall success. ANA-PAC builds relation¬ships and provides bipartisan support for pro-nursing Members of Congress. In addition to increasing nursing’s visibility in the political arena, ANA-PAC demonstrates to policymakers that we are se¬rious about our issues.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced November 29, 2011 that Medicare will cover screening and counseling to help reduce obesity. Medicare beneficiaries can receive these and other approved preventive services from primary care providers (including nurse practitioners and certified nurse midwives) without any cost sharing.
On December 14, 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services announced $218 million in funding to assist 26 hospital systems in reducing hospital readmissions and preventable medical errors.
Thirty-two organizations will participate in the Pioneer Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Model, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced December 19, 2011. The ACO initiative was created in the Affordable Care Act to improve quality and coordination of care for Medicare beneficiaries while decreasing costs, with patients assigned to ACOs on the basis of their primary care physician history.
In late November 2011, President Obama formally nominated Marilyn Tavenner, a nurse, to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the key agency within the Department of Health and Human Services which administers and develops policy for Medicare, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
