Happy Fall! It feels good to be back as an intern with GOVA. I attended the Annual Lobbyist Meeting this month. I learned about new tools and tactics to advocate for nurses from David Swankin of the Citizens Advocacy Center. State Senator Richard T. Moore (D-MA) discussed healthcare reform implementation in the states by explaining his experience in Massachusetts.
After months of debate and intense negotiation between the U.S. House of Representatives, Senate, and White House, President Barack Obama signed The Budget Control Act of 2011 (S. 365) into law on August 2nd. This legislation will raise the debt ceiling through the end of 2012 and paves the way for trillions of dollars in government spending cuts. Although Medicare and Medicaid dodged a bullet in this first round, ANA remains concerned that safety net programs will be on the chopping block once the newly created Deficit Reduction Committee seeks to identify another $1.5 trillion in savings.
Although Congress is in recess and many in Washington are on vacation, there is still work being down within the Federal Agencies pertaining to health care reform. A number of announcements regarding the Affordable Care Act were released this summer, and ANA wants to get you up to speed!
August 27, 2011 – the Delaware Nurses Association (DNA) embarked on our first ever “road trip” to meet the Legislative staffers at ANA and to speak with our senators and representative on Capitol Hill. Sixty-two nurses participated in a venture that started in Wilmington with a stop in Dover for our southern members.
San Antonio, Texas hosted the 2011 National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) annual Legislative Summit. Hot weather and hot topics were plentiful: energy, transportation, budgets, and of course health reform, to name a few. ANA uses this summit as an opportunity to educate policy makers and other attendees about the profession and related issues as well as connect with national and international experts. This year, ANA presented opportunities for state legislators to pursue recommendations from the 2010 Institute of Medicine (IOM) Future of Nursing report, particularly relevant with health reform initiatives.
On July 8, Secretary Kathleen Sebelius of the Department of Health and Human Services announced three new initiatives to help states improve the quality and lower the cost of care for the approximately nine million Americans who are eligible for benefits under both Medicare and Medicaid programs. These individuals, known as “dual-eligibles,” include some of the sickest patients, and account for a significant and growing portion of health care costs — over $300 billion per year. A technical resource center will help states coordinate care, and demonstration projects are designed to improve care coordination and decrease hospital admissions of nursing home residents. The nursing home demonstration project calls for facilities to adopt improvements such as employing more nurse practitioners, and increasing evidence-based interventions to prevent falls, pressure ulcers, and other preventable conditions.
