Just when everyone thought health care reform was dead….it’s baaaack!!! The last week of February showed the American people that President Barack Obama and Congressional leaders are committed to advancing and enacting meaningful health care reform. ANA wants to make sure you have the latest information on what is happening in Washington, DC!
Wow!! We called on nurses to help us show Congress that health care reform needs to be passed now – and they ANSWERED! In less than one week over 6,000 have signed the “Let’s Get It Done!” petition and showed their support for breaking the impasse in Congress and getting meaningful health reform passed this year.
While health care reform has stalled at the federal level, it’s interesting to look at what has been done. Three years after Massachusetts passed health care reform legislation, the legislature reports that 97% of residents have health insurance, the highest in the nation. Massachusetts Senator Richard Moore, chair of Health Care Financing Committee offers that “health care reform in Massachusetts was much more than expanding access to health insurance. It also addressed improving health care quality and containing costs. What else can we learn from the Massachusetts experience?
The Senate passed its healthcare bill, H.R. 3590, the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” on Christmas Eve by a vote of 60-39! ANA wants to make sure you have the latest information on what is happening in Washington, DC! Where is the health care reform debate going? What has happened since the Senate voted on Christmas Eve? All of your questions concerning health care reform are answered here!
When I graduated nursing school in 2005, my fellow graduates and I took a pledge to care for the ill, “sparing no effort to conserve life, to alleviate suffering, and to promote health.” I believe that supporting policies that help to improve the lives of patients and the conditions in which we care for them is very much in line with the objectives of our nursing oaths. For the past two years, I have been working with Pennsylvania State Nurses Association and most recently the American Nurses Association to fight for issues that affect my patients. Most recently, I have gotten involved with the fight for affordable, high-quality health care for all Americans.
The American Nurses Association (ANA) continues to ensure the nursing profession’s perspective is clearly heard during the ongoing health care debate. ANA worked with the White House to create the online video, “Who Do You Trust”, which features Vice President Joe Biden, ANA President Rebecca M. Patton, and the American Academy of Family Physicians President Lori Heim discussing the need for meaningful health reform now.
