On Tuesday, March 23 ANA President Rebecca M. Patton, MSN, RN, CNOR witnessed history as President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law. Nurses around the country should be proud of their hard work. This historic legislation benefits both the nursing profession and the patients we serve.
In early March, Reps. Lois Capps, RN (D-CA) and Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) circulated a letter in the U.S. House of Representatives supporting $267.3 million in FY 2011 appropriations for the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development programs. A bipartisan group of 93 members of the House of Representatives signed the final Capps/LoBiondo letter, which was delivered to the House Appropriations Committee on March 19.
ANA has had numerous opportunities over the last month to send members from around the country to events with President Barack Obama to demonstrate their strong support for the President and his goal of achieving meaningful health reform.
You may ask yourself, “How can there be more money and political clout for the states, particularly at a time when most states are facing budget deficits? Recently, U.S. residents began receiving the 2010 Census questionnaire, a request made only every ten years. The more people who fill out and return the forms, the more accurate the population and other data and the more likely the states will get their fair share of federal funding. Not only are funding levels affected, but Census information affects the numbers of seats a state occupies in the U.S. House of Representatives. And participation isn’t just important—it’s mandatory.
A new Medicare policy went into effect in 2010, requiring physicians to be physically present in order to reimburse care given to patients in hospital outpatient and observation units. The rule is causing severe hardship for nurses and their patients who need to receive chemotherapy, IV therapy, and other treatments in observation and other hospital outpatient units — particularly in rural areas where patients and physicians must travel long distances.
ANA recently submitted comments urging CMS, Congress, and the Administration to allow APRNs – and all healthcare providers – to qualify for a portion of the billions of dollars in incentives for adopting health information technology/electronic health records systems under the federal Medicare/Medicaid Electronic Health Record Incentive Program.
