Month: April 2025

From Capitol to Clinic – Q1 Nursing Legislation Update

  

The 119th Congress kicked off with a flurry of activity on Capitol Hill. During the first quarter of 2025, the American Nurses Association worked with nursing champions in Congress to advance nursing priorities and introduce key pieces of legislation to address issues ranging from the workforce pipeline to mental health resources for healthcare workers. Learn more below:

ANA's Executive VP of Policy and Government Affairs with Reps. Jill Tokuda and Diana Harshbarger.
ANA’s Executive VP of Policy and Government Affairs with Reps. Jill Tokuda and Diana Harshbarger.

PRECEPT Nurses Act (H.R. 392/S.131)

The Providing Real-World Education and Clinical Experience by Precepting Tomorrow’s (PRECEPT) Nurses Act would set up a 7-year pilot program to provide a $2,000 tax credit for nurse preceptors. A critical bottleneck in expanding the nursing workforce is the limited availability of clinical preceptors—experienced providers who provide hands-on training to nursing students, new nurses, or advance practice nurse candidates serving health professional shortage areas. Take Action for the bill!

ICAN Act (S. 575/H.R. 1317)

The Improving Care and Access to Nurses (ICAN) Act would modernize outdated Medicare and Medicaid policies placed on advance practice registered nurses (APRNs) seeking to treat patients to the full extent of their education and training. The bill would improve access to care, particularly in rural and underserved communities where APRNs often serve as primary care providers. Take Action for the bill! 

Increasing Access to Quality Cardiac Rehabilitation Care Act (S.717)

This bill is included in the ICAN Act and would give nurse practitioners (NP), clinical nurse 
specialists (CNS), and physician associates (PA) the ability to order cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation services. 

Promoting Access to Diabetic Shoes Act (H.R. 1616) 

This bill would allow a nurse practitioner or physician associate to order diabetic shoes for their patients. Current law requires a physician to certify the need for the shoes, despite the fact that many NPs and PAs act as the sole primary care providers for patients with diabetes, imposing additional costs and delays for patients.

Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Reauthorization Act (H.R. 929/S. 266)

The Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act became law in 2022—establishing mental health and substance-use disorder resources and trainings for nurses and healthcare workers. Now, the bill needs to be reauthorized, or its life-saving resources will be at risk. Take Action for the bill!

Ensuring Veterans Timely Access to Anesthesia Care Act (H.R. 2234) 

This is a new bill that would allow nurse anesthetists to practice to the full extent of their education and clinical training within the Veterans Health Administration.

What is Medicaid, and why does it matter to nurses? 

  

What is Medicaid? 

Medicaid provides health care coverage for millions of Americans, with nearly 72 million enrolled in 2024. The program is jointly funded by the federal government and states—states administer their own programs, while the federal government provides the majority of Medicaid’s funding and sets parameters that states must meet. The states are federally required to provide coverage for low-income families, qualified pregnant women and children, as well as people with certain disabilities. Every state can choose to offer Medicaid coverage to other populations beyond the federal requirements.   

Why is Medicaid under threat now? 

The Trump Administration’s agenda includes reducing federal spending, which is being echoed by the new Congress. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a budget resolution in February that would require the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which oversees Medicare and Medicaid, to cut $880 billion in federal spending from its jurisdiction through 2034. Achieving that level of savings would be nearly impossible without targeting the Medicaid program. Fast forward to the beginning of April—the U.S. Senate passed a framework for budget cuts and the House narrowly adopted it on April 10, 2025. Now, both chambers can work on tax and spending legislation to advance President Trump’s agenda through budget reconciliation—which allows lawmakers to bypass the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster rule and allow bill passage with a simple majority. We will know the true extent of the threat to Medicaid once this process gets underway. 

Why should nurses care about Medicaid cuts? 

Nurses should care about protecting Medicaid for a number of reasons. Medicaid accounts for 19% of hospital revenues and serves as the primary payer for long term care services and supports. Therefore, these cuts would lead to job losses across the health care sector—one estimate holds that 477,000 health care workers will lose their jobs as a result of Medicaid cuts. This could potentially include nurses in both hospitals and long-term care settings. Or, if nurses’ jobs are spared from these cuts, nurses will likely face other workplace challenges from other staffing reductions. 

For nurses, Medicaid cuts would likely further exacerbate workplace challenges such as higher nurse-to-patient ratios, which result in increased burnout and decreased job satisfaction. Nurses in nonprofit settings could see reduced wages as states grapple with how to meet the needs of their Medicaid beneficiaries within the constraints of statutory balanced budget requirements. States may have little choice but to decrease provider payments or eliminate coverage of optional benefits, further limiting access to care for Medicaid beneficiaries. 

Finally, Medicaid cuts would impact patient access and health outcomes. Medicaid cuts will result in beneficiaries losing their coverage and access to needed care. Beneficiaries will face difficult decisions about their finances—leading to delayed care and nurses seeing sicker patients. Cuts to Medicaid could threaten health care facilities’ abilities to provide access to critical services and serve patients. Medicaid funding cuts could also lead to facility closures, especially in rural and underserved areas that are currently struggling to meet the needs of their communities. Closures would devastate communities where health care facilities are critical not only for health care services, but also for contributing to the overall economic health of a community by providing jobs.  

Nurses know that protecting Medicaid protects patients, providers, and communities.  

What comes next? 

When it comes to Medicaid, we do not know what is coming next—how lawmakers will target reductions or reforms simply is unknown at this time. But the American Nurses Association’s Policy and Government Affairs Team is steadfast in its focus on educating policymakers on the importance of Medicaid for our nurses and their patients—and how any reductions will impact nurses across the country.  

Learn More and Tell Us Your Story! 

For more information on Medicaid and how it works, check out Why Medicaid Matters and Understanding Medicaid and CHIP: A Comprehensive Overview. 

Help protect Medicaid by telling your legislators to protect Medicaid, as well as sharing your Medicaid story with ANA.