#ANAHillDay

  

With June officially underway, that means one thing: 2021 Hill Day and ANA’s annual Membership Assembly – ANA’s highest decision-making body – has begun!

There are meetings, events, and dialogue forums all month long for ANA’s constituent/state nurse’s associations voting representatives, organizational affiliates and other select invitees to attend. And in the Policy and Government Affairs world –Hill Day and our main call to action is the capstone event where staff capitalized on the virtual environment this year and opened the event up to all ANA members (registration has officially closed since we hit our max capacity of 500 participants).

It kicks off on June 8 with the Hill Day briefing. For those registered participants, attendance to this briefing is required to receive Continuing Education credits and to attend Hill Day on June 10, so make sure it is on your calendar. During the briefing, you will hear from several speakers as they discuss the issues we will be advocating for, how to conduct a virtual meeting, checking in with your groups, and remarks by ANA President, Dr. Ernest Grant, and this year’s Congressional keynote speaker, Representative Rodney Davis from Illinois. You will receive a lot of information but there is also the chance to ask questions during the briefing, as well as during and after your breakout session.

This year’s Hill Day is on Thursday, June 10. As of the posting of this blog, there are 530 participants and all 50 states will be represented! There are over 300 meetings already scheduled in the House of Representatives and Senate and that number continues to climb.

In advance of the June 8 briefing and your meetings on June 10, ANA will provide the issue briefs regarding the three legislative issues you will be advocating on this year. You can also go to the Membership Assembly portal and download these and other important resources. In short, here are the three bills for this year’s Hill Day:

S. 308/H.R. 1436 – Protecting Providers Everywhere in America (PPE in America Act). This legislation will boost domestic PPE production and promote a more sustainable supply chain by ensuring more predictable, dedicated funding from the Strategic National Stockpile to American manufacturers of PPE.

S. xxx/H.R. 1195 – Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act. This legislation will require the U.S. Department of Labor to establish needed protections from workplace violence in the health care and social services sectors.

S. 1512/H.R. 2903 – Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act. This legislation will continue the expanded use of telehealth services to deliver cost effective and efficient care to patients.

Overall, we are excited for you to connect with your Members of Congress and their staff again this year – albeit virtually. Share your stories and what you have experienced over the last year – they certainly want to hear them!

Last, but not least, if you are unable to attend Hill Day or missed the cutoff, you still can communicate with your Member of Congress on the PPE in America Act. Please make your voice heard today and help get this important legislative priority passed!

We’ll see those attending this week and for those completing the call to action, make sure you share it on social using #ANAHillDay on Twitter or Facebook.

Recognizing the Value of Nursing Under Universal Health Care Coverage

  

The debate over how the nation structures its health care delivery system has waged on for decades. At the heart of this debate has been how to ensure coverage and access to needed health care services for patients. Looking at a system where most get their health needs covered by Medicare, Medicaid, or commercial, employer-sponsored covered, many recognized that too many Americans continued to be left behind. On one side of the debate, we have seen a push towards a single-payer system—like what is in place in Canada and the United Kingdom. Others, pushing for more market-based solutions to expand coverage through private plans.

At ANA, we have long supported movement toward adopting a single-payer health care system as the most desirable option. That is a health care system that is structured where services provided are financed by one payer, typically the government. Since that position was formally adopted in 1999, ANA has altered its advocacy on ensuring all Americans have access to health care coverage and nursing care, rather than focusing on how the health care system is financed. This evolution is a result of a shift in conversations about health care reform and delivery system, which was fully realized with the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)—which celebrates its 11th anniversary this year. This landmark legislation made several critical reforms to the nation’s health care delivery system that continue to influence health care policymaking today.

The ACA adopted some market-based solutions to expand access to coverage through the creation of federal and state-based marketplaces, while at the same time expanding eligibility for the Medicaid program to vulnerable adult patient populations. In addition to focusing on coverage, the ACA has helped to trigger a broader movement to value and quality in how health care services are provided and paid. We know that many of our nurses are integral in leading and ensuring the success of value-based models and other innovations that better the care for patients, recognized through underlying payment structures.

As ANA engages with Congress and policymakers, it is key that the association’s position better reflect the current conversations and priorities, as well as allowing flexibility that allows the association to weigh in on proposed legislation and regulations. This will only serve to allow our voice to be more effective on behalf of our members—making it clear that the existing support of a single-payer system must be updated. Rather, we must adopt a replacement policy that endorses universal health coverage that recognizes the value of nursing. As defined by the World Health organization, universal coverage is a system wherein everyone has access to the health care services they need.

Through promoting universal health coverage that recognizes the value of nursing, ANA has the opportunity to continue to amplify the vital role nurses play in changing and improving the nation’s health care delivery system. Nurses are key to the provision of high-quality care to patients—regardless of the patient’s health care coverage. What is critical in these debates is the recognition of the nurse role through equitable payment for the services they provide to patients. Additionally, as policymakers continue to drive innovation and reform into the delivery system, nurses must be allowed to practice at the top of their license to fully contribute to the success of any system changes.

While our complex health care delivery system is far from perfect, there are many opportunities to shape policies that impact coverage, care, and ultimately the nursing profession. Over 30 million of our fellow Americans remain uninsured, a number likely to continue to grow due the economic challenges we all face due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This will likely lead to actions that work to ensure greater access to health care coverage. We also know that innovation and delivery system reform will continue to be an area of focus for policymakers. The role of the nurse must be forefront in these conversations and—most importantly—in any resulting legislation or regulations. Adopting a position that recognizes that access to health care coverage is most important, regardless of the underlying financing, lets us focus on ensuring that the value of nursing is fully recognized in our health care delivery system.

Over the next few weeks, members should watch ANA’s communication platforms as we near this year’s Membership Assembly. Dialogue forums are back, and we look forward to a robust conversation about moving ANA from endorsing a single-payer system to one that supports universal access to health care that fully recognizes the value of nursing.

Workplace Violence Bill Introduced with ANA Endorsement

  
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As the coronavirus pandemic extends into a second year, nurses enter a second year of calling on Congress and the Administration to ensure an adequate supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) and prioritize COVID-19 vaccine distribution for health care providers. On these issues, the American Nurses Association (ANA) will remain a strong, clear voice until COVID-19 is no longer a threat to nurses on the job, wherever they provide care.

Throughout a challenging year of health emergency, though, nurses and their champions have not turned away from the serious workplace issues that pre-date and continue into the COVID-19 era. An example is workplace violence, which is shown to be highly prevalent in healthcare settings, causes harm to nurses and other health care providers, and undermines quality of care.

Violence and other abuses toward nurses are notably underreported. One reason that many nurses do not report incidents of violence is the belief that their experience will not be acted upon effectively by their facility’s leadership. Even so, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported in 2016 that violence against health care workers could be as much as 12 times higher than the overall workforce. This is a critical issue from ANA’s perspective, given that nurses are often the frontline providers in these settings.

The GAO concluded that more efforts are needed. Principally, federal workplace safety regulations should be strengthened. On February 22, 2021, Representative Joe Courtney of Connecticut introduced a bill, with bipartisan support, that would do just that. H.R. 1195, the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act, is almost identical to a measure that passed the House, but was not afforded a vote in the Senate, in 2019.

The bill would require the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to have and enforce specific standards for health care and social service employers. Specifically, OSHA could hold these employers accountable under new safety regulations. The regulations would require health care and social service employers to create violence prevention programs, take concrete steps to reduce the risk of on-site assaults, and employ best practices to encourage reporting and employee engagement in prevention.

ANA has endorsed H.R. 1195, and is working toward speedy passage in the House, followed by Senate action in this Congress. Future posts on Capitol Beat will explore the issue and the legislation in more depth.

For more information about the ANA’s advocacy on workplace violence, click here.