Calling All Nurses – National Day of Action for Healthcare Providers

  

0112_cropped-72dpi-1The urgent problems you face every day go beyond politics – they’re matters of life and death for your patients and crucial to the future of the nursing community.

That’s why health care providers are going all in next week, stopping by Representatives’ hometown offices, making phones ring off the hook, and causing social media to erupt with the voices of nurses all across the country.

WHAT: National Day of Action for Healthcare Providers
WHEN: Monday, December 12
WHERE: Your Member of Congress’s hometown office

Sign up for the national day of action now and we’ll make sure you have all the information you need to be ready on Monday!

Come January, there will be big conversations about the future of healthcare on Capitol Hill. You’ve earned a seat at the table – and on Monday, you need to claim your place in the discussion.

Click here to commit to making an impact on Monday! Whatever you can do, help make sure nurses are heard on December 12.

ANA-Supported Issues Victorious in Year-End Congressional Sprint

  

Good things come to those who wait…at least, it could be said for the 114th Congress.

On December 7th, the Senate passed a package of important health policy advancements aimed at encouraging health care innovation, improving mental health service coverage, expanding opioid treatment programs, and investing in medical research. The package of bills now moves to the President’s desk for his signature. Throughout the year, ANA advocated strongly for many of the key policy victories contained in last night’s vote, including:

  • The ‘21st Century Cures Act’ seeks to make the Food and Drug Administration’s approval process for new drugs more efficient and invests $4.8 billion in new medical research at the National Institutes of Health
  • Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act,” H.R. 2646, and the Mental Health Reform Act, S. 2680, – represents comprehensive reforms to mental-health programs at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration within Department of Health and Human Services.
  • Funding for Cancer Research: provides funding for $1.8b for Vice President Joe Biden’s “cancer moonshot” program.
  • Fighting the Opioid Epidemic: Provides $1 billion over two years to fight the opioid epidemic. ANA worked closely with Congress and the White House throughout the year to pass legislation and secure enough funding to ensure greater access to treatment services.

ANA Outreach to President-Elect Donald Trump Transition Team

  

In anticipation of early action on health system reform, ANA initiated its first official outreach to the incoming Administration. The letter outlines, to President-elect Trump’s transition team, ANA’s principals for any undertaking that would seek to transform our current health system

Highlights from the Letter:

For decades, the American Nurses Association (ANA) has advocated for health care system reforms that would guarantee access to high-quality, affordable health care for all. ANA is calling on you and your administration to prioritize the health of the nation, which is foundational to progress and economic growth. We are pleased to share our principles for health system transformation.

ANA’s Principles for Health System Transformation

  • Ensure universal access to a standard package of essential health care services for all citizens and residents.
  • Optimize primary, community-based and preventive services while supporting the cost-effective use of innovative, technology-driven, acute, hospital-based services.
  • Encourage mechanisms to stimulate economical use of health care services while supporting those who do not have the means to share in costs.
  • Ensure a sufficient supply of a skilled workforce dedicated to providing high quality health care services.

Read the full letter here.

If you have not already, be sure to subscribe to our RN Action email alerts (RNaction.org) and follow ANA Government Affairs on Facebook (RN Action) and Twitter (@RNAction).