Health Policy and Advocacy Issues for 2009-2010
NANN and NANNP's health policy agenda for the 111th Congress includes the following priorities (not in any particular order):
Funding for Healthcare System Infrastructure.
Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development and Education Programs
In coalition with the Americans for Nursing Shortage Relief (ANSR), NANN joined with other organizations in requesting funding for TitleVIII of the Public Health Service Act at the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) in HR 1, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This funding was included as requested, as $200 million was authorized for funding of Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Programs and Title VII Health Professions Training Programs. NANN and NANNP support the recommendations outlined in ANSR's 2009 Consensus Document, Assuring Quality Health Care for the United States: Building and Sustaining an Infrastructure of Qualified Nurses for the Nation.
For more information:
The Case for Health Care Reform
2010 Labor Health & Education Appropriations
Title VIII Nursing Workforce Appropriations, 2007-2010
ANSR Consensus Document For FY 2010
Nursing Community Letter to HRSA
Nursing Community Letter-Nurses' Higher Education and Loan Repayment Act
Testimony to the Subcommittee Regarding FY2010 Appropriations for Nursing Workforce Development Programs
Endorsement of H.R. 2043, the Nurse Education, Expansion, and Development Act of 2009
Nursing Community Tri-Committee Bill
Nursing Community Title VIII Brochure
The DNP as Entry to Practice Requirement or Requirement for DNP Education for Existing Neonatal Nurse Practitioners
At the present time, NANN and NANNP do not support any requirement for all neonatal nurse practitioners to obtain a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree by any specified time in the future, or for the DNP to become a requirement for entry to practice as a neonatal nurse practitioner. NANN/NANNP will oppose any legislation or regulation at the state or federal level that mandates such requirements.
For more information:
NANN Position Statement on the DNP
Reimbursement Policies Affecting Nurse Practitioners
To ensure uninterrupted access to care and continued quality of care for our patients, NANN/NANNP will closely monitor, assess, and respond as indicated to any proposed policy change, regulation, or legislation that might affect nurse practitioner practice or reimbursement by Medicaid, Medicare, or private insurers.
For more information:
CMS Advanced Practice Nursing
NPI Numbers
Health Care Reform
As the community of nurses and nurse practitioners who provide evidence-based care, and the expert voice for standards of practice for neonates, NANN/NANNP will closely monitor and evaluate healthcare and healthcare payment reform legislation for its impact on neonatal nursing and neonatal nursing practice and respond to any proposed legislation related to health care reform. NANN/NANNP will also evaluate health care reform initiatives for their possible impact on our patients and families.
Healthcare Reform Consensus Statement from the Nursing Community
Cover Letter for Health Care Reform
For more information:
Vision for Healthcare Reform by the Chair of U.S. Senate Committee on Finance
Aging Nurses in the Workplace
NANN/NANNP will support initiatives to retain the wisdom of aging and highly experienced nurses and nurse practitioners in the workplace, as outlined by the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation (RWJF).
For more information:
RWJF Paper: Wisdom at Work
Access to Health Care for Women of Childbearing Age, Infants, and Children
NANN/NANNP will support initiatives to improve access to health services for women, infants, and children, including programs to improve newborn screening, and programs that improve the health of premature and low-birth-weight infants, and infants born with congenital birth defects.
For more information:
March of Dimes Public Policy Issues
Prevention of Prematurity, Birth Defects, and Infant Mortality
The preterm birth rate continues to rise and is the leading cause of neonatal death. NANN and NANNP support funding for research regarding the cause, prevention , and treatment of preterm birth, birth defects, infant mortality, and racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare. NANN and NANNP also support funding for programs to prevent preterm birth, reduce environmental exposures and hazards associated with birth defects, and other initiatives related to the healthcare of infants and children.
For more information:
March of Dimes White Paper on Preterm Birth
March of Dimes Public Policy Issues
Report on the Surgeon General's Conference on Prevention of Preterm Birth
Maintaining and Improving Public Health
NANN/NANNP will evaluate and consider its role in strategies designed to maintain and improve the public health of our nation, particularly as regards children and women of child-bearing age. This includes policies and programs that recognize nursing's role in assuring the public's health, as outlined by the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, and support of initiatives to establish an Office of the National Nurse to improve the health of all citizens.
For more information:
NANN's response to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services requirement that only a physician can direct respiratory care
RWJF Paper: Charting Nursing's Future
Office of the National Nurse
Disaster Preparedness and Response
NANN/NANNP support funding of initiatives to prepare nurses and healthcare institutions to respond to local or national disasters (mass casualties, terrorism, influenza, natural disasters, etc) to ensure both readiness to treat victims of disasters as well as ability to maintain the safety of disaster response nurses.
For more information:
National Nurse Emergency Preparedness Initiative
Public Health Emergency Preparedness
Safe Staffing
NANN/NANNP is concerned about safe staffing levels in acute care hospitals, and will monitor, evaluate, and respond to any state or federal safe staffing legislation for its impact on neonatal nursing care and practice.
For more information:
Safe Staffing Saves Lives
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