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Nursing, Pages: 4, Research paper

Legislation Grid and Testimony/Advocacy Statement

Legislation Grid and Testimony/Advocacy Statement

Advocacy is one of the key nursing roles. In their pursuit of better healthcare systems and care services to their patients, nurses play a role in advocating for progressive changes in healthcare. They also evaluate existing policies to ascertain their effectiveness in addressing healthcare challenges. This paper analyzes a healthcare-related bill that is currently deliberation in Congress: Legislation Grid and Testimony/Advocacy Statement.

Part One: Legislation Grid

Health-related Bill Name The Medicare for All Act (Congres, n.d.)

 
Bill Number S.1655 — 118th Congress (2023-2024)
Description  

The bill, introduced into the Senate by Senator Bernie Sanders (VT), seeks to establish a national health insurance program. The program will be administered by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The program is expected to cover all residents of the United States. Additionally, persons with American residency or those born in the US will automatically be enrolled in the program.

The bill also describes the program’s coverage. As per its provisions, the program is expected to cover services or items that are medically necessary for health preservation. These include services and items targeted for diagnosing, treating, or rehabilitating a health condition.

 

Examples of services listed under the bill include hospital services, prescription medications, and mental health and substance use treatment. Likewise, dental and eye treatment services, home- and institutional-based long-term care, and reproductive care services are covered under the program. Specific reproductive services that are expected to be availed to the target populations for the bill include gender-affirming care services, contraceptives, and abortions.

 

The bill further prohibits cost-sharing for all covered services, such as copayments, deductibles, and co-sharing. However, prescription medications are exempted from this prohibition. The bill also contains a clause mandating private insurers to provide coverage that is only supplemental and not duplicative to the benefits provided by the program. The program established by the bill is not expected to affect coverage provided through TRICARE, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Indian Health Service.

 

The bill also provides a series of implementing provisions related to the HHS administration, participation of healthcare providers, and costs and payments. One of the provisions requires that the HHS establish a formulary and negotiate prescription drug prices (Senate, 2023).

 
Federal or State? Federal. The bill is under discussion on the floor of the Senate.
Legislative Intent The bill seeks to expand access to healthcare in the US by making healthcare in the US more affordable. Based on the need for universal healthcare coverage, the bill expands the Medicaid program to include all persons with US residency, American citizens, and persons born in the US. Likewise, it makes services that are otherwise inaccessible to many Americans, such as reproductive care services and dental care services to all Americans. The bill is also targeted at addressing the failures of the Affordable Care Act, such as the coverage gap and increases in the cost of care, by making most care services available to all Americans (Senate, 2023).

 
Proponents/ Opponents Proponents:

The bill was introduced to the Senate floor by Bernie Sanders. It was co-sponsored by 14 other senators, including Senators Tammy Baldwin, Richard Blumenthal, Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand, Martin Heinrich, Mazie Hirono, Ben Ray Lujan, Edward Markey, Jeff Merkley, Alex Padilla, Brian Schatz, Elizabeth Warren, Peter Welch, and Sheldon Whitehouse. The bill is generally favored by the Democratic caucus of the Senate (Senate, 2023).

 
Opponents:

The Republican caucus of the Senate is the bill’s major opponent. They argue that it is likely to raise taxes on some groups.
Target Population The target population for the bill is all persons living in the United States of America. The bill allows all American citizens, persons born in the US, and those with US residency to be enrolled in an HHS program established by the bill. The bill outlines the enrollment procedure for the program. As per the provisions of the bill, persons aged 18 or younger who meet the criteria for integration into the program after a year of enactment.
Status of the bill (Is it in hearings or committees?) The bill is in the introductory phase. It has been read twice and referred to the Senate Committee of Finance for deliberations (Senate, 2023).

 
General Notes/Comments

 

 

 The partisan Medicare for All bill introduced into the Senate by Bernie Sanders and co-sponsored by 14 other senators provides a dream of universal healthcare in the US. It reflects a legislative struggle to expand healthcare access to all Americans and improve on the gains made by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Integral to the bill is the provision of establishing a universal Medicare card that would allow all legible persons access to universal healthcare services. Upon its ascension, the Medicare for All Act will ensure all Americans receive dental, visual, and reproductive care services, including abortion, through the universal Medicare aid card.

The bill is now bracing for a partisan-based discussion in the Senate. It is likely to be favored by Democrats and opposed by Republicans. The Republicans, in this case, are likely to argue about the cost implications. As per the current argument, the bill will attract higher taxes and 250 out-of-pocket for all prescription drugs.

If the bill passes the floor of the Senate, it will be forwarded to the House for deliberations. With the House under the control of Republicans, intense lobbying is required for the bill to pass. If the bill passes the House, it will be forwarded to the president for ascension. The bill becomes law thereafter.

 Part Two: Legislation Testimony/Advocacy Statement

I believe the bill benefits the American healthcare system and should thus be passed. Foremost, the bill is being introduced against the backdrop of the high cost of healthcare in the US (Dieleman et al., 2020). The high cost of healthcare in the country is making basic care services unaffordable to many Americans, especially those from underserved communities and immigrants.

Likewise, the American healthcare system is fragmented, lacking unified goals in its approach (Lal et al., 2021). The bill introduces a single-payer system and a collaborative approach toward accessing care services. This is likely to improve its accessibility and acceptability among most Americans (Crowley et al., 2020). It is thus important that the bill is passed.

The social determinants like income, age, education, and gender affect the legislation. The bill will likely benefit persons of low income and literacy, traditionally impacted by poor access to healthcare. By expanding access to diverse care services for poor Americans and those with low literacy, the bill will enhance access to care services (Crowley et al., 2020). The bill will also benefit the female gender, as it makes reproductive services such as abortion accessible to them.

To persuade the opponents of the bill to change their position on the bill, I would inform them of the benefits of passing the legislation. I would highlight the traditional problem of poor access to healthcare that persists across American societies (Dieleman et al., 2020). The problem is compounded by the migrant crisis that exacerbates problems associated with access to healthcare in the country.

Progressive bills that expand healthcare access in the country will likely improve access to care for all Americans (Crowley et al., 2020). It is thus important that they support the bill.

Conclusion

Nurses, as healthcare advocates, play a role in evaluating policies. As evident above, progressive changes, such as the Medicare for All Act, have a far-reaching positive effect on healthcare. Passing such policies may contribute to progressivistic approaches in healthcare.

References

Congress. (n.d.). Congress.gov | Library of Congress. https://www.congress.gov/

Crowley, R., Daniel, H., Cooney, T. G., & Engel, L. S. (2020). Envisioning a better U.S. Health Care System for all: Coverage and cost of care. Annals of Internal Medicine, 172(2_Supplement). https://doi.org/10.7326/m19-2415

Dieleman, J. L., Cao, J., Chapin, A., Chen, C., Li, Z., Liu, A., Horst, C., Kaldjian, A., Matyasz, T., Scott, K. W., Bui, A. L., Campbell, M., Duber, H. C., Dunn, A. C., Flaxman, A. D., Fitzmaurice, C., Naghavi, M., Sadat, N., Shieh, P., … Murray, C. J. (2020). US health care spending by payer and health condition, 1996-2016. JAMA, 323(9), 863. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.0734

Lal, A., Erondu, N. A., Heymann, D. L., Gitahi, G., & Yates, R. (2021). Fragmented health systems in COVID-19: Rectifying the misalignment between global health security and Universal Health Coverage. The Lancet, 397(10268), 61–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(20)32228-5

Senate. (2023, August 9). Bills, acts, & laws. U.S. Senate: Bills, Acts, & Laws. https://www.senate.gov/legislative/bills_acts_laws.htm

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Question

Module 2 Week 4 Assignment

Legislation Grid and Testimony/Advocacy Statement

As a nurse, how often have you thought to yourself, If I had anything to do about it, things would work a little differently? Increasingly, nurses are beginning to realize that they do, in fact, have a role and a voice.

Many nurses encounter daily experiences that motivate them to take on an advocacy role in hopes of impacting policies, laws, or regulations that impact healthcare issues of interest. Of course, doing so means entering the less familiar world of policy and politics. While many nurses do not initially feel prepared to operate in this space effectively, the reward is the opportunity to shape and influence future health policy.

Resources( Reference at least 2 from the resources below)

To Prepare:

  • Select a bill that has been proposed (not one that has been enacted) using the congressional websites provided in the Learning Resources.

The Assignment: (1- to 2-page Legislation Grid; 1-page Legislation Testimony/Advocacy Statement)

Be sure to add a title page, an introduction, purpose statement, and a conclusion. This is an APA paper.

Legislation Grid and Testimony/Advocacy Statement

Legislation Grid and Testimony/Advocacy Statement

Part 1: Legislation Grid

Based on the health-related bill (proposed, not enacted) you selected, complete the Legislation Grid Template. Be sure to address the following:

  • Determine the legislative intent of the bill you have reviewed.
  • Identify the proponents/opponents of the bill.
  • Identify the target populations addressed by the bill.
  • Where in the process is the bill currently? Is it in hearings or committees?

Part 2: Legislation Testimony/Advocacy Statement

Based on the health-related bill you selected, develop a 1-page Legislation Testimony/Advocacy Statement that addresses the following:

  • Advocate a position for the bill you selected and write testimony in support of your position.
  • Explain how the social determinants of income, age, education, or gender affect this legislation.
  • Describe how you would address the opponent to your position. Be specific and provide examples.
  • At least 2 outside resources and 2-3 course specific resources are used.

Resources: