Health Care Reform

ANA: Final Step Toward Health Care Reform Completed


Silver Spring, Maryland–(ENEWSPF)–March 26, 2010.  The American Nurses Association (ANA), the largest nursing organization in the United States, applauds House lawmakers for approving H.R. 4872 “The Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010” by a vote of 220 – 207.  H.R. 4872, which provides important improvements to the health care reform bill signed into law by President Obama on Tuesday, came back to the House for final approval after it passed the Senate 56 – 43 earlier with changes to ensure conformity with congressional rules.

“This was the final step needed in the long fight for meaningful health care reform,” said ANA President Rebecca M. Patton, MSN, RN, CNOR.  “This legislation greatly increases access to care for tens of millions of people, and will strengthen and improve the health care system for generations to come.  On behalf of the nation’s 3.1 million nurses, ANA is proud of its accomplishments in reinforcing the need to adopt reforms and believes we helped make changes to the new health care overhaul law a reality.  Even though the legislation has now passed, we know that our work isn’t done.  ANA will work to inform its members and the public about what health care reform will mean for them, and we will fight to ensure that these important new reforms continues to be informed by nursing’s unique and vital perspective and that they are well-implemented, and effective.”

Over the last fifteen months, ANA played an especially critical role in advocating for reform, beginning with the Presidential campaign when we educated candidates about the nursing profession and ANA’s Agenda for Health System Reform.  ANA and its members participated in hundreds of media interviews and dozens of local media events, emphasizing the association’s policy that health care is a basic right.  It collaborated with the nursing community to outline the profession’s priorities as proposals were developed in the House and Senate.  Additionally, ANA testified before three key Congressional committees, met with White House and congressional health care reform staff, and took part in two presidential press conferences at the White House.  Nurses were tireless advocates for reform; thousands joined ANA’s health care reform team, sending letters to representatives of Congress, sharing their stories, and taking time out of their busy days to meet with members of Congress and participate in rallies and events.  Nurses should be proud that this hard work has paid off; both for the nursing profession and the patients we serve.

For more information on ANA’s health care reform work and what it means to you, visit

http://www.rnaction.org/toolkit

 

Source: nursingworld.org

 


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