JUA NOD RE

Nursing is a highly demanding profession. In the United States, nurses have a list of policy issues that they would lobby Congress. The issues are diverse in nature, scope, urgency, and cost. However, two major issues that nurses wish to lobby Congress include the sustenance and growth of funding for nurses, and the Home Health Care Planning and Improvement Act. Nurses can lobby Congress regarding the two main issues using a variety of strategies that entail inside and outside tactics. They should use outside lobbying tactics to achieve policy success if their position enjoys popular endorsement by the general public. Representatives are more likely to support a policy if it impacts their popularity in the grassroots directly.  Title VIII of the Public Health Service Act authorizes Nurse Workforce Development programs. However, the programs are often underfunded (AONL, 2018a). Nursing Workforce Development programs enable the distribution and supply of skilled nurses to healthcare institution nationwide. The United States has experienced increased demand for nurses in recent years because of its diverse health care needs. In 2018, the Department of Human Health Services predicted that the nation would need an additional one million nurses to satisfy the projected demand. In addition, the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the United States projected future shortages of health care professionals (AONL, 2018a). Title VIII programs aim to solve the nurse shortage problem by educating, recruiting, and retaining nurses. Key changes that should be included in the Act in addition to funding include the addition of the addition of clinical specialists and other APRN roles to the programs. Other changes include modernizing and streamlining nurse education and practice. Many nurses argue that the Home Health Care Planning Improvement Act is not inclusive and needs to be amended. Physician assistants (PA) and Advanced Practice Registered Nurses are both recognized and authorized to provide Medicare services (AONL, 2018b). They are authorized to certify a patient’s eligibility for receiving nursing care at home. However, existing laws prevent the two groups of professionals from certifying the eligibility of patients for health care services at home. Therefore, Physician Assistants (PA) and Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN) have to rely on physicians to certify the eligibility of patients (AONL, 2018b). Patients experience extended stays at hospitals due to the unnecessary inefficiency caused by the existing policies. The Home Health Care Planning Improvement Act should be amended to enable Physician Assistants (PA) and Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN) to certify eligibility of patients for health care services at home. Nurses should leverage public opinion and sentiment to make their voices heard during lobbying. Nurses have the option of contacting representatives directly or by generating pressure indirectly by leveraging public opinion. A study by Bruycker and Beyers (2018) found that interest groups should prioritize outside lobbying tactics to achieve policy success when the issue at hand is supported heavily by the general public. Nurses are encouraged to leverage the media and other means of reaching the general public and gaining their support. Nurses should also form coalitions with other interest groups to increase outside pressure. Representatives are more likely to support policy issues that voters support strongly because they have vested interests to retain their positions in future elections.

References

AONL (2018a). Human Health Care Planning Improvement Act. American Organization for Nursing Leadership. Retrieved from www.aonl.org/advocacy/key-issues/grow-funding

AONL (2018b). Sustain and Grow Funding for Nursing. American Organization for Nursing Leadership. Retrieved from www.aonl.org/advocacy/key-issues/grow-funding

De Bruycker, I., Beyers, J. (2018). Lobbying strategies and success: Inside and outside lobbying in European Union legislative politics. European Political Science Review. 11. 1-18. 10.1017/S1755773918000218.