Running head: HEALTH CARE POLICY DEVELOPMENT PAPER

Health Care Policy Development Paper

Michelle Duesberry-Woody
Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing
Business of Health Care in Complex Systems
NUR 4240
Catherine Mikelaites

On my honor, I have neither given nor received aid on this

assignment or test, and I pledge that I am in compliance
with the BSMCON Honor System.

Health Care Policy Development Paper

Politics is often termed a dirty word. Many individuals make it a
practice never to discuss religion and politics. As a profession, nursing has
the ability to make an impact in the political arena. With over 3 million

nurses in the U. S., nursing has the numbers to vocalize opinions on policies
that impact patient care.
Making a new federal law in the United States is a very complex
process. There are several steps involved with turning an idea into a law.
There are steps that must be followed, but the policymaking process is
distinctly cylindrical. (Estes, Chapman, Dodd, Hollister, & Harrington, 2013,
p. 26) Often steps in the process are reevaluated, but the process itself is
fairly straightforward. First, the idea for a bill is drafted. Second, a member
of the house introduces the proposed bill. Next, the bill goes to committee,
and if it is agreed that the bill should be sent on, then it goes to the Rules
Committee. Then the bill goes to the floor for a vote. If it passes the floor,
then it goes to the Senate. The bill then goes through the same process in
the Senate. After a back and forth for both houses occurs for amendments
the bill goes to the President. If the bill is signed, then it becomes a law. If it
is vetoed then it is back to the Congress to try to obtain enough votes to
override the veto.
Federal agencies have the ability to have an impact on legislation.
According to the National Institutes of Health, federal agencies may lobby
Congress (National Institutes of Health, 2013). There are very strict laws
governing these activities, primarily where finances are concerned.
Individuals that work for the NIH can give opinions and information to
members of Congress, and their staff members can use the same channels
that any individual would use to communicate with their Representatives or

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Senators. They may also lobby Congress in support of specific legislation.

The NIH may also publish opinions to supply information to the public
regarding pending legislation. Members of the NIH can also speak for or
against items publicly and privately. The mission of the NIH is to gain
knowledge about all living things, and to help decrease illness and other
health issues. They also use that knowledge to add length to life, and
improve quality of life through enhancing health.
Laws concerning lobbying elected officials are not as strict for groups
such as the American Heart Association and the American Hospital
Association as laws governing federal agencies. The federal laws that govern
agencies like this allow for the use of their funds in different ways than the
federal agencies. The missions of the American Hospital Association and the
American Heart Association are similar. Each promotes health in individuals
and communities. As expected, the Hospital AHA works with hospitals and
health systems (American Hospital Association, 2015). They also have
alliances with other organizations. The American Heart Association also
promotes health, but their focus is cardiovascular disease. Both AHAs have
political action committees which often have doctors, nurses, and lawyers
who will provide information to Congress. PACs also present information
before Congressional sessions and committees. These groups may also
communicate with Representatives and Senators through all public channels
to provide information.

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The American Nurses Association has similarities to the three

previously discussed groups. The mission of the ANA is to improve health for
everyone, but the ANA also advances nursing. The ANA advocates for:
nursing workplace rights, high standards of nursing practice, projecting a
positive image of nursing, high standards of nursing education, and by
lobbying regulatory agencies and Congress on health care issues that affect
the public and nursing (American Nurses Association, 2015). The ANA also
has a political action committee. They use the funds from their members to
support candidates who hold to ANA values for health and nursing
promotion. The ANA may lobby Congress in the same manner that the two
AHAs lobbied Congress.
House Resolution 2829 is the Free Market Healthcare Restoration and
Coverage Act of 2015. The goal of this bill is To repeal the Patient Protection
and Affordable Care Act of 2010, and for other purposes. (Congress.gov,
2015) In common terms this bill is designed to repeal Obama Care and all of
the items associated with it. This bill was introduced in the House of
Representatives on June 18, 2015. That day it was also sent to the following
House Committees: Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, Education and
the Workforce, Natural Resources, Judiciary, Rules, Administration,
Appropriations, Budget, and Subcommittee on Health. On July 14, 2015 it
was referred to the Subcommittee on Indian, Insular, and Alaska Native
Affairs, and the bill has remained there since it entered that committee.

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The Affordable Care Act has had a huge impact on health care. It has
changed the way Americans purchase insurance with Health Insurance
Marketplaces, and it has added a tax to those who do not carry insurance. It
required employers with fifty or more employees to provide coverage for
their full-time employees, and it expanded Medicaid. If the law is repealed
then individuals who do not have insurance will no longer have to pay the
penalty. Companies that moved employees from full-time to part-time so
they would not be penalized can return them to their previous status. Since
Medicaid was expanded on a state by state basis, that may not change the
financial situation for all states. The new taxes that are being collected from
hospitals, other healthcare facilities, and the American people will no longer
continue to be collected. The hospitals and healthcare facilities may go back
to the rates they were paid before the act, since the act reduced the amount
of payments to these institutions.
If this resolution passes it will have an enormous impact on nursing
and the patients that nurses care for. Unfortunately, some individuals will
lose their health care coverage all together. Some patients will regain access
to care that they had prior to the act, such as specialist care. Some
medications, such as birth control pills, will no longer be given to patients
free of charge. If hospitals regain their reimbursement, then perhaps nursing
could have less of a focus on productivity, and more focus on patient care.
Patient acuity could be taken into consideration, not just trying to keep
staffing low now that funding has decreased.

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Nurses may not desire to be politically active, but they are advocates.
Being a nurse means advocating for patients, communities, and health care
as an industry. The choice on the activity level for involvement is very
individual. Each nurse must decide what works best for them. With nursing
being the largest health care profession, nurses have the ability and
numbers to have their voices heard loud and clear.

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References
American Heart Association. 2015. Our mission. Retrieved from
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/General/About-Us---American-HeartAssociation_UCM_305422_SubHomePage.jsp
American Hospital Association. 2015. AHA advocacy alliances. Retrieved from
http://www.aha.org/advocacy-issues/alliances/index.shtml
American Nurses Association. 2015. About ANA. Retrieved from
http://nursingworld.org/FunctionalMenuCategories/AboutANA
Congress.gov. 2015. H.R.2829 - Free Market Healthcare Restoration and Coverage Act of 2015.
Retrieved from https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/housebill/2829/text?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22healthcare%22%5D
%7D&resultIndex=2
Estes, C. L., Chapman, S. A., Dodd, C., Hollister, B., & Harrington, C. (2013).
Health Policy: Crisis and Reform (6th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones &
Bartlett Learning.
National Institutes of Health. 2013. Lobbying activities. Retrieved from
https://ethics.od.nih.gov/topics/lobbying.htm