What a historic year it has been on then many levels. Leaving behind the first yr of a new decade that saw struggles which we could not have foreseen in January 2020, and going into a holiday flavor that looks vastly different from years passed and a futurity that is nonetheless unclear – it'due south like shooting fish in a barrel to focus on the negative. However, despite the trials and tribulations of this year, it is important and inspiring to recognize all of the basis-breaking piece of work that ANA and nurses accept done in the policy, government affairs and advocacy spaces, as we wait towards what is on the horizon in 2021.

At the time of publication, Congress is in the process of passing a year-stop bundle that will avoid a government shutdown, include money for vaccines and COVID-19 assist to frontline workers, boost the economy, and include linguistic communication to protect patients from surprise billing for wellness intendance. ANA has been working with our allies in Congress, and advocating to go these items addressed. Please be on the watch for farther details on the yr-end packet by visiting ANA'southward new advocacy page. In the meantime, let's acknowledge the progress made throughout 2020, which was necessitated by the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE).

Earlier this year, the U.Due south. Congress and the President signed into law the Coronavirus Assist, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Included in the constabulary is language that reauthorizes Title Viii Nursing Workforce Development Programs and authorizes Nurse Practitioners (NPs) and Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNSs) to club home health care for their patients. These are longtime ANA federal legislative priorities, and nosotros applaud Congress and the administration on their passage in the early stages of the pandemic. Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) like NPs and CNSs are primal to COVID-19 care and maintaining access to non-COVID-19 care throughout the crisis.

By summer, ANA was becoming a regular voice for nurses as Congress sought additional solutions to PHE challenges in the healthcare system. ANA President Ernest Grant testified at a hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, "Part 2: Protecting the Reliability of the U.S. Medical Supply Concatenation During the COVID-nineteen Pandemic." Dr. Grant was there to answer the many questions Senators had most the impact of COVID-19. Questions ranged from what more the federal government could do to strengthen the supply concatenation, to the needs of nurses on the ground.

ANA besides responded on behalf of nurses to proposals outlined in a white paper released past the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pension (HELP) Committee. The Committee requested input on what the U.S. had learned from the past xx years of public health preparedness and response, and how we can better set up for time to come pandemics. ANA'due south response focused on how to rebuild and maintain country and federal stockpiles, improving public health capabilities, and increasing medical supply surge capacity and distribution.

ANA has been consistently present with constructive advocacy on personal protective equipment (PPE), which has been in short supply all yr. Equally a issue, the enterprise was tapped equally leadership of a broad-based the coalition that will exist a united vocalisation to Congress and the assistants on PPE and supply chain issues, to improve public health.

As nosotros pivot to start working with the incoming administration, ANA has hit the ground running, providing substantive recommendations to transition leaders, and applauding the appointment of a registered nurse to President-elect Biden's COVID-19 Task Force. We have communicated the many ways in which ANA and nurses can be a resources to the transition and the upcoming administration. Nosotros continue to solidify relationships to ensure that ANA will maintain a strong voice in the White House and key agencies in the months ahead.

Like the remainder of the Policy and Regime Affairs team, the ANA Political Action group (ANA-PAC) experienced a very successful year in 2020 despite the multitude of challenges it faced at the start of the pandemic. For starters, the PAC continued its winning streak with a 95 per centum win rate in the 2020 general election for the nearly 100 candidates the PAC supported based on their pro-nursing agendas. Members of ANA collection their support unlike in years passed to the tune of over 5,600 contributors to the PAC which was an increase of 34 percent over 2019 and counting! And it doesn't cease in that location: the fiscal strength of the PAC continues to ameliorate as receipts are upwardly 3 percent over last twelvemonth and this number only continues to grow as nosotros head toward the twelvemonth end. Policy and GOVA will be spending the early on part of 2021 strategizing our support for our existing nursing champions and starting new outreach efforts to those new freshman members of Congress. Stay tuned for updates in the side by side ANA-PAC quarterly newsletter.

ANA advancement on federal regulatory policy has also strengthened nurses and demonstrated the power of nurses' voices. With the COVID-19 PHE extended until March 2021, Medicare payment flexibilities gained in 2020 will go along. A number of these provisions expand access to APRNs for non-COVID-xix care too every bit COVID-nineteen intendance, which has been a boon to patients and their providers throughout the pandemic, especially in rural areas.

The readiness of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to remove regulatory barriers to practice has come as a consequence of direct advocacy over the years by ANA and partner organizations. The voices of frontline nurse providers were also heard, as CMS gathered first-hand accounts and created infinite to share this information on regular conference calls with nurses about the impacts of COVID-nineteen on their practice.

The pandemic has demonstrated the value of APRNs beyond the health intendance system, and CMS' deportment tell the states that Medicare leaders are hearing us. The future is indeed bright, as CMS continues to review unnecessary barriers and craft regulatory relief. ANA policy leaders are right there, urging specific changes, and making a powerful case for making permanent changes to expand access to APRNs. We saw some success in the physician payment rule for 2021, which removed federal restrictions on APRN supervision of diagnostic tests.

CMS was not the just agency hearing nurses' voices every bit important decisions were fabricated. Early and oftentimes, ANA repeatedly called for steps to ameliorate protections for frontline providers, including a return every bit soon equally possible to pre-pandemic standards for PPE.

We made our example to the Occupational Safety and Wellness Administration, the Office of Minority Health at HHS, the Department of Veterans Affairs, Federal Emergency Direction Agency, Regime Accountability Office, and the White Firm Economic Advisors. ANA has become the "go to" organization for agency staff when they hear well-nigh events happening on the ground to work together to amend weather for nurses.

The pandemic made ANA'southward presence fifty-fifty more than valuable with the American Medical Clan's (AMA) RUC and CPT committees, which are the driving force for health care reimbursement. ANA CPT advisors were at the tabular array when the CPT codes for both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were developed. In a separate process, ANA advisors were consulted to account for increased exercise expenses incurred during the pandemic. Throughout, ANA engaged feedback and comment from the nursing community. All of these accomplishments could not be washed without the loud impassioned phonation of our ANA members and RNAction advocates. This united voice sent almost 460,000 messages to Congress, responded to public comments and engaged in several surveys where the results were presented to Congressional offices across Capitol Colina. All of the input from nurses, our nation's nearly trusted profession for xviii straight years, directly impacted legislation and policy throughout the yr. We have you to thank for that – your efforts on the frontlines, your expertise and your advocacy do non go unnoticed. With over 200,000 RNAction advocates, we are poised to improve the profession of nursing and conditions for your patients over again in 2021.

Every membership group has an iteration of "Hill Day," "Legislative Briefing," or "Fly-in" where its members come to Washington, DC, to speak directly to their members of Congress on bug of importance to the association. Hundreds of members of the American Nurses Association (ANA) volition be on Capitol Colina on June 20 for our annual Hill Day. This is a powerful experience and, in many ways, the near bones grade of the democratic process. These constituents have the ability to schedule a meeting with their elected representatives or their staffs to discuss issues of importance to them and the association.

Members of Congress will always experience the weight of an upshot when the constituent is able to make a personal connection and being able to draw upon those stories is quite effective. For nurses, this might be an instance where you lot accept encountered workplace violence or a lack of resource to effectively perform your job for example.

With the 116th Congress a quarter of the manner into its session, information technology has already been bombarded with special interest groups seeking to meet with members of Congress and their part staffs. These groups have been introducing themselves to freshman members of Congress while solidifying previous relationships with the more than experienced lawmakers.

It is truly an incredible experience for nurses and nurse advocates to caput up to Capitol Hill for the start time – too as for those more experienced participants. When a elective advocates on behalf of a cause they believe in and are passionate virtually, it empowers them to become more than engaged politically and professionally. Information technology enables a person to tangibly connect with their history, with the policies they are fighting for, and allows them to fulfill their civic duty of participating in democracy. Advocating for a cause on Capitol Loma provides citizens the platform to provide critical feedback to a lawmaker and serves as a check on the legislative branch by those it represents.

It is an specially important fourth dimension for nurses and nurse advocates to take their experience and insights to Capitol Colina. There are many pieces of legislation impacting nurses and their patients gaining momentum in Congress. The Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Deed (H.R. 1309), the Habitation Wellness Intendance Planning Improvement Human activity of 2019 (H.R. 2150), and the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act of 2019 (H.R. 728) are all being discussed past over 400 nurses making their way to Capitol Hill this week. To read more on these pieces of legislation, delight visit RNAction. Nurses and nurse advocates must speak in a clear, united voice because when nurses speak, Washington listens. And regardless of the issue our members are advocating for, or whether it is called a wing-in or Hill Day, when yous are advocating on behalf of your profession on an consequence you care nigh, information technology is a powerful feeling. This communication makes a existent bear upon on members and their staffs. We are excited for ANA's upcoming Loma Day and look forward to the feedback our members will share about their experiences.

In just under three weeks ANA members and registered nurses from across the country will gather on Capitol Loma to demonstrate the power of nurse advocacy firsthand. Equally we gear up for our almanac #ANAHillDay on June 20th, nosotros wanted to offer some helpful tips and reminders for those attention and encourage those who might nonetheless be on the argue to register before information technology'due south too tardily. With momentum building around a number of bills in Congress that will help advance the nursing profession, at present is the perfect time to join u.s.a. for our biggest advancement event of the year.

Prior to arriving in Washington for the big mean solar day, please take some time to go to know the lawmakers with whom you'll be meeting (your federal representative and both Senators). In detail, determine whether they're already supportive of the legislation we'll be discussing in our in-person meetings. That includes:

  • Workplace violence legislation in the House and Senate;
  • Title Eight nursing workforce development reauthorization in the Business firm and Senate, and;
  • Home health legislation for APRNs in the House and Senate.

For additional background on these bills, please visit our RNAction issues page. If you're unsure who represents you lot in the House, delight find out here. Rest assured, nosotros'll exist going into greater particular on all these bills at our morning breakfast briefing before you head upward to Capitol Loma for your meetings. We'll also be hearing from ANA leadership likewise equally the newest nurse in Congress, Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14).

One time yous're on the Hill, you and members of your state delegation with whom you'll exist paired volition accept the unique opportunity to share your professional perspective on why each of these bills matters to yous. While it'due south important to know what these bills are working to achieve and how they would do so, it's just as of import for your representatives and their staff to hear your firsthand account on how you've encountered these issues in your chore. Representatives and staff will e'er answer meliorate when you are able to brand a personal attachment to the issue at hand. Delight spend some time thinking about if and how these bug have impacted your work, and decide which ones yous experience most confident speaking to during your meetings.

And if you can't join united states of america hither in our nation'south capital, rest bodacious you'll still have plenty of opportunities to bring together through our virtual Hill Twenty-four hours campaign. To ensure you lot're getting these and other timely nurse abet updates, please sign up for our RNAction updates.

To lookout our Facebook briefing with boosted information on everything Loma Twenty-four hour period-related, delight click here. And if y'all're interested in attending just still haven't registered, please do so here.