Final amendments have already been made by the congress to the long-talked about health reform bill. Though the most popular change provided by the health reform bill is the requirement for most Americans to have health insurance, there are still a number of provisions that altogether aims to make health services accessible to the low-income population.
Listed below are the provisions of the health reform bill that directly involves nurses.
Workforce development programs finance nursing education to produce nurses who in turn will provide their services to those in need. Major grant programs include support for educational advancement, grants to the economically and culturally diverse, and repaying of student loans through clinical practice.
Nurse-managed clinics are also to be established as a solution to the shortage of primary care physicians. School-based health centers, who’s staff includes nurse practitioners, on the other hand will provide primary healthcare services to students among the marginalized population.
To ensure the health and safety of post-partum mothers and their children. The Nurse-Family Partnership program provides specially trained nurses to perform home visits for 2 1/2 years to low-income mothers and guide them on health and parenting.
The healthcare bill also provides the formation of a National Healthcare Workforce Commission, where nurses will be considered for the position, will look over the necessities of healthcare workers as well as the healthcare system and programs.
Through the listed provisions,it is very understandable how important the role nurses play for the success of health reform. Kenneth P. Miller, RN, PhD, CFNP, FAAN, the chairman of the National Nursing Centers Consortium, said in a statement: “The inclusion of nurse-managed health clinics in health care reform shows that lawmakers understand that our healthcare issues cannot be solved by insurance alone, and that nurse practitioners are the future of primary care in the United States.”
Original article by Marcia Frellick from Nurse.com
