Issue link: https://nnumagazine.uberflip.com/i/198060
NewsBriefs:March alt 2 4/22/09 3:52 PM Page 8 a way of raising money to fund the new hodgepodge system. Single-payer supporters also reject this idea as another burden on already struggling working families and a sorry alternative to the more equitable concept of a single national healthcare account that is funded through taxes that everyone, individuals and businesses, pays. Taken together, single-payer advocates argue that this proposed piecemeal healthcare reform plan will make few advances in providing quality, cost-effective care to all Americans. Rather, it funnels more money to insurance companies and wrongly preserves the profit motive in healing patients. Extending Medicare to every person is the elegant, simple solution that meets all of the criteria President Obama has outlined for healthcare reform, argue single-payer proponents. "We're not protesting here today," said Rob Feckner, president of the California State Employees Association and an ally of CNA/NNOC in promoting single-payer. "We're trying to educate them to put single-payer on the table. If you have a closed debate, it's not a debate at all." Meanwhile, advocates of Medicare for all are hedging their bets and pursuing singlepayer legislation state by state in hopes that if enough individual states implement such a system, then the nation can't be far behind. CNA/NNOC is the main sponsor of singlepayer legislation in Illinois (HB 311), California (SB 810), Pennsylvania (HB 1660), and Maine (LD 1365), and worked closely with the group tasked with considering it (HB 1273) in Colorado. Washington state, Minnesota, and Missouri also have bills pending. "RNs are uniquely qualified to speak about healthcare and we are not shy when it comes to the care and safety of our patients," said Mitzi Cagle, a CNA/NNOC member who was the only RN to testify during recent hearings on the Colorado bill. "No one better understands the need for change than registered nurses who, for 24 hours every day, directly experience the pain and suffering of patients grappling with the current crisis and the irrationality of the present insurance-based system." CNA/NNOC, working within the coalition group Leadership Conference for Guaranteed Healthcare, is urging RN members to contact their Congressional representatives and ask that lawmakers seriously consider implementing single-payer and support HR 676. RN members living in states with pending singlepayer bills should also do the same with their state representatives. —staff report 8 REGISTERED NURSE LEGISLATIVE WATCH H ere's a roundup of legislation in California and other states that CNA/NNOC is sponsoring or closely tracking. This list does not include the various staffing ratio and state single-payer legislation now pending since those move and evolve quickly. Please check our websites (www.calnurses.org or www.nnoc.net) for comprehensive descriptions of those bills and what's on our legislative radar. You can help by contacting your representatives as a CNA/NNOC member and backing up our position on these bills. ARIZONA HCR 2014 (Barto) Healthcare. Prohibits a single-payer healthcare system in Arizona under the guise of preserving "choice." (Strongly oppose) CALIFORNIA CNA/NNOC-sponsored legislation to support SB 360 (Yee) RN competency. This bill would require that new graduates, registry, per diem, and other RNs must validate their competency to their employer for five days before the RN is given patients. States that check off lists for competencies are not valid. SB 438 (Yee) Children's healthcare. Among many things, this bill would provide presumptive eligibility for healthcare benefits for children when seeking care. Because twoW W W. C A L N U R S E S . O R G thirds of children are already eligible, we can leverage the funds that are spent on checking eligibility to expand programs. AB 664 (Skinner) Presumptive eligibility for RNs and healthcare workers. This bill would mandate that RNs and other healthcare workers get presumed eligible for workers' compensation benefits if they acquire MRSA, blood-borne illnesses, or suffer a neck and/or back injury. Other California bills of interest AB 2 (De La Torre) Healthcare rescissions. AB 2 ensures that no rescission be car- ried out unless patients intentionally misrepresented or intentionally omitted material health information on their application for coverage. Ensuring there is an iron clad standard on the front end will give patients a fighting chance of not being kicked off the insurance rolls at the whim of insurers. (Support) AB 98 (De La Torre) Maternity services. This bill would require health insurance plans to provide coverage for maternity services. (Support) AB 326 (Garrick) Health savings ac counts. This bill would conform state tax laws with federal rules and allow a tax deduction in connection with a health savings account. The bill would also allow for the treatment of the account as a tax-exempt APRIL 2009