Nurses Impact Health Policy; State Vaping Legislation; Pelosi's Drug Plan
Nurses Impact Health Policy, Research, Education, and Practice
As ONS advocates participate in the 2019 ONS Capitol Hill Days (https://voice.ons.org/advocacy/ons-capitol-hill-days-preps-nurses-for-advocacy) training and advocacy event in Washington, DC, from September 22–24, 2019, a recent Journal of Nursing Administration post about nursing influence in health policy is timely (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/purposeful-approach-articulate-enhance-nursing-influence-jona-/). It serves as a reminder that a nurse’s work in patient-centered care goes beyond the bedside or chairside. Nurses are educators, influencers, innovators, and sage guides for patients, policymakers, and the greater healthcare industry.
With nursing’s rich history, nurses must remember their own voice (https://voice.ons.org/stories/health-policy-begins-with-you-educate-your-representatives-in-cancer-care)—their own power—in advocacy. More than 100 ONS members are leaving their mark during ONS’s Capitol Hill Days, making a huge a difference in policy, research, practice, and theory. Interested in adding your voice to the health policy conversation? Join ONS’s advocacy efforts today (https://voice.ons.org/advocacy/get-involved).
States Levy Legislation Against Vaping Products
The vaping issue has led to heated debate and discussion in DC about how to handle the increasing impact of e-cigarettes, especially in the wake of a youth smoking epidemic (https://voice.ons.org/advocacy/surgeon-general-declares-youth-vaping-an-epidemic). However, because Congress has been slow to act, many state legislatures and governors are taking matters into their own hands (https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2019/09/16/juuls-greatest-threat-isnt-trump-1189440) and passing laws restricting vaping products. Some cities in California have already issued a complete ban, and now stores like Wal-Mart are refusing to sell vaping products of any kind (https://www.npr.org/2019/09/20/762817754/walmart-to-stop-selling-e-cigarettes).
With legislation moving quickly through smaller jurisdictions, the state level often acts as an incubator (https://voice.ons.org/stories/advocate-in-your-own-backyard) for what becomes a more comprehensive bill at the federal level. The e-cigarette restriction is just beginning, and the industry won’t give up without a fight. Learn more about the youth vaping epidemic on the Oncology Nursing Podcast (https://www.ons.org/podcasts/episode-55-youth-vaping-epidemic).
Pelosi’s Drug Pricing Plan Meets Resistance
After months of rumblings, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) introduced her drug pricing plan on September 19, 2019, to subsequent bandy on Capitol Hill. To codify the plan, her office released a formal policy statement (https://www.scribd.com/document/426542154/Hr3-Title-by-Title-Embargoed), including a timeline promising results by Thanksgiving 2019. Drug pricing is an issue that both parties look to tackle as the next election cycle heats up. But as eyes turn toward the 2020 election, whichever party devises a solution to pass a substantial bill to lower drug prices (https://voice.ons.org/advocacy/the-battle-against-drug-pricing-wages-on) will likely win the bulk of the electorate’s support.
For Pelosi, the devil is in her plan’s details, and she’s hoping to win over progressive Democrats (https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/18/pelosi-drug-pricing-plan-liberal-1502040) in time. Look for legislation out of the U.S. House of Representatives by the end of 2019, but whether it moves farther than that remains to be seen. Learn more about the drug pricing issue, financial toxicity, and what elected officials are doing about it on the Oncology Nursing Podcast (https://www.ons.org/podcasts/episode-62-financial-toxicity-legislation).