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Welcome Nurses and Other Health Care Professionals |
We are less than 1 week away from what may be one of the most defining presidential elections of our time! We are choosing between two candidates who have proposed starkly different visions of our country's future. More than ever, we need nurses and other healthcare providers to make their voices heard in the current national debate on healthcare. Like many healthcare professionals, we believe that our country needs fundamental healthcare reform. We also believe that we need strong leadership and sound policies in order to reduce the influence of big moneyed interests and make healthcare more affordable and accessible. Senator Obama and his health plan will give us the best chance of achieving these goals..
An Open Letter on Health Reform in the
2008 Presidential Election
As doctors, nurses and providers of medical care, it is our obligation to speak out in the interests of our patients. In this year's presidential election, Barack Obama and John McCain offer two starkly different visions of what is wrong with our healthcare system and two different prescriptions for how we can repair it. We believe that Barack Obama's health care plan is right for our patients, right for our medical system and right for America - it offers the best hope of improving quality, controlling health care costs and guaranteeing health security for all Americans.
Senator Obama's plan will allow all Americans to share in the advances of modern medicine by providing guaranteed, affordable choice to all Americans. For those who like the insurance that they have, his plan allows them to keep what they have. For those who do not have insurance or are underinsured, his plan will give people access to new, affordable insurance options. In each case, premiums and direct costs will be made affordable, and people will not have to fear losing their coverage or entering bankruptcy if someone in their family should become sick.
Senator Obama's plan will also reduce the cost of health care by making our health care system safer and more efficient and then passing those savings on to all Americans. His plan would create a national state of the art health information system and would invest in helping doctors better understand what therapies work and what therapies do not. His plan will promote a rational policy on prescription drug use by allowing Americans to buy drugs more cheaply from other developed countries and increasing the use of generic drugs. And, his plan will increase our spending on preventative care.
Already, we have seen attacks on Senator Obama's health care plan that reflect fear mongering, not serious debate. But we know that the Obama plan will protect the health coverage of ordinary Americans by allowing them to continue to get their health insurance through their employers. Rather than forcing Americans to pay ever-higher insurance premiums, deductibles and copayments that subsidize the run-away profits of the insurance industry, it will cut costs for all Americans. Unlike John McCain's plan, the Obama plan will not allow insurance companies to discriminate against those with pre-existing conditions such as cancer or diabetes, which shifts the cost of health care onto the shoulders of ordinary American families and leaves them even more vulnerable to financial ruin because of medical costs.
America cannot afford another four years of inaction on health care. We believe that Barack Obama's plan will help our patients live longer and healthier lives; that it will reduce the cost of health care for all Americans; and that it will help us deliver safer and higher quality care to our patients. For this reason, we support the Obama plan, and we encourage all Americans to do so.
SIGN the letter of support for the Obama Health Plan
GET the Obama Nurses Fact Sheet as a PDF flyer
READ Senator Obama’s Health Care Policy
SEE Nurse leaders who support the Obama Health Care Plan
Fact Sheet for Nurses from the
Obama Campaign
Barack Obama has been a consistent champion of America's nurses. As an Illinois state senator, Barack Obama chaired the Senate Committee on Public Health and helped lead efforts to protect Illinois nurses and improve the quality of health care throughout Illinois. As a U.S. senator, Obama serves on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee where he has continued his long record of advocacy for America's nurses.
NURSES' RIGHTS (click each subheading for more)
Barack Obama believes supporting nurses in the workplace leads to better health care outcomes. Numerous reports have demonstrated the importance of proper workplace protections for nurses and other medical professionals for ensuring that patients receive the highest-quality care and reducing preventive medical errors. In the Illinois State Senate, Obama worked to ensure that nurse-staffing levels and work conditions were subject to public review so that hospitals and other facilities implemented strong pro- nurse, pro-patient policies. In the U.S. Senate, Obama is a cosponsor and advocate of the Safe Nursing and Patient Care Act of 2007 which would limit mandatory overtime to true emergency situations. As president, Obama will sign this legislation into law.
Ensure Safe and Adequate Staffing Levels
As chairman of the Illinois State Senate Committee on Public Health, Obama led efforts in Illinois to ensure that health care facilities implement safe staffing levels for nurses and adequate nurse-to-patient ratios. Obama's Hospital Report Card Act, which provided requirements on safe staffing levels, was signed into Illinois law. In the U.S. Senate, Obama built on his record of success and introduced the Hospital Quality Report Card Act, a bill that requires reporting of staffing levels for nurses which will help to ensure that the number of nurses is consistent with the types of care needed by the patients and the capabilities of the staff. Obama's universal health plan also includes a provision requiring health care facilities to monitor issues such as nurse-patient ratios. Obama's health care reform plan supports inclusion and expanded reimbursement for advanced practice registered nurses.
Barack Obama has fought the Bush National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB's) efforts to strip workers of their right to organize. He is a cosponsor and strong advocate of the Re- Empowerment of Skilled and Professional Employees and Construction Tradeworkers (RESPECT) Act, which will overturn the NLRB's "Kentucky River" trilogy of decisions classifying hundreds of thousands of nurses, construction and professional workers as "supervisors" who are not protected by federal labor law. Obama also believes that the Bush NLRB's decisions could put too many nurses - over 800,000 nurses cross the country - at risk of losing their rights to organize and bargain collectively simply because they participate in modern managerial approaches like team production or direct others' work as part of their professional responsibilities. The RESPECT Act reaffirms Congress' original intent to exclude from the National Labor Relation Act's protections only supervisors truly vested with managerial responsibilities.
Bring More Americans into the Nursing Profession
The nursing workforce shortage ranks as one of the most pressing issues facing our health care system. Nurses play a critical role in every aspect of patient care and also serve as administrators and executives in clinical and policy settings. Yet, too many young adults are choosing not to enter the nursing profession, and a significant number of current nurses are switching careers or retiring early. Barack Obama will improve working conditions including limiting mandatory overtime, improving nurse-to-patient ratios, providing additional support to training and incentive programs, and continuing to recognize and support nurses' right to organize. In addition, Obama supports reauthorization of Title VIII training programs with greater financial incentives for students and nurse faculty, including scholarships and loan repayment. Obama also supports adequate funding of the Nurse Reinvestment Act. In the Illinois State Senate, Obama sponsored legislation and voted to increase funding for nursing scholarships.
Implement Assistive Patient Handling Technology to Improve Nurse Saftey
Six of the top ten occupations at highest risk for back injuries are in health care, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nurses are at high risk for sustaining back injuries, which are most likely to occur when moving a patient. Barack Obama believes it is critically important to implement "safe lift" and other assistive technologies to protect nurses from preventable injury. Barack Obama will expand and accelerate research to identify novel and innovative technologies and determine which are the most effective for various medical settings. He will also provide federal financial and technical assistance to hospitals, nursing and long-term care facilities to employ effective assistive technologies and will direct the Occupational Health and Safety Administration to implement meaningful standards that protect nurses from injury related to patient care.
HEALTH CARE REFORM (click each subheading for more)
Provide Universal Healthcare Access and Lower Health Costs
Barack Obama is committed to signing universal health legislation by the end of his first term in office that ensures all Americans have high-quality, affordable health care coverage. His plan will save a typical American family up to $2,500 every year on medical expenditures by providing affordable, comprehensive and portable health coverage for every American; requiring that employers contribute to the health coverage of their employees; modernizing the U.S. health care system to contain spiraling health care costs and improve the quality of patient care; and promoting prevention and strengthening public health to prevent disease and protect against natural and man-made disasters.
How a community is designed - including the layout of its roads, buildings and parks - has a huge impact on the health of its residents. For instance, nearly one-third of Americans live in neighborhoods without sidewalks and less than half of our country's children have a playground within walking distance of their homes. This lack of a safe place to walk and play is a major contributor to the growing numbers of overweight children. Barack Obama introduced legislation, the Healthy Places Act of 2006 and the Healthy Communities Act of 2005, to identify and address problems in communities that are at high risk from environmental contaminants, and to assess and support improvements to the environment. He has also sponsored legislation to address environmental health concerns for disadvantaged populations.