UPDATED: The final push to protect Our Scope of Practice!
UPDATE!: 8 April 2017 - State Budget Victories on RNs Scope of Practice and Funding for Safety Net Hospitals!
NYSNA scored important wins in our fight to protect nurses and patients in the NY State budget. The budget is nearly complete, and while negotiations continue on other items, the final version of the health budget bill that has already been voted on does NOT include the scope of practice language that was a threat to nursing care and our patients. We will continue our vigilance against future efforts to weaken nursing scope of practice regulations that will be proposed during the rest of the legislative session.
In addition, we secured additional funds through a new enhanced funding mechanism for our rural and urban safety net hospitals, which includes $20 million in supplemental funds for upstate critical access hospitals, that are often the only healthcare lifeline for residents of sparsely populated rural counties and an additional $20 million for urban safety net hospitals with the highest rates of Medicaid and uninsured patients.
We send our sincere thanks and appreciation to the NYS legislators in the Assembly and Senate who stood resolute with us in their efforts to protect New York’s RNs, our patients and our profession.
THE FINAL PUSH TO PROTECT RNs SCOPE OF PRACTICE AND KEEP OUR PATIENTS SAFE IS NOW!
The vote on the FINAL BUDGET will take place by April 1. Both the Assembly and the Senate will vote on this budget.
- So far, we won at the initial vote in the Assembly! A very big win to protect our scope.
- Nurses won another round this week, as the Senate version of the budget greatly weakens the “Health Care Regulation Modernization” language – that’s the measure that allowed harmful regulations against our Scope.
- Now the leaders of the Assembly and Senate will start meeting with the Executive branch to hammer out the final budget. This is the final push and we can get there!
The bill also proposed to give the NYS Dept. of Health the power to unilaterally implement these changes as “pilot projects” without oversight or input from nurses and affected communities.
The changes to scope practice would jeopardize our patients. Click here to see a copy of our analysis of this outrageous proposal with more details.
NOW WE ENTER THE FINAL ROUND. We have to keep the pressure up between now and April 1 to make sure that the Assembly and Senate do not back down, and give in at the final negotiations for the budget.
Here is the battle plan:
- Keep collecting and sending alert cards (“Every Patient Deserves a Registered Nurse!”), making phone calls, and letting our legislators know that this dangerous proposal must be dropped from the budget legislation in its entirety. See below a montage of members in action to protect RN Scope of Practice.
- Call your State Assembly and Senate legislator and tell them to stand strong and vote NO on the “Health Care Regulation Modernization” budget proposal!
- GET THE WORD OUT TO VOTE NO ON THIS PROPOSAL IN THE STATE BUDGET!
