Washington Watch

by Connie S. Helmlinger

Public Policy

ANA Past President Named to Key HHS Position

Just as nurses are increasingly joining the ranks of Congress and state legislatures, they are also filling key public policy roles. In the latest such advance, Virginia Trotter Betts, JD, MSN, RN, FAAN, immediate ANA past president, was named senior advisor on nursing policy and senior health policy advisor within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in late February.

"I am pleased that Ginna has agreed to be a voice within HHS for the nation's 2.6 million nurses and the patients they serve," said HHS Secretary Donna Shalala. "Her appointment and inclusion in health policy development at the highest level of the administration indicates the importance we place on nursing and nurses in solving both today's and tomorrow's health care problems."

In her role as senior advisor on nursing policy, Betts will monitor and participate in all HHS policy work that involves the nursing profession. Issues include nursing education, licensure, scope of practice, nursing research, nursing work force concerns, and nursing reimbursement and practice arrangements. She will work on various other health policy issues in her role as senior advisor to the assistant secretary of health.

"This is an exciting new challenge and opportunity to represent registered nurses and those they serve," said Betts. "Quality holistic care is at the heart of nursing, and I bring that outlook to my new dual roles at HHS."

While ANA president, Betts was instrumental in bringing the ANA and nursing to greater visibility and prominence by substantially increasing the ANA's role in political activism and public policy making.

FY99 Budget

ANA Applauds Strong Emphasis on Patient Care

When President Clinton unveiled his fiscal year 1999 (FY99) budget proposal in early February, nurses and patients were clear beneficiaries. The proposal--the first balanced budget in 30 years--placed a strong emphasis on the quality of patient care.

The FY99 budget for HHS, in which funding for nursing research is included, totals $380.8 billion--a $21.7 billion, or 6%, increase over FY98. The FY99 budget request for the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which also pertains to the needs of nurses, equals $3.8 billion, an increase of $161 million over FY98.

HRSA programs of particular interest to the ANA, which applauded the administration's budget proposal, are those that provide access to quality health care for low-income and underserved populations and promote the health professions work force.

While pleased that funding for the Nurse Education Act (NEA) in FY99 is proposed at $65.6 million, the level at which it was funded in FY98, the ANA still is calling for an increase in this funding. The NEA provides the lion's share of federal support for nursing education, primarily supporting graduate-level programs and funding nurse-managed clinics affiliated with university schools of nursing.

"Additional funding to support graduate-level education for registered nurses is critical, so that we'll enter the 21st century prepared to provide adequate health care to aging baby boomers and their grandchildren," said ANA President Beverly L. Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN.

Given last year's difficulty securing adequate funding, the ANA characterizes this year's budget proposal as a victory for nursing. Throughout 1997, the ANA, its state nurses associations, and their members actively lobbied Congress in support of NEA funding through the Nurses Strategic Action Team, a grass-roots network of more than 50,000 nurses.

Connie Helmlinger is periodicals manager at the American Nurses Association.