Democracy and Healthcare - Tightly Bound
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A Good Day To Advocate for Better Healthcare
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Staffing Levels Under Attack
Nurses have been fighting for safe staffing levels for years. When nurses are overworked, patient outcomes suffer, nurses become overloaded, and hospitals can become unsafe.
There is a bill in Congress, H.R. 2530/S.1113 - Nurse Staffing Standards for Hospital Patient Safety and Quality Care Act of 2023, that sets those levels appropriately so hospitals are safer workplaces and more patients can heal and go home. It is worth noting that safe nursing staffing levels are also in HR 3421, the greatly improved Medicare for All Act. I’m just saying. Hold that thought.
We have discussed Private Equity in Healthcare over and over and one of the ways that extra money is squeezed out of a facility is to reduce staffing levels. We have seen that hospital outcomes suffer as well as nursing home outcomes. In fact, one working paper examining 18,000 nursing home facilities over a 17-year period found that private equity ownership was associated with increased excess mortality for residents by 10%, increased prescription of antipsychotic drugs for residents by 50%, decreased hours of frontline nursing staffing by 3%, and increased taxpayer spending per resident by 11%. Another study found that private equity-backed nursing homes had a COVID-19 infection rate and death rate that were 30% and 40% above statewide averages, respectively. (CMS)
Let’s be clear, more money is made by short staffing, even if the death rate goes up.
On September 1, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the Minimum Staffing Standards for Long-Term Care (LTC) Facilities and Medicaid Institutional Payment Transparency Reporting proposed rule, which seeks to establish comprehensive nurse staffing requirements to hold nursing homes accountable for providing safe and high-quality care for the over 1.2 million residents receiving care in Medicare and Medicaid-certified LTC facilities each day.
Now comes Republican Congresswoman, Michelle Fischbach of Minnesota, who has put forward H.R.7513 - “To prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Services from finalizing a proposed rule regarding minimum staffing for nursing facilities, and to establish an advisory panel on the skilled nursing facility workforce”. Her bill has passed out of the Ways and Means Committee and is on it’s way to a floor vote. It has a dozen co sponsors - ALL REPUBLICANS. They are listed here.
Summary
I try to make this newsletter apolitical, but it just isn’t possible today. Republicans allegedly want small government and less regulation, but that means more unnecessary deaths. It is true for environmental issues, it is true for healthcare. They are appealing to the “YOU CAN’T TELL ME WHAT TO DO” crowd, but the results are devastating for all of us.
They exhibit more care for private equity profits than for the lives of patients.
When ever you vote PLEASE MAKE SURE TO VOTE FOR PEOPLE WHO CARE ABOUT PEOPLE NOT JUST SPECIAL INTERESTS. Democracy will work so much better if our representatives actually represent our interests.
ACTION
Let’s contact out Members of Congress and Senators and tell them that this bill will increase deaths in nursing homes and tell them that we strongly urge them to vote it down if it comes up for a vote. You can use RESISTBOT by texting SIGN PIPRCO to 50409 to send the email below.
“I am your constituent and I want you to know that there is a bill in Congress that I STRONGLY urge you to vote against. It is H.R.7513 - “To prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Services from finalizing a proposed rule regarding minimum staffing for nursing facilities, and to establish an advisory panel on the skilled nursing facility workforce”.
It would prohibit the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services from implementing a rule that would set safe staffing levels in nursing homes. A major study found that when when staffing levels drop, such as when private equity purchases a nursing home, death rate goes up by 10%. These are people dying before their time. Here is a link to that study, https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w28474/w28474.pdf from the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Please do not let this bill pass because it will kill people.
While I have your attention please note that we also need safe nursing staff levels and I would appreciate you passing H.R. 2530/S. 1113, Nurse Staffing Standards for Hospital Patient Safety and Quality Care Act of 2023.
PS Those safe staffing standards for nursing are also in H.R. 3421 the vastly improved Medicare for All Act.
Thank you for helping to save lives.”
RESOURCES
Healthcare Advocacy (Us)
Website
Our Newsletter resources including reproductive healthcare
Healthcare Advocacy Reading List
Find My Elected Officials
Contact the White House https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Contact State and Federal Representatives
By phone: (202) 224-3121
By email: democracy.io
Important Healthcare Resources
League of Women Voters Healthcare Reform Toolkit
Organizations to Contact
National Nurses United Medicare4All
Physicians for a National Health Program
One Payer States
Healthcare Now
Reproductive Health
NARAL - Pro Choice America
Charley. chatbot abortion resource - make sure to use a secure incognito browser if you live in a state that has banned abortion
Planned Parenthood
Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline has references about where to procure abortion medications. They also assist women in the process of self managed abortion or miscarriage by phone or text and will respond in an hour. Details and hours of operation at their website.
United State of Women Reproductive health page (bottom of the page) has important resources such as medical support, access to Telehealth, prescriptions by mail, and legal support references.
Practice careful communications - The Digital Defense Fund has a number of tips to keep texts, calls, and internet use private. Here is their site.
If you need financial help with an abortion try abortionfunds.org
Claims Denials and Appeals & What to Do
Appeal a Healthcare Decision
Appeal/Negotiate a Hospital Bill
Disinformation Management
Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency
Save Democracy
Chop Wood, Carry Water by Jessica Cravens
RESISTBOT
Link to the RESISTBOT site to learn more
Link to Chop Wood, Carry Water RESISTBOT write up
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Done ✅ And you have NO idea how bad it can be working with critically ill patients and be badly understaffed! Many years of experience with this, and am glad to be retired at this juncture! 😱