ANA-NY’s seven-member delegation attended the ANA Membership Assembly in Washington D.C. June 27-29. Each year members of state associations from across the country meet to discuss current issues that guide ANA’s advocacy and program initiatives. ANA-NY member delegate candidates submit self-nominations during the annual ANA-NY elections. You might want to consider this—it is a wonderful opportunity to enrich your understanding of national nursing and health care issues.
Most of the delegates also participated in the ANA Hill Day. After the “Hill Day” briefing by ANA Government Affairs staff, we visited members of the U.S. House and U.S. Senate who represent New York State.
The issues prioritized for discussion with our legislators were:

• • Restricting Mandatory Overtime for Nurses (H.R. 7546/S. 3860)
    • Mandatory OT has been restricted in New York State since 2008. This would provide nurses across the U.S. with the same protections that NYS nurses benefit from.
  • Supporting the CMS Long-term Care (LTC) Staffing Rule: The new regulations require LTC facilities have a RN on site 24/7 and establish minimum staffing levels. These requirements have a multi-year implementation to allow recruitment of the required staff.
  • Improving Care and Access to Nurses (ICAN) (H.R. 2713/S. 2418): This bill does NOT change any APRN scope of practice but allows APRNs to be reimbursed for many services they already provide.
    • Outdated language in Medicare and Medicaid regulations were written in 1965 before APRNs were providers in the U.S.
  • Nurse Faculty Reduction Act (H.R. 7002/S. 2815): Funding is needed over five years to reset nursing faculty salaries.

This funding would allow schools to attract nurses with advanced degrees from clinical practice to academia without being deterred by significant pay cuts. Increasing the capacity of schools to accept more nursing students will help colleges and universities maintain more equitable pay levels in academia.

Each year 3-4 specific issues for “dialogue forums” are selected based on suggestions sent from the state associations. Background documents that include recommendations for action and references are sent to delegates in advance to ensure robust discussion of the issues that culminates in the Membership Assembly voting on action items for ANA for the next year. This year the topics were:

• Breaking Barriers to Nurse Workforce Well-Being: A Call for Licensure and Employment Policy Reform to Combat Stigma
  • Recommendations approved by the Membership Assembly focused on greater access to mental health services for nurses (and all healthcare workers) without fear of stigma or challenges to competence after recovery.
• Improving Care for Veterans
  • Recommendations approved focused on access to Veterans Health Services and competency in veterans’ health needs by all nurses.
• Enhancing Ethical Practice Through the Voice of Nursing: 2025 Code of Ethics
  • Review and discussion of 2025 Code of Ethics that includes a new section on global issues and responsibilities. The new draft Code is available to all on the ANA website—take a look and offer your comments as well.

To give delegates additional opportunities for discussion of relevant issues and get program updates, six options for “lunchtime discussions” were available:

• Nurses Strengthening the Safety Net
• ANA’s 2024 Political Engagement
• Reimbursement Models to Elevate the Value of Nursing
• Fluoridation of Public Water Drinking Systems: Risks Versus Rewards
• AI: What Nurses Need to Know
• Commission on Racism in Nursing Funding Opportunity Awardees Presentation

A highlight for the ANA-NY attendees was the announcement that the ANA-NY Health Equity Task Force convened this year was one of 10 states awarded a $8000 grant to continue its work. Stay tuned for updates about educational opportunities and programs from the Task Force this fall!

The ANA-NY delegates represented you well with a high level and engagement and participation. Feel free to let us know your concerns and questions over the next year so we can select issues that are important to you that can be discussed on the national level!