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ARN Health Policy Digest - October 2023

Health Policy & Advocacy

We are pleased to present the October issue of the ARN Health Policy Digest. This member benefit provides updates on health policy and legislative and regulatory developments that may be of interest to rehabilitation nurses. 

Congress Averts Government Shutdown… For Now

Just in the nick of time, on September 30, Congress passed and the president signed a continuing resolution (CR) to maintain federal funding at current fiscal year (FY) 2023 levels until November 17, preventing a last-minute government shutdown. However, this decision highlighted significant disagreements within the House Republican caucus, leading to the removal of Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from the position of Speaker of the House on October 3. This conservative uprising has paralyzed the House of Representatives and a race for a new Speaker is currently underway. Support for House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) seems to have gained momentum; however, Rep. Jordan will need to wrangle the necessary 217 votes to secure the speakership. At press time, he has not managed to collect the support he needs.

With no Speaker in place and a deeply divided legislature, concerns have arisen regarding Congress's ability to pass FY 2024 spending bills, especially with less than a month before government funding expires. The House Labor-HHS appropriations bill was filed earlier this month, suggesting the GOP may try to skip committee action and move straight to the floor. However, this is dependent on whether the House elects a new speaker or expands Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry's (R-NC) authorities. As part of his strategy to appeal to his republican colleagues, Rep. Jordan has pitched a long-term stopgap that would fund the government through next year and enforce a one percent cut to federal budgets, a provision that was included in the June debt limit deal, also known as the Fiscal Responsibility Act (H.R. 3746). Nevertheless, House appropriators are saying that another CR will be necessary ahead of the November 17 deadline to complete the work required to finalize FY 2024 funding and prevent a government shutdown in the meantime.

With government funding hanging in the balance and pressing concerns such as aid for Ukraine and Israel unresolved, progress will continue to be challenging in the absence of a Speaker in the House. We'll continue to keep ARN members updated as these issues evolve. 

Confirmation Hearing Scheduled for Bertagnolli

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee has scheduled a hearing for Monica Bertagnolli, the nominee to lead the National Institutes of Health (NIH) after a months-long delay. This will be the first NIH confirmation hearing since 2002. HELP Committee Chair Bernie Sanders (I-VT) initially blocked the hearing until the Biden administration agreed to take more aggressive steps to lower drug costs. Bertagnolli, who currently directs the National Cancer Institute, is expected to face questions about drug pricing and other topics, including COVID-19 origins, how she'll work with the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), and her priorities as NIH Director. Despite bipartisan support for the NIH, she faces the challenge of leading a health research organization in a time of political polarization and rampant misinformation. If confirmed, Bertagnolli would be the second women to ever serve as NIH Director.

Report Compares Rural and Urban Public Health Practitioners

Researchers examined survey responses from the 2021 Public Health Workforce Interest and Needs Survey, with a focus on the comparison between rural versus urban local public health practitioners' reports of skill proficiencies, training needs, turnover risk, experiences of bullying, and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms related to COVID-19. The findings of the survey demonstrated that rural staff have unique competencies and training needs, but also experience significant stressors. Specifically, rural staff were more likely than urban staff to report proficiencies in community engagement, while also reporting training needs in data-based decision-making and in diversity, equity, and inclusion. Notably, rural staff were also more likely to report leaving due to stress, experiences of bullying due to work as a public health professional, and avoiding situations that made them think about COVID-19.

Report finds that Nurse Shortage Creates Gap in Dissemination of Health Information

The Regan-Udall Foundation report, Strategies for Improving Public Understanding of FDA-Regulated Products, found that health care professionals like nurses are considered the most trusted source of health information, and recommends that the FDA should actively engage with nurses to combat misinformation. However, nurse shortages spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic are expected to worsen, ultimately creating a gap in the dissemination of trusted health information to patients. The report highlights how nurses play a crucial role in how patients gather their trusted health information, and how the nursing shortages will negatively impact the FDA's ability to combat the dissemination of misinformation among the public.

Notice of Funding Opportunities

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