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 Provided by Clinician 1
My mind is spinning.
I just read a summary version of the 2000-page document of health reform. I have read a lot of it in its original format (when not nodding off at midnight)...but the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners sent me an email with a summary of all of the major points. Thank you, AANP.
Whether or not you are for or against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148 – the official title of the legislation), one must admit that it is the first piece of legislation to attempt to include about 32 million of the current 49.4 million individuals without insurance in 2010. Projections estimate that, without some type of reform, there could be as many as 59.7 million uninsured by 2015 and 67.6 million by 2020.
Problem is, if you insure that many more people, you’ll need PCPs to SEE them. And of course, if you are still reading this, you’re thinking, NO KIDDING!
In Massachusetts, where about 97% of the constituents are covered due to their state initiatives, there is a distinct lack of primary care providers. Several physicians have been quoted in the media to say that they have “shut their doors” to new patients due to the onslaught of patients seeking a PCP. So much for enabling their citizens to have health care, eh?
So here we are, 200,000 of us strong as Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants...ready and waiting. While the physician groups bemoan us as not being capable of being able to head up a “medical home.” Or other media reports comments that we are “good enough” to take blood pressures...or take care of coughs and colds, but leave the “real medicine” to the physicians. Who are MIA when it comes to going into primary care, of course. (And yes, about half of US go into specialties as well.) Oh, but let’s import physicians from other countries, eh?
OK, folks. Whether or not you approve of what the government voted on, the legislation passed. It will take time to sort out what all of this means. However, it’s LONG past time to stand up and be counted among the masses of providers. Please...contact your legislators. A quick email really doesn’t take that long. A phone call goes a long way.
Tell them stories of how we impact patients...every day. Invite them into your office to see what you do. Even better, have your patients contact their representatives on your behalf. Maybe it’s fine for some people to rest on their laurels about the state of health care. However, think of it as insurance for when WE need medical care...we’re all getting older. Do we REALLY want to have limits on when and who we can see ourselves?
The time has come for all of us to take a stand. We are NOT “mid-level” ANYTHING. We can turn this country’s health care status around if we make ourselves heard. Turf wars be damned.
Some References:
http://www.aanp.org/NR/rdonlyres/1564A4F6-1AAB-4083-B25D-E5D427F8C6BF/3898/finalhcrsummary.pdf
http://www.rwjf.org/publichealth/product.jsp?id=57468
 Kim Spering is a family nurse practitioner who currently works at Brndjar Medical Associates, P.C., a family practice in Emmaus, PA. Her past experience includes the fields of medical/surgical ICU, open heart/trauma ICU, labor and delivery, nursing education, nursing supervision, and as a nurse practitioner in both family practice and OB/GYN settings. She currently serves as a NP preceptor for her graduate school alma mater, DeSales University, as well as for local baccalaureate programs. She is passionate about patient education and helping patients understand that they are ultimately responsible for their own health. She also firmly believes that the public needs to be educated on the value of NPs and PAs in meeting the health care needs of the next decade and beyond. In her free time, Kim enjoys family vacations with her optometrist husband, Mark, and her two sons, Matthew and Connor.
The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.
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