Legislation Testimony/Advocacy Statement
Student Name
Program Name or Degree Name, University
COURSE: Title of Course
Instructor Name
December 19, 2020
Legislation Testimony/Advocacy Statement
The H.R.3 Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act bill is an interesting bill, especially to the healthcare professionals who strongly advocate for affordable healthcare. The bill directs counters the act of some pharmaceutical companies to monopolize their business and transform health care into a profit-making machine. It also caters for the less fortunate individuals with low income or seniors who may be retired and unable to buy expensive medications. Similarly, it caters for the quality improvement of healthcare by promoting biomedical research through advocating for grant provision by the NIH. This bill was introduced in the house of representatives in 09/19/2019 and later passed in 12/12/2019 awaiting approval by other committees. It is projected that if the bill is passed, up to 39 million Medicare beneficiaries will benefit from the resultant low prices. I advocate for this bill and would like it to be transformed into allowing due to its significant benefits to the patients and healthcare at large.
As much as the bill may affect the zeal of pharmaceuticals to take part in pharmaceutical research, the same bill would counter this by allowing the NIH to provide grants that will promote other biomedical research centres to innovate. Another opponent is with the reduction in taxes provided by the affected pharmaceutical companies. It is quite obvious that the overall expenditure by the federal state in the purchase of drugs is quite high due to the unregulated prices. Lowering drug costs reduces the expenditure despite the reduction in taxes (Augustine et al., 2018; Milstead and Short, 2019). This means there will be a balancing effect with all citizens benefiting from the law once passed. The Congressional Budget office approximates that the bill can produce 98 billion dollars savings on healthcare expenditure in a time frame of 10 years.
Furthermore, the inclusion of special conditions like hearing and dental treatment is not able to completely exhaust the pool resources since more people will be enrolled for the Medicare program, which also increases the pool of resources. It is estimated that price negotiations in the bill will reduce spending by 456 billion dollars. At the same time, the inclusion of dental, hearing and vision in the Medicare program will raise the spending by 358 billion dollars (Derlet, 2020). The net effect is a saving of approximately 98 billion dollars which is still significant. All this information indicates that there is a need for the bill to be passed as soon as possible.
Legislation Testimony/Advocacy Statement
References
Derlet, R. W. (2021). Profits before patients: Corporatizing American medicine.
Augustine, N. R., In Madhavan, G., In Nass, S. J., National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (U.S.)., National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (U.S.)., & National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (U.S.). (2018). Making medicines affordable: A national imperative.
Milstead, J. A., & In Short, N. M. (2019). Health policy and politics: A nurse’s guide.
United States House of Representatives. (n.d.). Retrieved December 19, 2020, from https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/3/summary/53
United States Senate. (n.d.). Retrieved September 19, 2020, from https://www.senate.gov/
United States., United States., & United States. (2019). Lower Drug Costs Now Act of 2019: Report of the Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Question
As a nurse, how often have you thought to yourself, If I had anything to do about it, things would work a little differently? Increasingly, nurses are beginning to realize that they do, in fact, have a role and a voice.
Many nurses encounter daily experiences that motivate them to take on an advocacy role in hopes of impacting policies, laws, or regulations that impact healthcare issues of interest. Of course, doing so means entering the less familiar world of policy and politics. While many nurses do not initially feel prepared to operate in this space effectively, the reward is the opportunity to shape and influence future health policy.
To Prepare:
Select a bill that has been proposed (not one that has been enacted) using the congressional websites provided in the Learning Resources.
The Assignment: (1- to 2-page Legislation Grid; 1-page Legislation Testimony/Advocacy Statement)
Part 1: Legislation Grid
Based on the health-related bill (proposed, not enacted) you selected, complete the Legislation Grid Template. Be sure to address the following:
Determine the legislative intent of the bill you have reviewed.
Identify the proponents/opponents of the bill.
Identify the target populations addressed by the bill.
Where in the process is the bill currently? Is it in hearings or committees?
Part 2: Legislation Testimony/Advocacy Statement
Based on the health-related bill you selected, develop a 1-page Legislation Testimony/Advocacy Statement that addresses the following:
Advocate a position for the bill you selected and write testimony in support of your position.
Describe how you would address the opponent to your position. Be specific and provide examples.
At least 2 outside resources and 2-3 course specific resources are used.
By Day 7 of Week 4
Submit your completed legislation grid and testimony/advocacy statement.
Legislation Testimony/Advocacy Statement
Learning Resources
Required Readings
Milstead, J. A., & Short, N. M. (2019). Health policy and politics: A nurse’s guide (6th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Chapter 3, “Government Response: Legislation” (pp. 37–56)
Chapter 10, “Overview: The Economics and Finance of Health Care” (pp. 180–183 only)
Congress.gov. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2018, from https://www.congress.gov/
Taylor, D., Olshansky, E., Fugate-Woods, N., Johnson-Mallard, V., Safriet, B. J., & Hagan, T. (2017). Corrigendum to position statement: Political interference in sexual and reproductive health research and health professional education. Nursing Outlook, 65(2), 346–350. doi:10.1016/j.outlook.2017.05.003.
United States House of Representatives. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2018, from https://www.house.gov/
United States Senate. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2018, from https://www.senate.gov/
United States Senate. (n.d.). Senate organization chart for the 115th Congress. Retrieved September 20, 2018, from https://www.senate.gov/reference/org_chart.htm
Legislation Testimony/Advocacy Statement