Legislative Policy (Page 12)

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In: Hospitals, Legislative Policy, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Politics, Unsafe Staffing

Originally posted in the New Ulm Journal: http://www.nujournal.com/page/content.detail/id/534962/Law-change-will-benefit-patients.html?nav=5004

Everyone who’s a patient in a hospital, who might be a patient in a hospital, or who cares about somebody in a hospital will be grateful that the Staffing Plan Disclosure Act was signed into law on May 9.

Rep. Joe Atkins (DFL-Inver Grove Heights) and Sen. Jeff Hayden (DFL-Minneapolis) authored a bill that provides for consumer transparency of hospitals’ nurse staffing plans. In addition, the Department of Health will study the correlation between nurse staffing and patient outcomes, with a final report due in January 2015.

Starting in January of 2014, patients will be able to see how many nurses care for them on a public website at www.mnhospitalquality.org/default.aspx Hospitals will be more transparent, and patients will make wiser decisions on where they have a procedure and where they can expect to make the best possible recovery.
… Read more about: Editorial: Law change will benefit patients  »

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The hand-wringing and the vote-counting are over.

Minnesota finally has a budget that protects the middle class, invests in our future, and protects the health of seniors.

It was no mean feat.  The Governor and the legislative leaders had to hold fast to the right priorities through threats of filibusters, add-on amendments, and even talk of businesses exiting the state.

Governor Mark Dayton and legislative leadership had to rectify years of imbalanced budgets and re-invest in state programs that had been long ignored.  In summary, the top 2 percent of wage earners will pay about 2 percent more in taxes, which will raise $1 billion dollars; cigarette and other tobacco taxes go up, which will raise another $600 million and hopefully convince some to quit; and they found money in the couch cushions too by closing corporate tax loopholes, which raises $424 million in business tax write-offs.
… Read more about: Governor and legislative leaders rebalance the budget  »

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In: Legislative Policy, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Politics, Unsafe Staffing

 

Health and Human Services

As we near the end of the session, the major budget bills are nearing completion. The details of the Health and Human Services Finance omnibus bill are still being decided, but the basic framework cuts $50 million from the HHS budget, not the $150 million originally planned. At the same time, it makes significant increases (3.25% in 2014 and 3.2% in 2015) to long term care, 75% of which will be mandated to go to workers’ wage increases. This is a major victory for workers whose wages have been frozen for years.

The HHS omnibus bill also includes funding to keep the Willmar state treatment facility, which had been slated for closure, open to continue providing much-needed services.
… Read more about: MNA Legislative Update, May 17, 2013  »

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In: Healthcare, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Legislative Policy, Minnesota Nurses Association, National Nurses United, Nurses, Nursing

NOTES ON NURSING

Federal Report Shows Wide Disparity in Nursing Supply   The U.S. Nursing Workforce Report issued by the Health Resources and  Services Administration National Center for Health Workforce Analysis predicts continuing shortages as more than 500,000 RNs are expected to retire within the next seven years.

HEALTH CARE

One-Third of Patients Willing to Change Doctors to Save Money Respondents also were asked how much money they would need to save annually to make that switch. Thirty-four percent thought keeping down out-of-pocket insurance costs was more important than retaining their doctors.

Angelina Jolie:  My Medical Choice   It has got to be a priority to ensure that more women can access gene testing and lifesaving preventive treatment, whatever their means and background, wherever they live.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, May 15, 2013: RN supply/demand gap to be 1.2M by 2020  »

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In: Healthcare, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Legislative Policy, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Nurses Strike, Patient Safety, Uncategorized, Unsafe Staffing

NOTES ON NURSING

Angels Fund Set Up for RNs and Co-Workers Lost in Limo Fire   This year’s Nurses Week was sadly darkened by the death of two RNs and three other caregivers in a tragic limousine fire on the San Mateo Bridge in the San Francisco Bay Area.

UMass Nurses Will Strike Over Poor Patient Care Conditions    After posting more than $88 million in profits, UMass Memorial Medical Center has slashed its nursing and support staff in the last two years.

LABOR UPDATES

Dairy Queen Offers Grads Their First Job – Without Pay    Edina-based Dairy Queen is giving new college grads the chance to shill for its Orange Julius brand.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, May 13, 2013: Fund set for RNs, colleagues lost in limo fire; ND highest in worker death  »

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The Mayo’s Destination Medical Center appears to be a done deal.  Hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars will transform Rochester into a gilded city worthy of hosting a gold standard of health care in the world, but something’s missing from all the talk – patients.

We know a little about what Rochester could look like, but it’s a lot more than we know what the Mayo could look like.  Rochester is slated to build new bridges, hotels, streets, and even a high-speed train from Minneapolis.   The DMC will create the optimal experience for patients and their families with world-class amenities to match their level of care. 
… Read more about: Is it a Destination or a Theme Park?  »

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In: Legislative Policy, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Politics, Unsafe Staffing

Standards of Care Campaign

Yesterday, Governor Dayton signed HF588/SF471 into law after it passed its final hurdle on the first day of Nurses Week when the House took a last procedural vote on Monday.  The bill requires the Department of Health to conduct a thorough study of the correlation between nurse staffing and patient health outcomes, and mandates every Minnesota hospital to publicly report their staffing plans.

When the study is complete, we will have Minnesota-specific data to underscore the stories nurses have been telling legislators for years: that unsafe staffing is a serious problem in Minnesota hospitals. Our ultimate goal is still a minimum standard of care for patient assignments in Minnesota.
… Read more about: MNA Legislative Update, May 10, 2013  »

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In: Legislative Policy, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Patient Safety, Politics, Unsafe Staffing

 

Standards of Care/Staffing Disclosure Act

The Standards of Care/Staffing Disclosure Act (SF471/HF588), creating a Department of Health study of the correlation between nurse staffing and patient outcomes and requiring public reporting of hospital staffing, passed the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday, and passed the full Senate on Thursday. Thanks to our Senate author, Sen. Jeff Hayden (DFL-Minneapolis), for his work on the bill. The bill will next head back to the House for a final procedural vote, and then to the Governor whom is expected to sign the bill into law.
… Read more about: MNA Legislative Update May 3, 2013  »

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In: Activism, Labor Unions, Legislative Policy, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Organizing, Uncategorized

LABOR UPDATES

CEO Pay Gap Up 1000% Since 1950    Today Fortune 500 CEOs make 204 times regular workers on average, Bloomberg found. The ratio is up from 120-to-1 in 2000, 42-to-1 in 1980 and 20-to-1 in 1950.

Worldwide May Day Rallies Thousands of low-paid workers are rallying in the streets on May Day to demand better pay and improved working conditions a week after a Bangladesh building collapse that was a grim reminder of how lax safety regulations make work a danger in poor countries.

Health Care Dominates Highest Paying Jobs (no surprise:  nurses excluded) in America   Anesthesiologists top the list with average annual pay of $232,830 as of 2012, the latest year for which official figures are available from the U.S.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, May 1, 2013: May Day!  »

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In: Health Care Reform, Healthcare, Hospitals, Legislative Policy, Minnesota Nurses Association, National Nurses United, Nurses, Nursing, Unsafe Staffing

NOTES ON NURSING

Nurses Fight State by State for Minimum Staffing Laws   Legislatures in at least seven states and the District of Columbia are trying to answer that question as they debate bills that would require hospitals to have a minimum number of nurses on staff at all times.

Ruling:  MI Hospital Cheated Nurses Out of Proper Pay   McLaren Lapeer Region improperly cut the wages of 51 registered nurses and must pay them tens of thousands of dollars in back pay, an arbitrator has ruled.

LABOR UPDATES

Minnesota’s Pay Equity Laws Have Bridged Gap for Women   Fifty years after Congress passed the Equal Pay Act, women still make less than men.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, April 24, 2013: CA adjusting well with state-mandated RN staffing levels  »