New Legislative Session, Old Nursing Issue (Page 40)

By Jon Tollefson

Jon Tollefson
MNA Government Relations Specialist

MNA Government Relations Specialist

 

Today is the first day of the 2018 legislative session in Minnesota, and it promises to be a whirlwind. It’s a bonding, rather than a budgeting year, which is typically shorter. However, remember last year’s budget ended with Governor Dayton vetoing the operating budget of the legislature, and that needs to be passed too. Between now and May 21st, legislators will debate tax policy, infrastructure investments, and other policy changes.

One of the many issues the Minnesota Nurses Association is working on is properly funding home health nursing. Right now, about 1,000 patients need home healthcare nursing each year in Minnesota. Their needs vary between complex care and low-complex care and between RNs and LPNs providing that care. In order to those needs, the State authorizes about 2 million hours of LPN nursing services per year. But home healthcare agencies only provide 75% of the home healthcare hours the State authorizes because they say they can’t hire enough LPNs to fill the rest of the hours with the current reimbursement rates set by the State.

The agencies give two reasons for the difficulty in attracting LPNs to homecare. One is the low wage offered, which they say is roughly $14-$17 per hour on average. The second is that many home healthcare agencies can’t afford to provide health insurance and other benefits.

Both of these issues could be solved by legislators raising the reimbursement rate for home healthcare.

One more reason why properly funding homecare will prevent hospital visits. Legislators say they don’t want to increase funding for home healthcare, but we as taxpayers still pay the bill when a patient goes to the hospital, and that’s much more expensive!

We need to make sure our State programs are managed properly so patients get the care they need when they need it. And it saves money in the long run by reducing hospital visits.

It takes political courage from our legislators to do this, but it’s the smart decision. And that’s exactly what we should expect.

On:
In: Home, Legislative Policy, Nurses, Nursing, Politics

By Jon Tollefson

MNA Government Relations Specialist

 

Today is the first day of the 2018 legislative session in Minnesota, and it promises to be a whirlwind. It’s a bonding, rather than a budgeting year, which is typically shorter. However, remember last year’s budget ended with Governor Dayton vetoing the operating budget of the legislature, and that needs to be passed too. Between now and May 21st, legislators will debate tax policy, infrastructure investments, and other policy changes.

One of the many issues the Minnesota Nurses Association is working on is properly funding home health nursing. Right now, about 1,000 patients need home healthcare nursing each year in Minnesota.
… Read more about: New Legislative Session, Old Nursing Issue  »

On:
In: Action, Elections, Governor, Healthcare, Home, Hospitals, Issues, Politics

 

By Jackie O’Shea

MNA Political Organizer

Elections are the root of our democracy, and saying 2018 is going to be a hectic year politically is an understatement. In Minnesota, there are open races for Governor and Lieutenant Governor; statewide races for Attorney General, Auditor, and Secretary of State and a US Senator; eight U.S. Congressional races, and 134 seats in the Minnesota House of Representatives all up for re-election this year. Plus, other important local races, including city council seats, school board commissioners, and county elected positions are up for grabs.

 

Electing nurse champions is the important first step towards the main goal of our political organizing, which is passing legislation.
… Read more about: Holding Our Democracy Accountable  »

On:
In: Elections, Erin Murphy, Home, Politics

By Eileen Weber RN, JD

MNA Member

 

I’ve known Erin for decades, mostly through our joint work at the Minnesota Nurses Association, where she rose from political organizer to executive director of one of the most influential unions in our great labor state.

 

We actually ran for the legislature together in 2006, but only one of us was successful. She ran for an open seat in a strong DFL district in St. Paul, and I ran against a strong GOP incumbent in a very purple district. Her battle then was to win endorsement against very strong DFL competition, and she did it with an earnest positive message and doorknocking– eventually she knew the name of every pet dog in the district.
… Read more about: Here’s Why I’m enthusiastically Supporting Erin Murphy for Governor  »

Franklin Street Bakery rally

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In: Action, Activism, Home, Labor Unions, Organizing, Super Bowl, Unions

By Cameron Fure

MNA Political Organizer

It’s Super Bowl week, and the mayhem has swept up the Twin Cities. The whole region is sprucing up and getting ready for the big game. It’s our chance to bask in the spotlight, and host one of the largest sporting events in the world. The North Star state is known the world over for its hospitality, but there’s a few things that visitors do not know. The story of the Franklin Street Bakery workers isn’t likely to appear in any halftime commercial.

Owner Wayne Kostroski wants to be known as a philanthropist, business mogul, and model citizen.
… Read more about: Taste of Justice  »

On:
In: Activism, Home, Legislative Policy

By Barb Brady, MNA Communications Specialist

Nurse pride will be on full display during MNA’s  2018 Day on the Hill.

MNA nurses from throughout Minnesota will show their pride in the nursing profession and advocate for patients at the March 5-6 event in St. Paul.

Day on the Hill kicks off Monday, March 5, with a reception featuring legislators, dinner, and inspiring remarks from MNA’s endorsed candidate for governor, Rep. Erin Murphy. It’s a great opportunity to network with your colleagues from all corners of the state and be inspired for 2018.

The evening program also features comments from MNA President Mary C.
… Read more about: Advocate for patients and nursing profession at 2018 Day on the Hill  »

new challenges

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In: Home, Nurses, Unions

By Jean Forman

MNA Member

This new year will be a pivotal year in many ways for union membership. There are two crucial events intersecting in the months ahead with the potential to vastly alter our union safety net as we know it.

First, the US Supreme Court will be hearing Janus v. AFSCME. This case threatens public sector union membership. A ruling in favor of the plaintiff, Janus, would eliminate the ability of these unions to collect representational fees from employees who choose not to join the union but still receive its protection and services.
… Read more about: A New Year and New Challenges  »

big pharma

On:
In: Drug Prices, Health Care Reform, Home, Issues, Single Payer

By Tara Fugate

MNA Strategic Researcher

It’s no secret that the cost of healthcare is skyrocketing in the United States. What is less obvious are the reasons driving these increases. According to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), “U.S. health care spending increased 4.3 percent to reach $3.3 trillion, or $10,348 per person in 2016”[1]. Hospital spending accounts for 32 percent of costs while spending on prescription drugs accounts for 10 percent. Although many factors contribute to constant increases in cost of care, pharmaceutical and medical waste are culprits that could be easily addressed, yet remain a significant problem for many patients, nursing homes, and hospitals. 
… Read more about: Medical Waste and the Rising Cost of Healthcare  »

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In: Home, Nurses, Press Releases

For Immediate Release 

Contact:
Barbara Brady
(o) 651-414-2849
(c) 651-202-0845
barbara.brady@mnnurses.org

Contact:  Rick Fuentes
(o) 651-414-2863
(c) 612-741-0662
rick.fuentes@mnnurses.org

(St. Paul) – December 27, 2017 – Once again, nurses are the most honest and ethical profession in the nation, according to an annual Gallup poll.

More than 82 percent of Americans describe nurses’ ethics as ‘very high’ or ‘high,’ according to the survey released Dec. 26.

“Nurses are very honored to see the public appreciates the care we provide to patients,” said MNA President Mary C.
… Read more about: Nurses are most ethical and honest profession for 16th year in a row  »

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In: Activism, Guns, Home, Member Blog

By Kathleen Malecki

MNA Member

 

During the 2016 MNA Convention, a resolution regarding gun violence prevention was updated and passed by the House of Delegates. In response to that resolution, GAC members joined Protect Minnesota to lobby at the legislature to defeat four really terrible bills and we were successful. This fall Protect Minnesota together with the School of Public Health at the U of M, Minnesota Public Health Association and the Nobel Peace Prize Forum put on a conference on gun violence. The Board voted to help sponsor the conference and three GAC members attended.

I am at a loss to summarize all the useful information absorbed at this two-day conference.
… Read more about: Public Health Conference on Gun Violence Protection-pt 3  »

On:
In: Activism, Home, Human Trafficking, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses

Unique Education Opportunity: Thursday, January 25, 2018

By Megan Gavin

MNA Education Specialist

 

In our modern world, one wherein we access information in seconds and tech entrepreneurs plan tourism to Mars, we still face one of our oldest and ugliest problems: human bondage. Today we refer to this phenomenon as human trafficking, a human rights abuse that involves the exploitation of a person for labor or sex.

In a 2002 Congressional report, the authors identified the reasons human trafficking persists as “criminal businesses that feed on poverty, despair, war, crisis and ignorance.” Regrettably, we provide a seemingly limitless supply of fuel for such enterprises.
… Read more about: Human Trafficking: The Nursing Implications of Trauma and Survival  »