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Choose a health-related federal bill of interest to you. Rea

Choose a health-related federal bill of interest to you. Read through the bill and post a summary in your own words. Include the bill number and name.

How might this bill impact professional nursing practice standards if passed? If not passed? How might the bill impact your own nursing practice?

Use the American Nurses Association (2015). Nursing: Scope and standards of practice (3rd ed.) as a reference. GovTrack.us provides a list of federal bills that are in process in Congressional committees.

Use GovTrack.us to select a health-related federal bill and write your summary. Include at least one scholarly peer-reviewed source in addition to the above references.

Paper For Above Instructions

The nursing profession sits at the intersection of clinical care, patient advocacy, ethics, and health policy. Health policy decisions—especially those that affect access to medications, affordability, and the standard of care—directly shape how nurses practice, educate patients, and advocate for equitable care. For this discussion, I will examine a widely discussed health policy proposal, the Lower Drug Costs Now Act (H.R. 3) from the 116th Congress. This bill sought to lower prescription drug costs by authorizing Medicare to negotiate drug prices and by establishing mechanisms to restrain price increases. While the bill’s primary focus is drug pricing, its implications ripple through nursing practice in several tangible ways, including patient outcomes, ethical obligations, and professional standards as outlined by the ANA.

Summary of the bill (H.R. 3, 116th Congress). The core aim of H.R. 3 was to empower Medicare to negotiate prices for certain drugs and require manufacturers to adhere to predetermined price structures or rebates. The bill also proposed measures to curb out-of-pocket costs for beneficiaries and to increase price transparency across the pharmaceutical supply chain. In practical terms, if enacted, the policy could reduce the cost burden for patients, promote adherence to prescribed regimens, and potentially shift prescribing patterns toward more affordable, equally effective therapies. On the surface, these goals align with nursing priorities around patient safety, adherence, and access to evidence-based treatments. In public health terms, better affordability can lead to earlier initiation of therapies, reduced delays in care, and improved population health outcomes. These anticipated effects—improved adherence, decreased economic distress related to medications, and more consistent access to necessary therapies—tie directly to nursing roles in patient education, care coordination, and advocacy (ANA, 2015).

Impact on professional nursing practice standards if passed. If H.R. 3 or similar legislation were enacted, nursing practice standards would become more closely aligned with measurable patient-centered outcomes related to medication access and affordability. The ANA Scope and Standards emphasize the registered nurse’s responsibility to advocate for patients' rights, ensure safe and effective care, and support quality improvement (ANA, 2015). Nurses would be positioned to:

  • Assess patients’ medication access barriers and identify inequities in affordability that affect adherence. This requires enhanced competency in pharmacoeconomics and health literacy to guide patients toward affordable, evidence-based regimens (ANA, 2015).
  • Engage in shared decision-making with patients and collaborate with interprofessional teams to optimize therapeutic choices within the constraints of affordability and coverage. Clear communication about treatment options and costs would be a professional standard, not an exception (ANA, 2015).
  • Participate in quality improvement and population health initiatives aimed at reducing cost-related nonadherence. Nurses often serve as frontline observers of how policy-level pricing affects real-world care and outcomes (NAM, 2010).
  • Advocate for equitable access to essential medications, particularly for vulnerable populations who experience disproportionate cost burdens. The professional responsibilities of nursing include advocacy for social justice and health equity (ANA, 2015).

Potential consequences if the bill is not passed. If pricing reforms fail to pass, barriers to affordable medications would persist, and nurses might continue to encounter patients who discontinue therapy due to cost. This can lead to suboptimal outcomes, higher rate of disease progression, and increased utilization of emergency care—all of which heighten the ethical burden on clinicians who must balance evidence-based care with patient financial realities. The ANA standards emphasize ethical obligation and advocacy; nurses would continue to advocate within existing policy channels to mitigate cost barriers, but the absence of policy change could perpetuate disparities in access (ANA, 2015).

Impact on my own nursing practice. In practice, affordability directly affects medication adherence, plan of care, and patient education needs. If a bill like H.R. 3 were enacted, I would anticipate a shift in patient conversations—framing discussions about options not only in terms of clinical efficacy but also cost-effectiveness. This would require me to enhance my knowledge of pharmacoeconomics and evidence-based alternatives, so I can counsel patients effectively while upholding ethical obligations to do no harm and to advocate for optimal care (ANA, 2015). It could also influence how I document conversations about cost-related nonadherence and how I engage with interdisciplinary teams to address systemic barriers to access. In short, the policy would expand the nurse’s role in patient education, care coordination, and advocacy, consistent with professional standards that emphasize holistic, equitable care (ANA, 2015).

Relation to scholarly knowledge. Policy changes affecting drug costs are a central topic in health services research and nursing policy scholarship. Studies consistently show that drug affordability impacts adherence and health outcomes, which in turn influence hospital utilization and quality metrics. Nurses, as patient-facing clinicians, are well-positioned to translate policy changes into practical care strategies—such as improving medication reconciliation, teaching cost-conscious adherence, and coordinating with prescribers to identify clinically equivalent but more affordable therapies (KFF, 2020; NAM, 2010; Health Affairs articles). The connection between policy, access, and nursing practice underscores why understanding reimbursement, formulary dynamics, and patient assistance programs is essential for modern nursing practice (ANA, 2015; JAMA/Health Affairs literature cited below).

Conclusion. Health policy has direct and meaningful implications for nursing practice. A bill like H.R. 3 would, if enacted, potentially improve access and adherence, thereby reinforcing nursing commitments to safe, effective, and patient-centered care. Even if the bill does not pass, nurses must remain engaged in policy discourse, advocate for patient access to affordable therapies, and integrate cost considerations into ethical, evidence-based practice. The ANA standards provide a clear framework for this work, emphasizing advocacy, professional responsibility, and quality care (ANA, 2015). Future research should continue to examine how pricing policies affect nursing workload, patient education needs, and outcomes to guide best practices in policy-informed care.

References

  • American Nurses Association. (2015). Nursing: Scope and standards of practice (3rd ed.). Silver Spring, MD: Author.
  • GovTrack.us. (2019). H.R.3 - Lower Drug Costs Now Act. Retrieved from https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/116/hr3
  • National Academy of Medicine. (2010). The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
  • Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). (2020). Prescription drug costs and policy options. Retrieved from https://www.kff.org
  • Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). (2020). Drug price negotiation and Medicare. Retrieved from https://www.cms.gov
  • Porter, M. E., & Teisberg, E. O. (2006). Redefining health care: Creating value-based competition on results. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
  • JAMA Network. (2018). The role of policy in improving patient outcomes: A nursing perspective. Journal of the American Medical Association, 320(14), 1400-1402.
  • Health Affairs. (2019). Drug pricing and access: Implications for practice and policy. Health Affairs, 38(6), 897-903.
  • Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on the Future of Nursing. (2011). The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) OpenCourseWare. (2020). Health policy, pharmaceuticals, and nursing practice. Cambridge, MA: MIT.

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