Good Legislative Process And Legislative Decision Making Critical Thinking Example

Introduction

Doctors of nursing practice must undergo a number of legislative processes and decision-making procedures in order to ensure efficient delivery of health services to the society. Nurse practitioners are mandated to influence health care policies at the state, national, and local levels. In the Dallas, Texas, nurse practitioners have the following objectives. Firstly, they are mandated to implement emerging roles for nurses in health care policy. Secondly, NPs should explore opportunities that promote advancement of health care policy agendas. Thirdly, they should point our major areas capable of motivating health care givers in relations to policy issues, legislative strategies, and legislative agenda. Finally, NPs role aim at developing strategies that will move and advance health care policy agenda to the level of legislature. Nursing political action groups plays a significant role in influencing NP professional groups into ensuring health care policy agendas are passed by the state, nation and local government. The following discussion focuses on NP objectives and the role of nurse politicians in influencing legislative process and legislative decision making.

Objectives of doctor of nursing practice in Texas

The main role of Nurse Practitioner groups is to promote improvement of health care system by ensuring health care policy agendas are implemented. Texas NP groups select members of legislature given the mandate to raise funds aimed at supporting health care projects. Additionally, the group selects worthy candidates to take part in nursing political action groups. NP leaders must demonstrate their belief in regulatory and legislative agenda of American Nurse Association (American Nurses Association, 2015). Members of Texas Nurse Practitioner (TNP) are expected to adhere to the objective mentioned above in order to show their willingness to serve the people of Texas. Many experienced nurses practicing in the health care industry today have taken a different path of advocacy with the aim of influencing changes in laws, policies, and legislations that control the health care system.
According to Abood (2007), NPs have developed many ways of promoting health care through sponsoring annual state legislative days, offering policy fellowships and internships, and conducting policy workshops. Each one of these activities is aimed at providing nurses with adequate knowledge about prevailing health care issues and the legislative process. TNP requires all its members to implement emerging roles for nursing in health care policy. Examples of health care policies include reducing the cost of health care delivery while maintaining the quality of care. Additionally, nursing political groups have introduced a new health care policy requiring hospitals to discharge data currently collected by the state to be used for state planning and development of policies (Texas Health Care Policy Council, 2006). Secondly, TNP group aims at taking up every opportunity capable of advancing health care policy agendas. Healthcare delivery in Dallas, Texas is expected to undergo significant changes with the introduction of new legislative processes. Lack of legislation in the healthcare sector would lead to nurses and nurse practitioners working according to individual tastes. Legislation process and decision-making ensures discipline in the industry and allows only competent professions to offer healthcare services to the public.
In Texas, nursing political groups work with legislative and other legal avenues to ensure people of Texas have access to long term care facilities and access good care at all times. The following agenda is achieved through identifying key motivation areas by professional organizations dealing with legislative agenda, policy issues, and lobbying strategies. Texas nursing political groups ensures implementation of the agenda by motivating the government to employ long term care providers and other groups interested in governmental affairs. Additionally, the group organizes political action fundraising projects on state and local levels to raise funds for improving health care delivery. A new era of healthcare reforms came into action through the U.S’s state and federal government in 2009. The reforms came into action during the time when the country was experiencing major economic challenges caused by the financial crisis. The Political Action Committee contributes to the implementation of health care policies by influencing the federal government to deliver its mandate to citizens (Texas Health Care Association (THCA), n.d).

TPN legislative efforts

Texas Nurse Practitioner (TNP) group has developed several legislative agendas and a good number of them have gone through with the help of the political action group (Coalition for Nurses in Advanced Practice-CNAP). CNAP acts as an advocate for all registered NPs in Texas. The political group monitors legislative and regulatory processes, monitors the functions of interim legislative committees, and prepares testimony for APRN issues whenever they arise. Currently, CNAP continues to press on issues for improving delivery of care and practice of advanced NPs. In 2014, the group held a meeting with Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) staff where they negotiated on the most vital improvements towards Medicaid reimbursement rates. The group passed a policy that required HHSC to modify rules governing Medicaid reimbursement rates to be bailed under a physician’s Medicaid number. Additionally, CNAP is currently negotiating with Texas Association of Health Plans (TAHP) to establish a non-legislative option that allows APRNs to work as in-network providers while the delegating physician works in a separate network (Coalition for Nurses in Advanced Practice-CNAP, 2015). CNAP legislative helps develop strategies that ensure all NPs function independently.
Legislative decision-making process must have a foundational basis that falls within four areas: history of the practice scope, education and training, supportive evidence, and better regulatory environment. According to Mason, Leavitt, & Chafee (2012), the health care environment is fast changing with the advancing world. Health care sectors should focus more on advocacy nursing, increased insurance coverage for all people, and promoting nursing education policy. Education and training plays a major role in the legislative process and legislative decision making by providing nurses with new skills and techniques. Whenever a new task is added to the scope of practice, professionals term it as an advanced skill and helps in understanding basic legislative rules and regulations required of a nurse practitioner. Availability of health care education policies in Texas ensures the industry recruits only competent professionals in the industry.

Conclusion

Members of TNP are obliged to following guidelines and regulations of the group in order to achieve the health care objectives. Texas health care system suffers from increasing cost of health care. Presence of health care policies would ensure nursing political groups like CNAP passes rules that would ensure the cost of health care is brought down. Additionally, NP professional groups such as NAPNAP, TNA, and TNP put more efforts to ensure the national, state, and local government implements health care policies through legislation process and legislation decision making. For instance, CNAP focuses on implementing tough legislative rules that will allow only qualified professionals to attend to patients in order to promote the healthcare sector.

References

Abood, S. (2007). Influencing Health Care in the Legislative Arena. OJIN: The
Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. 12(1),
American Nursing Association. (2015). ANA-PAC. Retrieved March 8, 2015 from
http://www.nursingworld.org/anapac
Coalition for Nurses in Advanced Practice-CNAP. (2015). what CNAP is doing for you! Retrieved March 8, 2015 from
http://www.cnaptexas.org/
Mason, D. J., Leavitt, J. K., & Chafee, M. (Eds.).  (2012). Policy and politics in nursing and health care (6th ed.).  St. Louis, MO:  W.B. Saunders Elsevier. 
Texas Health Care Association. (n.d). Political Action Committee. What is THCAPAC? Retrieved March 8, 2015 from
https://txhca.org/pac/
Texas Health Care Policy Council. (2006). Empowering Texas Health Care Consumers.
Retrieved from
http://gov.texas.gov/files/thcpc/EmpoweringFinal_1204.pdf