LEGISLATIVE PROCESS Jill Golinski Ohio Univeristy Professional Nursing Practice 4510 Kristen Morgan September 03, 2015 LEGISLATIVE PROCESS The United States government federal, state, and local plays a significant role in developing and delivering health care policies. Today’s issues associated with health policy stem from individual health, the overall health of the country, and economic problems associated with health care (Rosenbaum, 2011). Being a nurse it is important to understand the legislative process, and how political health issues affect how we care for patients. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the legislative process, and current political issues affecting health care today. Part 1 Legislative Process The legislative process starts first with an idea. This idea might be from the public, or from government officials. This idea is then turned into a bill, and introduced by a representative to a committee for review. The bill is given a number and is referred to the appropriate committee. If the committee decides the bill should go on further in the process then it continues to a hearing to be voted on, debated or amended. At any point the bill can be killed, and is no longer up for review. If the bill should pass it is then brought to the House or Senate for further review. The bill must be voted by the simple majority ‘(218 of 435)’, and if this occurs it is moved onto the Senate. In the Senate, the bill is assigned to another committee and,
The concept of providing basic healthcare services to individuals in need has undergone an agonizing transition, from a luxury once only afforded by the affluent to a basic human right granted to citizens of every economic station, and the recently enacted Affordable Care Act (ACA) was designed to finalize this ethical evolution. Reflecting perhaps the bitter political enmity currently consuming the nation's once cherished democratic process, Republican legislatures in states throughout the union have bristled at the ACA's primary provisions, threatening all manner of procedural protestation as they attempt to delay and derail the bill's eventual implementation. One of the most intriguing aspects of the sprawling, thousand page law, however, has been the stipulation that individual states will be given a choice to either accept federal funding to expand their statewide Medicaid roster, or to forfeit all federal funding for that program in perpetuity. The role of government in monitoring and regulating the healthcare industry has been long debated, and the bitterly contested passage of President Obama's ACA, a law aimed at revising the country's health insurance system through the creating of a federal health insurance exchange to facilitate increased competition among insurers, has rekindled the debate over who holds the ultimate responsibility for regulating the care provided by hospitals, community clinics, and private practices.
Then, a reading clerk reads the bill section by section and the Representatives recommend changes. When all changes have been made, the bill is ready to be voted on.There are three methods for voting on a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives: Viva Voce, Division, and Recorded. If a majority of the Representatives say or select yes, the bill passes in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill is then certified by the Clerk of the House and delivered to the U.S. Senate. When a bill reaches the U.S. Senate, it goes through many of the same steps it went through in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill is discussed in a Senate committee and then reported to the Senate floor to be voted on. Senators vote by voice. Those who support the bill say “yea,” and those who oppose it say “nay.” If a majority of the Senators say “yea,” the bill passes in the U.S. Senate and is ready to go to the President.
In this process a bill is drafted, then it is introduced in the house. The Speaker of the House sends the bill to a committee, the committee decides to make changes to the bill or kill it. If the bill gets sent on, it gets sent to the Senate. In the senate it is sent to another committee and if majority vote for it, the bill will go to the whole Senate. The bill gets debated and amendments add, if needed, and then sent back to the House. Any changes made and House doesn’t agree it goes to a committee to find compromises. After the compromise it goes to the President. If the President vetoes the bill, ⅔ majority of the House can override the veto.
All laws start as bills. Any one can draft a bill, a congressman, the President, even Mr. Hughes if wanted something accomplished. Anyone can draft a bill, but only a congressman can put the bill into the bill box. From the bill box it is given to the speaker of the house, who decides which committee receives the bill for the lengthy editing process. The real power of the Speaker of the House is deciding which committee gets the bill, whether he wants the bill to pass or be thrown out. Inside the committees there are subcommittees that where a committee is a large idea, like the Senate armed forces Committee, the sub committees such as the seapower committee. after a long editing process the bill is either passed or trashed. if passed and in the house the next committee the bill goes to is the rules committee, where the date and how long the bill is argued for will be decided. If in the senate, the bill will go to the majority and minority leaders, and they decide when the bill will be brought for the entire senate. again it is argued in the senate or the house and it will either be trashed or passed here too. Finally the bill should be a law right, nope, the bill has to be passed in the other house of congress. finally once it has been passed in both compartments, if the wording is not the same a conference committee meets, with representatives from both the house and senate deciding the final wording of the bill, only
Simultaneously, health and healthcare policy plays a tremendous role in the quality of life of every American. Likewise, by the government constantly interceding, health and healthcare is significantly influenced by the political climate and undertakings of administration; therefore creating a conflictual split between republicans and democrats. Health care is regarded as a product rather than a human right shaped by policymaking. Policies establish healthcare service stipulations, which are rooted in local, state, and federal statutes combined with landmark court decisions. Not only does policy focus on healthcare services; but, it also places a substantial emphasis on cost-efficiency and equality.
Firstly the members of congress, executive branch, or members of outside community draw up a bill. After that the members of the house only will have to introduce the bill on the floor of house of representative. Then the bill is sent to the committee. Only bills that are necessary and reasonably appropriate make it to the next step, which is the rules of a committee for debate. Then it goes back to the floor of the house for a debate and members of the house then will vote for the bill. If the bill is in favor by most of the members of the house, hence the bill is sent to the senate. The senator introduces the bill on the floor. If the majority of the committees agree then the bill goes to the entire senate to consider the bill. As it follows the same process of the house, there is a debate and if majority votes for the bill then the bill is returned back to the house of representative.
Once the bill reaches its date, the members initiate a debate regarding the proposed legislation (“The Legislative Process,” 2014). At this time, amendments may be approved and the bill is voted on by the members. If the bill is passed, it is referred to the other chamber and undergoes the same process. If the bill is accepted by both the House and Senate, it is sent to the President. The President has the option to approve or veto the bill. If signed by the President, it becomes law. Congress may try to override the President’s veto by two thirds vote of the members (“The Legislative Process,” 2014).
The American Health Care system needs to be constantly improved to keep up with the demands of America’s health care system. In order for the American Health Care system to improve policies must be constantly reviewed. Congress still plays a powerful role in public policy making (Morone, Litman, & Robins, 2008). A health care policy is put in place to reach a desired health outcome, which may have a meaningful effect on people. People in position of authority advocates for a new policy for the group they have special interest in helping. The Health care system is formed by the health care policy making process (Abood, 2007). There are public, institutional, and business policies related to health care developed by hospitals, accrediting organizations, or managed care organizations (Abood, 2007). A policy is implemented to improve the health among people in the United States. Some policies
Affordable Care Act (ACA), and the aging of the population are the three major factors driving healthcare costs at this time (CMS, 2014). The nursing profession has the ability to contribute to refining the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of care through the delivery of evidenced-based treatment strategies to known populations with communal needs, and by advocating for polices that address the fundamental aspects that influence health and healthcare (Curley & Vitale, 2016, p. 5). The NE must be well-informed of laws entrenched in policy, as well as those central to both healthcare delivery systems and payment structures. Having knowledge of policy and law will enable the nurse leader to provide financial stability and sustain quality
In recent years, health care has been a huge topic in public debates, legislations, and even in deciding who will become the next president. There have been many acts, legislations, and debates on what the country has to do in regards to health care. According to University of Phoenix Read Me First HCS/235 (n.d.), “How health care is financed influences access to health care, how health care is delivered, the quality of health care provided, and its cost”.
The author of this paper is a registered nurse, a graduate student of Maryville University who lives in San Mateo, California with zip code 94403. The author has conducted a search of her state and federal legislators. In this paper, committees of federal representatives and senators are discussed. Main focus is given to the legislators’ involvement in health care policy. The paper also discusses how California Action Coalition implements the recommendations of the Future of Nursing. Additionally, the relevance of selected websites (http://www.hhs.gov, http://www.house,gov, http://www.senate.gov, and http://www.thefutureofnursing.gov) to the author’s current practice and practice in the near future
Once a policy has been initiated it must be passed as a law by Congress. This process can be challenging for nurses and other healthcare providers who have no political experience. Jones & Bartlett Learning (2014), has
Once it reaches the Assemble, it faces three steps, the introduction, legislative process, and floor consideration. In the introductory step, the author presents a copy of the bill to the Clerk of the House or Secretary of the Senate. The bill is given a number, entered into the database and several copies are printed. The bill is then assigned to a committee, which begins the second stage of the bill the committee consideration. During this process, the committee can invite representatives from several areas to testify about the bill. Then the
But the bill can also be brought to the floor if a large amount of the Senate chooses it to. Then there is the debate, The Committee of the Whole debates and amends the bill, but they can not pass it. They will decide how much time each person will get to debate the bill. The bill will then go back to the house to be voted on; there must be two hundred and eighteen members present to have a final vote. If for some reason there is not enough members the House will be adjourned or the Sergeant at Arms will go get them.
As nurses we strive to always practice in the best of our ability. One way that that we can further our efforts is to utilize our voice through health-care lobbying. The best approach to health-care lobbying is to first understand the legislative process. Consequently the purpose of this paper is to distinguish the legislative process as well as convey the benefits of health-care lobbying to not only the workers but the patients.