ANA Endorses Barack Obama for President
Health Care and Support of Nurses Play Big Role in Endorsement
Oct 19, 2008
The American Nurses Association (ANA) which represents the interests of the 2.9 million registered nurses (RNs) in the U.S. has endorsed Barack Obama in the 2008 Presidential campaign for his proposed health care plan as well as his history of advocacy for nurses and patients.
The ANA announced this endorsement on September 12, 2008. They have been making presidential endorsements since 1984. As part of the process for making this decision, the ANA sends each Republican and Democratic presidential candidate a questionnaire on nursing and health care issues. Each candidate is then invited to participate in a personal interview with the ANA. And then the ANA surveys its membership regarding which candidate is most supportive of nurses and nursing’s agenda.
ANA President Rebecca M. Patton MSN, RN, CNOR said this about the endorsement,”As President, Barack Obama will bring real change to our health care system. Nurses are consistently voted the most trusted profession by the American people, and we, as a profession, trust Barack Obama will see that affordable quality health care is made available to everyone.”
When Senator Obama (D-IL) and Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) addressed the ANA’s House of Delegates at their annual convention in June, Patton was quoted as saying, “Nurses represent the largest group of health care professionals in this country, and working together, we can use our power in the voting booth to make health care a priority, and make Barack Obama the next President of the United States.”
Nurses are the backbone of the healthcare system in the U.S. Senator Obama has shown his support for nurses as a cosponsor of the Safe Nursing and Patient Care Act in the U.S. Senate which includes important legislation such as limits on mandatory overtime for nurses. He voices an understanding of the nursing shortage and its impact on the healthcare system and vows to support funding for nursing education.
The health care crisis widely impacts the economic crisis as the U.S. spends over $2 trillion on health care each year. There are nearly 47 million Americans who are without health insurance. That number includes 9 million children. Eighty percent of the uninsured are members of working families.
Of the insured Americans, nearly 11 million spent more than 25% of their salary on health care last year. Insurance premiums have risen four times faster in the past six years than salaries. Co-pays, deductibles and limited reimbursement have exposed many Americans to financial difficulty and ruin. Of the personal bankruptcies filed last year, more than half were the result of medical bills.
Twenty five percent of the medical spending goes to administrative and overhead costs. This includes salaries and bonuses for the CEOs and other heads of the insurance companies. CEOs take home millions in salary and bonuses each year while consumers pay more for premiums, co-pays and deductibles.
Americans need to consider health care issues when voting on Nov. 4. Read the side-by-side comparison of the proposed health care plans for the 2008 Presidential candidates Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) and Senator John McCain (R-AZ), and make an informed choice.
Sources:
American Nurses Association: Nursingworld.org
Census Bureau, “Census Bureau Revises 2004 and 2005 Health Insurance Coverage Estimates,” March 23, 2007. Census.gov
Kaiser Family Foundation, Enrolling Uninsured Low-Income Children in Medicaid and SCHIP, January 2007. http://www.kff.org/medicaid/upload/2177-05.pdf
Families USA (2004) Health Care: Are You Better Off Today than You Were Four Years Ago? http://www.familiesusa.org/assets/pdfs/Are_You_Better_Off_rev20053139.pdf
 |
