The debate in Washington continues to rage with regards to President Obama's Proposal for Healthcare Reform. Although the sides remain divided, there is a strong push toward accepting the proposal now without further debate. Clearly this is a hot button issue that affects every American, but the impact of healthcare reform is substantial for the healthcare professional.

President Obama's plan deals heavily with the idea that middle-income earners who would normally not qualify for health care should receive benefits they can afford. He proposes a middle class tax cut that will allow those who could not afford health care premiums to obtain care. His proposal will also assist those who have small businesses, as it is often small businesses owners who forgo even the most basic of health care. In a country like the United States, those without health care often become seriously ill or even die because they cannot afford the cost of a doctor's visit.

Based on President Obama's plan, once these individuals have access to good health care, the medical community will need to be staffed adequately to provide that care. The Act will add more primary care providers across the Country, focusing on those areas where assistance is underprovided right now.

A specific focus of the Healthcare Reform Plan is on the current and projected nursing shortage. A huge problem for the United States, the medical community is bracing for a nursing shortage as the baby boomers begin their retirement. The current intake into US based nursing programs is not meeting the demand in medical care facilities. The Act will increase the amount of nurses in the United States, and assist in nurse retention by eliminating financial barriers that are preventing both registered nurses and nurse faculty from achieving their goals. In addition, the Act puts into place grants for nursing schools to both improve and retain nurses. Student loans will be increased, as will a nurse's eligibility for scholarships and loan repayments if they choose to become faculty.

President Obama's plan goes beyond the increased support of nurses in the United States. At the most basic level, the Act will assist students in public school programs to prepare for careers in health and medical. According to the plan, if health professionals support health sciences in the schools, it is far more likely that these students will enroll in post secondary medical programs such as nursing.

The President's Healthcare Reform Proposal is said to put the individual in the driver's seat as far as their health care options. As President Obama recently stated, "We have debated health care in Washington for more than a year. When's the right time? If not now, when? If not us, who?" Although there are challenges to passing such an Act, the issues of providing medical care to all who need it as well as the added benefit of combating the growing nursing shortage will far outweigh any detriments that may arise to changing the system.

Labels: Government, Health Insurance, Healthcare, Nurse Internship, Nursing Career, Nursing Jobs, Nursing Scholarships, Nursing School, Obama, Universal Healthcare

The USA is considered by many to be the greatest country in the world. Because of that label, it is baffling to many how there are hundreds of thousands of people that are not insured or without access to health care because they simply cannot afford it. If you cannot afford group care insurance or if you do not have a job, becoming ill or sick can have a devastating effect on your life. Simple tests and procedures can rack up bills into the tens of thousands of dollars, and if you need surgery? You may just end up with a lifetime of debt for one week in the hospital. Countries such as Canada have nation-wide mandatory health care, and if President Obama has his way, so will the USA.

Healthcare reform is a hot topic right now, and it is a central issue that President Obama is focusing on. Change is needed, as private health insurance is expensive, and people are turned away due to lack of funds. Many young people don't believe in the need for health care, so they don't sign up for private options when presented to them. Obama proposed a public option that would ensure that every American has access to health care. As with any great change, the proposal has been met with great resistance.

Universal health care means that everyone will have to pay his or her fair share. Government subsidies will exist for those who are low income, but middle-income earners will make too much money to take advantage, and could see a significant chunk taken out of their pocket book to cover health care. Older citizens are concerned that it will interfere with their Medicare, as with each new system change, obvious changes need to be made to the way things are currently running. Yet another objection is that some people really like their private health care options, and don't want to lose it to public options that may not meet their needs. As well, many, many Americans distrust the Government, as the track record has shown past issues with Medicare and the US Postal Service.

This issue really comes down to money. Businesses, both big and small, will have to find a plan that fits within their budget. Doctors and nurses are weighing in that they are not interested in the new plan and up to 45% say they may take early retirement if the new system comes into place. A doctor shortage would greatly influence the current nursing shortage, as nurses need to step in already when there is a shortage of physicians. With so many people against global health care, can the system as Obama proposed really work?

Despite objections, the USA may be in for the biggest health care overhaul in 4 decades. The Health Care Reform Bill was passed by the House of Representatives, and is currently going to the Senate for another vote. Although some say that it will never see the light of day after the Senate, the passing through the House of Representatives at a margin of 220 to 215 indicates that the naysayers may have to eat their words.

Change is a scary thing, especially when it pertains to our health. Unfortunately, without change we continue to be stuck with the same issues that we've dealt with year after year. Time can only tell what scope the new Health Care Reform Bill will have on the USA.

Labels: Government, Health Insurance, Healthcare, Medicare, Obama, Public Option, Stimulus, Universal Healthcare

Despite concerns about employment as a consequence of the recession, nursing vacancies grow steadily everyday. Over the course of the last ten years, Americans have experienced a nursing shortage the likes of which had not been seen since the 1960s. Despite attempts at righting the shortage, America is still looking at a gap of over 100,000 nursing positions nationwide.

It is almost impossible for the need for nurses created by aging baby boomers to be satisfied with current resources. Without major changes made soon by legislators, the vacancy rate could as much as quadruple. Obama's healthcare reforms could only exacerbate the problem by increasing the number of insured Americans by millions, without a healthcare infrastructure in place to take on the burden. There simply aren't enough nurses who to fill the demands.

Floridian Representative Robert Wexler has proposed a bill to help fill in the short term nursing crisis. The Democrat announced in May of 2009 that his bill would allow for the extension of 20,000 visas to foreign nurses every year for the next three years, bringing in 60,000 nurses total, and providing for 60% of today's shortage. Should the bill in its current form not pass through the Senate, legislators plan to add an immigration reform package to the bill. Obama spoke to the legislators about the bill this summer in order to discuss even further immigration reform.

Many proponents of the bill to allow immigrants to fill positions in American hospitals are looking for temporary relief. Unpopular areas have a difficult time attracting qualified nurses, and the bill would help to assuage this problem. Dozens of nurses from Canada, the Philippines and Mexico would be eager to take any position, regardless of the area. Though these visas would eventually expire, sending the nurses back to their nations of origin, hospitals currently undergoing shortages of registered nurses would be helped quickly.

Labor unions disagree. Unions are arguing that providing a foreign labor source would limit the incentive of hospital administrators to create more pleasant working environments because they know that their positions will be filled no matter how they treat their employees. Labor unions are afraid that removing such a significant number of nurses from other countries could cause nursing shortages overseas. Bringing in already accredited registered nurses who have been driven from the field by stagnant pay and poor work conditions is the favored plan, as it brings experience back to the field.

Supporters of Obama's healthcare reforms also reject Representative Wexler's Bill, hoping that Obama's economic stimulus does enough to promote a long term solution to the nursing shortage. Obama included $500 million to benefit healthcare workers, by increasing education and encouraging students to pursue the field either at traditional universities or via distance learning with an online nursing degree. Additionally, Obama hopes to cut down on the effects of the recession by increasing the capacity at nursing schools, allowing workers from other industries to gain the education they need to become nurses. This would cut down on unemployment while closing the nursing gap, simultaneously.

Labels: Government, Immigration, Nursing Shortage, Obama, Recruit Nurses

As the health care industry grows, due to the aging of the baby boomers, funding has been proposed in order to decrease the effect of healthcare worker and nursing shortages. The United States Labor Secretary, Hilda Stolis, has declared the government's plans to release 220 million dollars of federal stimulus funds to training programs for workers in the medical industry.

The Labor Secretary revealed plans to stimulate the economy with the bill's funds while touring the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas and the Shawnee County Community Health Care Clinic in Topeka. These medical centers represent one of the areas hardest hit by the nursing and healthcare worker shortage, as rural areas have difficulty recruiting and retaining workers.

Economists often consider the medical industry recession-proof. There will always be a need for nurses, doctors and other healthcare workers; healthcare is not a luxury that can be put aside in hard times. With baby boomers aging and needing further medical care, the need for these workers will only increase and even with the increased acceptance of online nursing degree programs, the industry still needs help. The Labor Department aims to take advantage of this medical necessity by providing unlucky workers with a chance to start over in a field that is both lucrative and necessary.

While viewing the Kansas medical centers that will be among those improved by the funds from the healthcare training stimulus bill, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis routinely referred to President Barack Obama's planned healthcare reform bill, that he hopes to make through Congress this summer. This healthcare training fund is a forerunner to those that will follow the President's bill.

Healthcare reforms bills are particularly important in these difficult to staff rural areas. Training healthcare workers provides an ample job market for the unemployed, and will also help areas like Detroit that have been hard hit due to the changes in the auto industry. More than ten percent of the funds have been earmarked for areas suffering from unemployment as a consequence of auto industry restructuring.

The remainder of the money will to go fund groups that train nurses, workers in medical informatics, allied health careers and hospice care, in both the public and private sectors. More than half of the bill will be used for healthcare projects, with the remainder put towards medical technology and other miscellaneous items. The Labor Department hopes that private donors and foundations will attempt to meet and exceed the funds provided by the stimulus bill, bringing even more money towards health care training programs.

The Labor Department hopes to begin dispersing funds to worthy applicants in the next couple months, with further grants passed out by the end of 2009. Hospitals and departments with training programs already in effect can apply for funds from this stimulus bill through the Labor Department. There is an emphasis on currently effective training programs, so groups that are active now stand a better chance of being selected for stimulus funds than those started after the stimulus was put into effect.

Labels: Funding, Government, Healthcare, Obama, Stimulus