NYSNA Nurses Lobby for a Budget that Invests in Safe, Quality Patient Care
On Tuesday, May 5, NYSNA nurses returned to Albany for a lobby day to demand that state legislators pass a budget that protects nurses and patients and invests in safe, quality patient care for New Yorkers. The state budget is over a month late now, but nurses capitalized on the drawn-out negotiations by meeting with lawmakers once again to advocate for our patients, our practice and our profession. Over the course of the day, nurses met with elected leaders, as well as labor and healthcare champions, to urge them to pass a budget that includes safe staffing enforcement, fair funding for rural and safety-net hospitals, and support for the nursing workforce. Nurses also strongly advocated for the passage of the New York Health Act, which would establish a universal, single-payer healthcare system and provide quality care to all New Yorkers, regardless of income, employment, or immigration status.
Fighting for Patient Safety
On lobby day, NYSNA members also urged legislators to reject the dangerous Hospital at Home proposal, which would leave patients home all alone, instead of in hospitals with 24/7 quality care. Since the beginning of the legislative session, nurses have been sounding the alarm that Hospital at Home programs pose a serious threat to safe, quality patient care. Under Hospital at Home programs, healthcare professionals monitor acute care patients virtually in their homes instead of providing in-person around-the-clock expert care in a hospital setting. These programs would reduce real nursing care, as well as hospital staff and capacity across the state, making hospitals less equipped to handle public health emergencies and increasing pressure to close in-patient units or entire hospitals, especially in rural, underserved communities. They would also increase emergency response times, shift responsibilities and costs for patient care from hospital staff to patients or their families, and enable for-profit contractors to upcharge vulnerable patients.
Even more concerning is the lack of regulation or standards that govern Hospital at Home programs. Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) standards only require a limited number of in-person visits to patients by nurses and other healthcare workers and allow daily check-ins to be conducted via telehealth. These standards also allow programs to respond to emergency situations within 30 minutes, far longer than the immediate response provided to patients in a hospital setting. Additionally, CMS has not yet produced a study analyzing the cost effectiveness, safety, and quality of care delivered by Hospital at Home programs, which it was required to do by 2024. The lack of research around these programs, especially on how they will impact Medicaid patients, is yet another reason why legislators should reject any attempt to expand them to Medicaid patients and make them permanent in our state.
With the budget yet to be finalized, nurses will continue to advocate for our patients, our practice, and our profession—and against any proposal that puts the health of New Yorkers at risk. To join us in the fight against Hospital at Home programs, sign our petition here.