Steve Kagen attended the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he earned a Degree in molecular biology, with Honors. Kagen then entered medical school, and later trained at both Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. He is triple Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology. Dr. Kagen went on to become an allergist, founding four clinics in Wisconsin. His financial success as an allergist allowed him to heavily invest in his own campaign, which was a key to his success in the congressional race.
On September 12, 2006, Kagen, a first time candidate, won the democratic party nomination for Wisconsin's 8th District after investing almost $2 million of his own money into his primary campaign. Kagen ran largely on his credentials as a physician. His campaign presented his national and international reputation for groundbreaking research while discovering new causes of asthma. His advertising repeatedly referred to the fact that Wisconsin doctors voted him one of the "best doctors in America." He promised to fight to ensure that every American could get affordable health care. Kagen's narrow 51-49% victory has been largely attributed to his substantial personal spending and the national Democratic wave.
Kagen was again challenged by Republican former State Assembly Speaker John Gard in 2008. Kagen won reelection, defeating Gard with 54% of the vote. This victory makes Kagen only the second Democrat in forty years to win reelection while representing Wisconsin's eighth district.
Steve Kagens official website can be found by clicking here
What is this bill?
The Home Health Nurse Promotion Act of 2009 (H.R. 1928) is a bill proposed to increase home healthcare services, particularly for underserved and at-risk populations, by assisting visiting nurse associations and other non-profit home health agencies to improve training and workforce development for home healthcare nurses, promoting and facilitating academic-practice collaborations, and enhancing recruitment and retention of home healthcare nurses.
Click here to see the full bill
Click here to see the full bill
What is the purpose?
The purpose of the Home Health Nurse Promotion Act of 2009 is:
- Assisting visiting nurse associations and other non-profit home health agencies to improve training and workforce development for home healthcare nurses
- Promoting and facilitating academic-practice collaborations
- Improving recruitment and retention of home healthcare nurses
The governmental objectives of the bill are to increase the number of home healthcare nurses thereby expanding the access that high-risk patients and underserved populations have to these nurses. With this bill the government hopes to close the disparity gap between the patients who can afford to receive home health care and those who can't. They hope to accomplish these goals by:
- authorizing grants under the Title VIII of the Public Health Service Act so that non-profit home healthcare providers can more easily recruit and train nurses in the specialized fields of home health and geriatric care
-offering loan forgiveness to nursing students who commit to working three years for a non-profit healthcare provider
- establishing a pilot program to enable no less than five Colleges of Nursing to partner with non-profit providers to develop curricula and teaching opportunities that develop the skills necessary for home health
- Assisting visiting nurse associations and other non-profit home health agencies to improve training and workforce development for home healthcare nurses
- Promoting and facilitating academic-practice collaborations
- Improving recruitment and retention of home healthcare nurses
The governmental objectives of the bill are to increase the number of home healthcare nurses thereby expanding the access that high-risk patients and underserved populations have to these nurses. With this bill the government hopes to close the disparity gap between the patients who can afford to receive home health care and those who can't. They hope to accomplish these goals by:
- authorizing grants under the Title VIII of the Public Health Service Act so that non-profit home healthcare providers can more easily recruit and train nurses in the specialized fields of home health and geriatric care
-offering loan forgiveness to nursing students who commit to working three years for a non-profit healthcare provider
- establishing a pilot program to enable no less than five Colleges of Nursing to partner with non-profit providers to develop curricula and teaching opportunities that develop the skills necessary for home health
Why is this bill needed?
It will help fill a current national need for home healthcare nurses by underserved populations. There currently is a significant shortage of home healthcare nurses, which is harming individuals’ access to cost-effective home healthcare, particularly among underserved and high-risk populations. Fifty-nine percent of VNAs surveyed indicated that they must decline patient referrals on a weekly basis. (VNAA Survey, 2008)
It will help meet the projected need for home healthcare nurses. The aging population, the increasing prevalence of chronic disease, longer life spans, and the general preference to live as independently as possible at home will create an unprecedented demand for home-based care during the next several decades. Home healthcare is predicted to experience a 36% demand shortfall by 2020 (U.S. Department of Labor, 2007). Demand for home healthcare nurses is expected to increase 109% by 2020. (HRSA, 2004)
It will help control national healthcare costs by prioritizing home and community-based nursing care. Such care is consistently being cited as a cost-effective alternative to institutional care. National average per-beneficiary spending by Medicare for those with at least one chronic condition during the last two years of life is $2,262 in the home health sector, $7,257 for outpatient care, and $25,376 for inpatient care. (Wennberg, J., Fisher, E., et al. 2008)
The aging population is rapidly increasing therefore increasing the need for home health care. The increasing aging population, prevalence of chronic disease, and strong preference by individuals to live independently at home as long as possible will create an unprecedented demand for home-based care during the next several decades. By 2020, home health utilization is projected to increase by 36 percent. As a result the demand for home healthcare nurses is projected to increase by 109% by 2020, compared to 37% for hospital nurses.
Visiting nurse associations have been shown to lower costs for high-cost patient populations. Yet because they provide a substantial amount of uncompensated care, they are increasingly unable to compete for nurses in a national nursing shortage environment. According to a recent survey 81% of the visiting nurse associations indicate that their salary limitations are the number one barrier to recruitment. Approximately 22% of the visiting nurse associations indicate that their local hospitals offer salaries $10,000 greater than they are able to offer.
Potential impact of the policy change on nursing, clients, and the health care system
There is currently a shortage of home healthcare nurses. This legislation will offer visiting nurse agencies and other home healthcare providers the opportunity to recruit highly specialized nurses who have expertise in geriatric care. This will increase the number of home healthcare nurses and their availability to the population. By increasing the availability, there will be greater access to cost-effective health care for clients specifically in underserved and high-risk populations. This legislation will help to control national healthcare costs by prioritizing home and community-based nursing care which is a cost-effective alternative to institutional care.
Click here for article: Nursing Shortage Hits Home Health
Click here for article: Nursing Shortage Hits Home Health
Official website of the Visiting Nurse Associations of America
If you would like more information about the VNAA and their support of the Home Health Nurse Promotion Act of 2009 please feel free to visit their website:
www.vnaa.org
www.vnaa.org
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
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I think this bill is very telling of the times and change in health care. With so much new technology, health care is leaving the hospital setting and taking place in outpatient centers and in the home. It is so crucial that there are are home health nurses as health care is not only in the hospital setting anymore. I'm sure that there are a lot of people out there who dont even have the means or ability to get out of their homes to get medical attention. I'm sure this bill is going to pave the way to increasing support for home health care.
ReplyDeleteYour thoughts are very appreciated. The average length of stay in a hospital has decreased over the past years and some of these patients being discharged are not fully recovered so the need for home health is critical, however many of these patients can't afford it. They are being sent home to take care of themselves when it is often very difficult for them and even their family members. Hopefully, this bill will be passed and some of these problems will resolve.
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