{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.menendez.senate.gov/newsroom/press/menendez-booker-push-to-address-devastating-cuts-to-hospital-based-nursing-schools", "Menendez, Booker Push to Address Devastating Cuts to Hospital-Based Nursing SchoolsRead More", "2020-12-11", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "House", "NJ", "Robert Menendez", "M000639", "www.menendez.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and\r\nCory Booker today joined a group of their colleagues in requesting that any\r\nfuture legislative package, including FY 2021 appropriations, health care\r\nextenders or COVID-19 emergency relief, ensures that our nation's 120\r\nhospital-based nursing schools don't face potentially devastating cuts during a\r\ndeadly pandemic. \"Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States\r\nwas facing a nursing shortage, but now, many of our hospitals and health systems\r\nare especially strained, the Senators wrote in a letter to the Senate's Majority\r\nand Minority Leaders Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). Nurses\r\nare working longer hours, seeing more patients and facing greater risks of\r\nillness than usual, highlighting the need for a strong nursing education and\r\ntraining pipeline.Hospital-based\r\nnursing schools serve as both employers and educators, and they provide highly\r\ntrained nurses to many of the communities hit hardest by COVID-19. Failure to\r\nact could put these schools at risk of closure or severe cutbacks at a time\r\nwhen we need them most, the senators\r\nwrote. Sens. Tammy\r\nDuckworth (D-Ill.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Bob Casey\r\n(D-Pa.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Kirsten Gillibrand\r\n(D-N.Y.) also signed the letter. A copy of the\r\nletter can be found here and below. Dear Leader McConnell and Leader\r\nSchumer: We write to respectfully request that\r\nany future legislative package, including fiscal year (FY) 2021 appropriations,\r\nhealthcare extenders or COVID-19 emergency relief, address potentially\r\ndevastating and sudden funding cuts to the Nation's 120 hospital-based nursing\r\nschools. When the United States is battling an ongoing pandemic that has taken\r\nthe lives of over 290,000 Americans, we recognize more than ever the pivotal\r\nrole nurses play in responding to public health crises. Congress must work to\r\nensure the nursing pipeline is supported. Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the\r\nUnited States was facing a nursing shortage, but now, many of our hospitals and\r\nhealth systems are especially strained. Nurses are working longer hours, seeing\r\nmore patients and facing greater risks of illness than usual, highlighting the\r\nneed for a strong nursing education and training pipeline. There are over a\r\nhundred hospital-based nursing schools that contribute to that pipeline, and\r\nthese schools receive pass-through funding from the Centers for Medicare and\r\nMedicaid Services (CMS). This pass-through funding is part of a Medicare Part C\r\nfunding pool. In August 2020, CMS issued a transmittal\r\nto Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs), stating that the agency failed\r\nto make annual updates to direct graduate medical education (DGME) Part C\r\npayments, resulting in overpayments to nursing and allied health education\r\n(NAHE) programs. A funding increase for NAHE programs would require a\r\nproportional decrease in DGME funding. The agency decided that, in order to\r\ncorrect for these overpayments, MACs should recalculate and recoup payments\r\npreviously made to NAHE programs, effective September 21, 2020. If no changes\r\nare made to current policy, the transmittal would be implemented beginning\r\nDecember 14, 2020. CMS' effort to recoup these overpayments\r\nto hospital-based nursing schools is poorly timed. Hospitals and health systems\r\nacross the country are struggling to provide care at the height of the worst\r\npublic health crisis in over a century. Hospital-based nursing schools serve as\r\nboth employers and educators, and they provide highly trained nurses to many of\r\nthe communities hit hardest by COVID-19. Failure to act could put these schools\r\nat risk of closure or severe cutbacks at a time when we need them most. It is imperative that we continue to\r\nsupport the Nation's current  and future  nursing workforce. These sudden\r\nfunding cuts could put our ability to respond to not only COVID-19, but the\r\nnext pandemic, in jeopardy. We therefore urge you to work together to ensure\r\nthe future of hospital-based nursing schools, its employees and graduating\r\nnurses, who have done so much for this country. Sincerely,   ###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.menendez.senate.gov/newsroom/press/menendez-booker-push-to-address-devastating-cuts-to-hospital-based-nursing-schools"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.93297497369349, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}