The opioid epidemic continues to impact individuals and families across the country, while issues such as commonsense, bipartisan gun violence prevention gain traction in the new Congress. Congress also is expected to consider bipartisan legislative proposals related to ACA market stabilization.
The SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act of 2018 included a provision that grants permanent prescriiptive authority for buprenorphine to NPs and PAs and 5-year authority to CNSs, CNMs, and CRNAs; that 5-year authority sunsets in 2023 at which point CNSs, CNMs, and CRNAs would no longer have the authority to prescribe buprenorphine. ANA aims to work with Congress to eliminate this 2023 sunset provision to secure permanent prescriiptive authority for buprenorphine for all four of the APRN roles.
Write three (3) letter the legislators State and/or Federal (Delaware State) about the above ANA initiative on APNs’ prescriiptive authority. The letters may be the same topic to three different legislators or three different topics to each legislator. Legislators read correspondence, especially when it is personalized and clearly from a constituent.
The following guidelines should be used when writing to your representative:
Be brief (one page or less) and use your own words.
Begin with the appropriate heading and address.
Be specific: State the specific (Patients and Communities Act of 2018) bill number and issue and state your opinion in the first sentence.
Relate your experience with the issue. Use personal examples when possible. Your interest and concern about the issue is important.
Ask the legislator to specifically commit to supporting or opposing the legislation you are writing about.
Ask for specific reasons they are supporting or opposing the proposal.
If you have pertinent materials and/or editorials from local papers, include them.
Cite any references at the end of the letters. 3 scholarly references in the last 5 years in APA format.