MICNP Podcast S2 E5: Legislative Update and Advocacy Strategies with Dr. Russell

In this episode, Dr. Naila Russell provides an update on legislative efforts in Michigan affecting nurse practitioners, including bills on full practice authority and transportation. She shares insights on the legislative process, how nurse practitioners can advocate, and the importance of voting and engagement in healthcare policy.

Key  topics:

• Legislative process in Michigan
• Full practice authority bill status
• Transportation and handicap placard legislation
• Voter engagement and advocacy
• Bipartisan support and political challenges
• Strategies for nurse practitioner advocacy

Takeaways:

• Passage of the bipartisan budget in summer 2023 set the stage for upcoming legislation.
• The handicap placard bill has passed in the House and is moving in the Senate, with testimony from nurse practitioners.
• Full practice authority faces opposition from organized medicine but has bipartisan support in Michigan.
• Engaging in voting and meeting with legislators is crucial for nurse practitioners to influence policy.
• Persistence and long-term advocacy are key, as legislative change often takes over a decade.

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction and Legislative Context
01:07 Summer in Lansing: Budget and Legislative Focus
02:22 Progress on Handicap Placard and Plate Bill
04:26 Full Practice Authority: Challenges and Support
08:25 How Nurse Practitioners Can Advocate Now
10:14 Encouragement to Engage and Vote
11:25 Lessons from States with Full Practice Authority
12:33 Closing Remarks and Future Outlook

Resources:
Michigan Legislature Official Site - https://www.legislature.mi.gov/
AANP (American Association of Nurse Practitioners) - https://www.aanp.org/

Theme music

• Keyboard, Bass: Clementine Kanfom 
• Guitar: Tyler McDonald 
• Drums: Andrew Padfield 
• Mixed, Mastered: Andrew Padfield 

Michigan Council of Nurse Practitioners (MICNP): Website

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Transcript

Dr. Rachel Hetzner (00:02.402)
Welcome to the MICNP Podcast, where we have Nila Russell, legislative chair of MICNP, with us again today. Welcome back, Nila. We have enjoyed having you share some updates with our listeners in the past, and we really appreciate all the hard work that you and your committee are doing. And we're so happy that you're back. My name is Rachel Hetzner, President Elect for Michigan Council of Nurse Practitioners and co-host of the MICNP podcast.

Dr. Justin Hooks (00:29.967)
Hey everyone, welcome back. Nila, it's so great to have you. I'm Dr. Justin Hooks, the other co host of the MICNP podcast and chair of the education committee

Dr. Rachel Hetzner (00:41.632)
Okay, welcome back, Nila. July is winding down. we are gearing up for the August fourth primary next week, and legislators are very focused on that. It's an exciting time for nurse practitioners. So, can you tell us a little bit about what is going on in your legislative committee there with MICNP? What are we doing over in Lansing?

Dr. Naila Russell (01:07.713)
Yeah. well, summer's an interesting time in Lansing because like the rest of us, the legislators want to be able to enjoy this beautiful state that we live in. And there are a lot of recess days, not a lot of session days, and that's even you know, add an election year on top of it, and it gets really sparse when we're in Lansing. so unfortunately there hasn't been a lot of committee hearings to move the bills that we've been focusing on.

But I will say one major thing that did get accomplished this summer is passing a budget, which was essential. If the legislators didn't pass the budget when they did, it would have spilled over into fall and nothing else would have gotten done in Lansing, which would have been really detrimental to our priorities as well as pretty much any other legislation. So I'm really proud that the legislators were able to get together.

you know, come up with a bipartisan budget that Republicans and Democrats bought into and then was you know, essentially bought into by the g the governor as well. So that was huge. And that really sets the stage for what's gonna happen following the primaries with them being able to get back to work.

Dr. Rachel Hetzner (02:21.048)
So things do move slow, especially in the summer, absolutely. now the handicap placard and plate bill, we've made some movement on that. It's passed in the House. where are we at in the Senate with that bill?

Dr. Naila Russell (02:37.545)
Yeah, so we were very fortunate that the again with split chambers, you know, the house being controlled by Republicans and the Senate being controlled by Democrats, that this was a bill that bipartisan support and recognition that this needs to pass without any gamesmanship. However, there was some negotiating that had to happen, you know, to make sure that some bills were moving in the House in order for the Senate to really take this up.

And they were able to do that negotiating, and we're so grateful to chair Outman, you know, for working with the Senate Transportation Committee Chair, Senator Geist, to make sure that this was a priority for both chambers to take up. So once they kind of worked together, we were able to get that Senate transportation committee hearing. Shout out to Rachel, who was there to testify on our behalf, did an amazing job.

Dr. Rachel Hetzner (03:31.63)
Hey, hey.

Dr. Naila Russell (03:35.047)
and you know, we love it when it's a one and done. They'd hear the testimony and then they vote it right out of committee. So luckily in the Senate, there isn't any other layers of committee work that needs to happen. It's gonna go right from that committee to the full Senate floor. Carla Ruest, our lobbyist, worked really, really hard to try to get that voted before they kind of took their summer recess. And

I again it's a priority for the legislators to make this happen. It's also a priority for the Secretary of State to kind of rectify this wrong that's happened to our patients and to our nurse practitioners. but sadly time ran out. But we remain very, very confident that this bill will move and it will get through this legislative session, hopefully, you know, sooner rather than later.

Dr. Rachel Hetzner (04:26.081)
Yeah, that was my first time testifying at a hearing like that and it was so cool. I I felt a little important and now now that's behind me. So that's over. No more importance. however I was very I know. I feel like I should have, but no one wanted one. I

Dr. Justin Hooks (04:39.003)
Have y have you signed any autographs at all?

Dr. Naila Russell (04:41.919)
Yeah.

Dr. Rachel Hetzner (04:49.993)
It it was really neat that they that they voted right after there was the the testimony at the hearing and that it passed out of committee. So now we have the full we need the full Senate vote and then it goes to the governor to be signed into law. and like you said, we're hopeful that that'll that that'll happen once this recess is over.

Now the full practice authority bill, where are we at with that in the Senate and the House?

Dr. Naila Russell (05:22.681)
Yeah, I mean the full practice authority bill obviously is a bigger lift than the Secretary of State bill. The Secretary of State bill wasn't anything we were anticipating having to take on, but thankfully it's been smooth sailing up to this point. As we all know, full practice authority is another story. There is strong opposition from organized medicine. And so because of that, you know, it's a little bit of a slow walk with the legislators about making sure this moves. Now the reality is is that in the state of Michigan, AMP did a survey of registered voters and the majority of people in Michigan said that healthcare is a voting issue and that they believe in the healthcare provided by nurse practitioners and they support full access to nurse practitioners. So if you're talking to your legislators and they're trying to get your vote,

I think it's important to mention that you're a nurse practitioner, that you believe in full practice authority, and really it's because we want full patient access for our Michiganders across the state. So that being said, full practice authority is a whole nother ballgame when it comes to passing legislation. There's a lot of NPs in the state who've been working on this for decades, and we continue to work hard to make this happen.

you've heard me say it before, the stars have to align to pass legislation. And we really have buy-in from legislators. It's unfortunate that there's just the challenges that come with politics. So there's really nothing that has to do with the merits of our bill that are preventing this from passing. It just gets held up in the politics of Lansing. And, you know, we're working really hard to overcome those politics. again, our lobby team with Karla and then the AAMP folks at Dykama, they are meeting with legislators regularly. They continue to confirm the whip count. There is bipartisan support. We have the votes in both chambers to pass this and send it to the governor. And so it's really just about trying to get that committee hearing in the rules committee in the House. and also, you know.

Dr. Naila Russell (07:39.564)
with the Senate, it's not really a will to not have a hearing. It's rather just timing and the challenges of, you know, all of the recesses, the budget, summer, election season. So there's a, you know, it's a two year legislative session, which leaves you'd think a lot of time, but there's a lot of breaks that happen on the schedule and just obviously a lot of competing priorities.

Dr. Justin Hooks (08:06.929)
So I was gonna say your all your updates are amazing and so like Dr. Hessner said it, patience is a is a virtue, right? What's some things that our members can do right now to kinda assist in that waiting period?

Dr. Naila Russell (08:25.485)
Well, I think right now it's important to engage in what we can all engage in politically and that's voting. So August fourth is the primary and it is really important that our members and all nurse practitioners are weighing in on this election season. So look at the candidates and you know, obviously we all have different

things that we're looking for. But if you're looking at them from a healthcare standpoint, I think it's important to see what are their values? Do they align with the mission and values of nursing with MICNP? And is this somebody who's gonna want to champion the things that we care for, which obviously is patient care, patient access, making sure that we're achieving equity and patient outcomes, eliminating disparities. And so a lot of

A lot of legislators will talk about those things. A lot of legislators don't talk about those things. But it's okay to ask them the questions. If they're running for office, ask them for what they believe and what they stand for and let them know how you are a part of the healthcare system and what you what you really can help to support them in any type of healthcare initiatives. So I'd really encourage people to meet the candidates. I would encourage you to vote.

Early voting has already started. So if you don't have time on Tuesday, go now and get your vote in. I went today. My son is 18. He voted today for the first time. It was very exciting. Yes, they cheered and clapped for him at the at the poll. Yeah, I was so proud. so you know, these are the things that we should be participating in. We all have a voice in this democracy and it makes a difference.

Dr. Rachel Hetzner (09:57.407)
Yay.

Dr. Justin Hooks (09:58.757)
That is amazing. That's like a that's a big moment there.

Dr. Rachel Hetzner (10:04.254)
I know.

Dr. Naila Russell (10:14.677)
So do that, meet with your legislators while they're at home, while they're campaigning, and share that information about the AAMP survey, that voters care, that voters believe in MP care and trust NPs. And we are safe, we are quality providers, and we are the preferred provider for a lot of people in Michigan.

Dr. Rachel Hetzner (10:37.82)
Yeah, utilizing the care of of nurse practitioners is a very obvious solution to filling those gaps. So I I I think that that is very important and a lot of members and nurse practitioners get very discouraged because these full practice authority bills aren't aren't progressing.

And that's understandable. However, it it's more than just the work of a few people, the political environment, the, you know, economic and everything has to align perfectly for these contentious bills to to pass. And unfortunately it shouldn't be contentious, but it is because of the opposition. and I I remember right after New York State got full practice. I talked to some other leadership at at the AMP policy conference. And I said, Yay, you did it. How did you how did you do it? And they said, if I could tell you one thing about how we did it, that wouldn't be possible because we've been working on this for well over a decade and everything just aligned and we kept fighting and kept sharing what we do. And it it finally worked out for us. So keep engaging and like everything Nayla just said.

Dr. Naila Russell (11:56.595)
Yeah, we definitely can't let up, that's for sure.

Dr. Justin Hooks (12:01.009) I know this is supposed to be a quick update, but boy, every time that we meet with you, our ratings go up and we learn so much. So, Dr. Russell, yeah, it has been an honest pleasure to have you again to co-host this session. So we're gonna wrap it up for now. And with all good things, it must come to an end. We're here to snee stop that. I'm gonna mark this for a minute.

Dr. Rachel Hetzner (12:11.808)
Celebrity.

Dr. Justin Hooks (12:33.829)
Dr. Russell, it's been great having you here with us. Unfortunately, with all good things, it must come to an end. Tune in as we amplify the voice of nurse practitioners and work together to shape the future of healthcare. Subscribe now and stay tuned for expert conversations, legislative updates like this one, and the latest in NP practice in Michigan. You can't wait for our next episode. Trust me, it's coming soon. See you next time.