Public Policy and Advocacy

Help the WOCNCB spread the message of the value of The Gold Standard for Certification^®. Add your voice to the important discussions about quality patient care, healthcare reform and reimbursement issues.

About the WOCNCB Public Policy and Advocacy Committee

The main purpose of the Public Policy and Advocacy Committee is to:

Monitor and inform WOCNCB certified nurses about legislation, nursing licensure, and regulatory actions that affect or impact the roles of WOCNCB certified nurses and certification.
Educate state and federal legislators, regulators, and public about the key role WOCNCB certified nurses' play providing safe, cost effective and expert care, and
Empower public policy knowledge and activism among WOCNCB certificants

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The WOCNCB Public Policy and Advocacy Committee is currently monitoring legislative and regulatory action that impacts certified wound, ostomy, continence, and foot care nurses. Committee members are regularly monitoring the following websites for important information on public policy impacting our specialties:

www.cms.gov/newsroom	www.npiap.org	www.abwmcertified.org
www.nursingworld.org	www.childrenshospitals.org	www.woundcarestakeholders.org
www.wocn.org	www.solutionsforpatientsafety.org	www.ostomy.org
www.qualityforum.org	www.cms.gov/medicare	www.advancingexpertcare.org/HPNA
www.medicaid.gov	www.nahc.org	www.diabeteseducator.org

For 2021, the Committee is continuing to follow important legislation that impacts wound, ostomy, continence, and foot care patients. The Lymphedema Treatment Act would improve insurance coverage for medically necessary compression supplies, and the Safe Step Act would require insurers to put in place a clear, transparent process for a patient or physician to request an exception to a step therapy protocol. The Safe Step Act would also ensure that patients would get more timely access to treatment that meets their unique treatment needs. In July, the WOCNCB Board of Directors signed onto a letter of support for this important legislation. Learn more about the Safe Step Act.

The Public Policy and Advocacy Committee also brought an important white paper on access to ostomy supplies to the WOCNCB Board for consideration. AAHomecare worked with the WOCN Society, UOAA, and the United Spinal Association to write a paper entitled, “The Critical Need to Provide Ostomy Supplies Specific to Patient Need to Improve Health Outcomes.” The press release states that the purpose of the white paper is “to educate payers and state Medicaid programs on the types of products and services needed to successfully manage an individual’s bowel and bladder needs in a home-based setting to achieve the Triple Aim of improving patient experience and health outcomes while reducing overall cost.” WOCNCB’s Board voted to endorse the white paper and stand with colleagues advocating for improved access to critical ostomy supplies. Download the white paper here and press release here.

In August, UOAA released their updated Ostomy Patient Bill of Rights. WOCNCB endorsed the previous bill of rights and voted to give their support to the updated Bill of Rights as well. The UOAA has resources about the Patient Bill of Rights that you can share with your patients. Learn more here.

The Public Policy and Advocacy Committee is working to develop regular updates on legislative and regulatory matters to help our certified nurses advocate for quality care for their patients. Current Committee priorities are development of strong relationships with coalition stakeholders and improving public policy and advocacy communication with our certificants and the public. If you would like to receive our quarterly Public Policy E-news, click here and add your name to our email list.