MORE Nurses Act
The MORE Nurses Act would require the National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice (the NACNEP) to study and report on the growing nursing shortage in the United States. The council must assess trends in the nursing workforce, evaluate the capacity to educate future nurses, identify the causes of shortages, and review federal policies related to nursing education and the workforce. It should build on existing evaluations, avoid duplicating other efforts, and pinpoint federal policy areas that affect the ability to respond to shortages—such as funding for nursing education, efforts to increase workforce diversity, and incentives to work in underserved areas. The act directs the council to propose a set of solutions for policymakers, including legislative and regulatory options, and to deliver a final report within one year of enactment to the President, Congress, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, with the report publicly available online.
Key Points
- 1Establishes duties for the National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice to examine and report on the U.S. nursing workforce capacity, including trends, education capacity, causes of shortages, and federal policies to bolster education and the workforce.
- 2Requires the council to build upon and review findings from existing evaluations and avoid unnecessary duplication by considering other task forces, committees, commissions, and public/private entities.
- 3Requires identification of federal policy areas that impact response to the shortage, including federal support for nursing education, diversity in the nursing workforce, and incentives for nurses to work in underserved communities.
- 4Mandates that the council identify and recommend a set of possible solutions to the nursing shortage for policymakers, including legislative and regulatory recommendations.
- 5Sets a one-year deadline for completing the examination and producing a comprehensive report to the President, Congress, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, with the report publicly available online.