S. 739: National Nursing Shortage Reform and Patient Advocacy Act
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S. 739: National Nursing Shortage Reform and Patient Advocacy Act
113th Congress · introduced 2013-04-16 · Health · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
federal
Follow this bill, step by step
- Where it came from: introduced 2013-04-16 · official record
- Who proposed it: Sen. Boxer, Barbara [D-CA] · what a sponsor is
- What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
- Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
- If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.
Official title
National Nursing Shortage Reform and Patient Advocacy Act
Plain summary
National Nursing Shortage Reform and Patient Advocacy Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require hospitals to implement a staffing plan that includes a minimum direct care registered nurse-to-patient ratio by unit, adjustments above the minimum ratio under appropriate circumstances, and compliance with minimum licensed practical nurse staffing requirements. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop a national acuity tool to establish nurse staffing requirements above minimum ratios. Directs the Secretary to adjust Medicare payments to hospitals (including hospitals operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs [VA] and long-term care hospitals) to cover additional costs incurred in providing services to Medicare beneficiaries that are attributable to compliance with such ratios. Gives a nurse the right to act as the patient's advocate, including by: (1) initiating action to improve health care or to change decisions or activities that are against the interests and wishes of the patient, and (2) giving the patient an opportunity to make an informed decision about health care before it is provided. Authorizes a nurse to refuse to accept an assignment if it would violate minimum ratios under this Act or if the nurse is not prepared by education, training, or experience to fulfill the assignment without compromising the safety of any patient or jeopardizing the nurse's license. Prohibits a hospital from: (1) taking specified actions against a nurse based on the nurse's refusal to accept an assignment for such a reason; or (2) discriminating against any patient, employee, or any other individual for good faith complaints or grievances relating to the care, services, or conditions of the hospital or of any affiliated or related facilities. Prohibits actions by hospitals to restrain such rights. Makes conforming amendments to titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act as well as to requirements for the VA health benefits program. Includes stipends in the nurse workforce loan repayment and scholarship program. Expands the nurse retention grant program to authorize programs to implement nurse preceptorship and mentorship projects.
Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.
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What does this mean? (plain words)
Official text
National Nursing Shortage Reform and Patient Advocacy Act
Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
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Alternatives
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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes
Officials and money
Sponsor: Sen. Boxer, Barbara [D-CA] · 1 cosponsors
Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.
Cosponsors on this site
No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.
Words on this page, explained (3)
- Appropriation
- Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
- Authorization
- A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
- Securities
- Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.
Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.
Sources
- Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
- Congress.gov
- Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-113s739.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/113/s>
Record fed-us-cong113-s739 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong113 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong113