Promoting the Nursing Profession | American Nurses Association of New York, Inc.

to Improve Health Care for All

The American Nurses Association – New York (ANA-NY) is engaged in advocacy at the state level of government. In conjunction with our full-time lobbyist, ANA-NY advocates for the interests of our members and the Association and provides a voice for our profession. This document was developed by the ANA-NY Legislation Committee and outlines the legislative priorities for ANA-NY during the 2025 – 2026 legislative sessions.

The legislative priorities for ANA-NY are determined by our mission statement and purpose. ANA-NY fosters high standards of nursing and promotes the professional and educational advancement of registered and advanced practice registered nurses to improve healthcare for all. Our goal is to promote the professional and educational advancement of registered and advanced practice registered nurses; and improve the work environment and welfare of registered and advanced practice registered nurses so that all people have access to the highest quality care possible.

Expanding Nursing Workforce Development & Support

Developing a robust pipeline of individuals who want to enter the nursing profession, as well as ensuring that current nurses remain in the profession, is a major focus of ANA-NY. We are seeing many challenges to enrollment, recruitment and retention of nursing students and nurses already in the workforce, and we will support legislative and regulatory priorities to bolster the profession. These priorities include exploring new workforce development ideas such as nurse residency programs, preceptorship tax credits and working to support New York becoming the 43rd state to join the Nurse Licensure Compact. We also support legislation that creates loan forgiveness programs for nurses that are willing to practice in underserved areas.

New York State Advocacy

Attaining Health Equity

Registered nurses are the single most important influence in the delivery and management of care for patients. Across the entire patient experience, and wherever there is someone in need of care, registered and advanced practice nurses work tirelessly to identify and meet the needs of the individual, their families, and the communities where they live. Ensuring optimal health for individuals and communities means that registered and advanced practice nurses must play a pivotal role in population and public health. The profession is dedicated to ensuring both population health and health equity. Public health must be focused on promoting and protecting the health of people and the communities where they live, learn, work and play. Public health means addressing determinants of health. We support measures to support public health including: ensuring people receive needed vaccinations to prevent the spread of disease; protecting healthcare workers from the threat of prosecution for performing their jobs within the purview of New York State law; protecting New Yorkers from the threat of gun violence; understanding the health risks associated with smoking and other risky behaviors; developing and supporting programs to ensure that individuals can pursue and achieve a healthy lifestyle; developing and supporting programs focused on behavioral health; and evaluating and responding to the social and environmental determinants of health. Far too often, zip codes determine the state of individuals’ health and access to care. We support measures that will address structural health inequities that are distributed unjustly by race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, geographic location or other identity or experiences. ANA-NY will support timely legislation that is critical to public health and ensuring adequate access to healthcare for all New Yorkers. Further, ANA-NY will oppose legislation or budgetary cuts that lead to a diminished healthcare experience, harm to health, or denial of access to care.

New York State Advocacy

Federal Advocacy

Expanding Patients’ Access to Care

Registered nurses trust ANA-NY because of our dedication to standards, guidelines, and principles. We work hard to elevate the nursing profession by defining the values and priorities for registered nurses while keeping in mind the needs of our patients and their families. With the healthcare worker shortage, it is critically important for registered nurses in all specialties and roles to practice to the full extent of their education and training thereby expanding the population of healthcare providers that can provide much needed care to New Yorkers. With our focus on nursing, ANA-NY is committed to recognizing and alleviating the barriers that registered nurses face. We support scope of practice legislation that acknowledges all facets of nurse education and training for registered and advanced practice registered nurses. We oppose legislation that will limit the ability of nurses to practice to the full extent of their education and training. Further, ANA-NY supports legislation that would require ongoing continuing education for registered nurses in New York.

New York State Advocacy

Federal Advocacy

Inclusion of Nursing Degrees as Department of Homeland Security STEM Designated Degree Program List
Support for The Improving Care and Access to Nurses Act
- MOS to House
- MOS to Senate Finance

Ensuring Workplace Health & Safety

The Coronavirus pandemic strained a healthcare system that was already struggling and added new stressors that had never been contemplated. ANA NY supports legislation that would: protect registered and advanced practice nurses from retaliation when speaking up about safety and patient care issues; support nurses’ mental health and well-being; and expand healthcare system funding to better support patient access and services. ANA-NY further supports legislation designed to better respond to future pandemics and ensure that all healthcare workers have access to the needed resources to adequately treat their patients and ensure their own health and safety while performing their duties. Further, we will continue to support and explore legislation to ensure that hours worked by nurses follow all applicable laws and whether new laws or changes are needed to ensure that staffing is adequate at all facilities and support measures to address hours worked and minimize nurse burnout. While safe staffing legislation was passed in 2021, the regulations implementing this law are not being enforced in a fair and reasonable manner. The nursing workforce is burning out, and many nurses are leaving the profession, because there is not enough staffing to meet all the needs. To increase retention, the safe staffing regulations must be enforced, and if these are not adequate to address the staffing problem, new ideas must be explored.

New York State Advocacy

Health System Transformation

ANA-NY recognizes the ongoing debate over healthcare reform. We remain committed to educating registered nurses about how the changing system impacts patients’ lives and the nursing profession. We believe all health care reform initiatives should follow these four principles: ensure universal access to a standard package of essential healthcare services for all New Yorkers; optimize primary care and community based preventive services, while supporting the cost-effective use of innovative, evidence-based, technology-driven, acute care inhospital services; encourage economic models of healthcare services that support those who do not have the means to share in costs; and, ensure a skilled workforce dedicated to providing high quality healthcare services. ANA-NY will support any legislation that supports these four principles and will oppose any legislation that undermines these principles.

New York State Advocacy

MOS – Memorandum of Support

MOO – Memorandum of Opposition