Dear NPWH Members & Community,

As we progress through the third quarter, I want to reflect on our community's outstanding work and highlight critical advocacy efforts needing our support.

Firstly, thank you for your unwavering dedication to women’s and gender-related health. Your passion drives our mission, ensuring top-quality care for women and individuals nationwide. We are making significant strides, yet much remains to be done.

Special thanks to the NPWH Advocacy Committee for supporting our collective efforts and providing additional resources to assist with WHNP employment, as well as support to our members at the local, state, and federal levels. They recently drafted and published a one-page Women's Health Nurse Practitioner Scope of Practice document to complement the NPWH Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner: Guidelines for Practice and Education (8th ed.)

NPWH, a nimble team with limited resources, currently focuses on federal legislation. As our membership grows, we aim to expand our support within regions and, ultimately, states. However, much of this work requires financial resources. At this time, we continue to do our part on sign-on letters to advocate for budget allocations to support women's and gender-related healthcare, education, and federal policies that ensure all patients have access to all care needed. Later this year, we will share our new strategic plan for 2025-2027.

Advocacy is crucial, especially with recent legislation limiting access to reproductive healthcare, which directly impacts your practice. Together, our collective voice can drive positive policy changes.

In the newsletter below, I've included some highlights and call-to-action items. These items will take less than five minutes, and are an easy way to contribute and elevate the voice of the certified WHNP and APRNs who provide women's and gender-related healthcare.

Warm regards,

Heather L. Maurer, MA, CAE

Chief Executive Officer

National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health

NPWH is a proud member of HPNEC. Below are details about the groups work linking to the Budget Blueprint and HRSA's 2025 Budget Justification documents for your reference.

FY 2025 HPNEC Appropriations Brochure. Health Professions and Nursing Education Coalition (HPNEC) Budget Blueprint for Fiscal Year 2025, which is available here: https://www.aamc.org/media/77696/download

We are asking Congress to support $1.51 billion for FY 2025 for the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Title VII and VIII workforce development programs Additionally, the FY 2025 Budget Blueprint continues to provide an overview of the Title VII Health Professions and Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development programs administered by HRSA, which play a crucial role in shaping, educating, and bolstering the health workforce. It has been updated to reflect the relevant data included in HRSA’s FY 2025 Budget Justification. 

The NPWH Planning Committee for the NPWH Menopause Summit for Advanced Practice Providers 2024, including Chair Genevieve Hofmann, DNP, WHNP-BC, MSCP; Mary Fischer, PhD, APRN, WHNP-BC, MSCP, IBCLC, LCCE; Jaclyn “Jackie” Piasta, MSN, APRN, WHNP-BC, MSCP; Jennie Mastroianni, DNP, WHNP-BC, MSCP; Shelagh Larson, APRN, WHNP-BC, MSCP, IF, FANNP; and Donna Ruth, RN, NPWH Director of Education, played a crucial role in the development of this course and achieving this honor. Their efforts have significantly contributed to the success and impact of NPWH’s initiatives, furthering the association's mission to provide quality healthcare to women across the nation.

Sign-on Letters of Support for APRNs and Patients:

Collaborating with other organizations is vital for effective advocacy work, especially in the healthcare field. By joining forces with like-minded organizations, NPWH can amplify its voice, pool resources, and create a united front to address complex issues that impact certified Women's Health Nurse Practitioners (WHNP-BCs) and the patients you serve. These partnerships enable NPWH to influence policy decisions, promote best practices, and advocate for the health and well-being of women and individuals across the lifespan on a larger scale than would be possible alone.

Through collaboration, NPWH gains access to a broader network of expertise, insights, and support, which strengthens its advocacy efforts. Working alongside other organizations allows NPWH to engage with a diverse array of stakeholders, including policymakers, healthcare providers, and community leaders, ensuring that the concerns of WHNPs and their patients are heard and addressed at every level. NPWH took the following actions this quarter:

• NPWH signed a letter sponsored by the Coalition to Expand Contraceptive Access regarding recommendations for improving the federal sterilization consent form and process. View their report "Federal Sterilization Consent: A Summary of the Current Context and Recommendations for Change" here. 

• NPWH signed a letter sponsored by the Nursing Community Coalition Supporting the Workers Comp for Injured Federal Workers Act. The bill would retire outdated barriers in the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act that limit the ability of nurse practitioners to diagnose and oversee the care and treatment of federal employees who are injured or become ill in the course of their employment.

• NPWH signed a letter sponsored by the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments requesting an opportunity to meet in-person with the Center for Environmental Quality to discuss how nurses across the country can support the Administration in its vital effort to address the health impacts of extreme heat.

• NPWH signed letters sponsored by the Nursing Community Coalition and the Health Professions and Nursing Education Coalition asking Congress to support $1.51 billion for FY 2025 for the Health Resources and Services Administration Title VII and VIII workforce development programs. 

• NPWH signed a letter sponsored by Facing Hereditary Cancer Empowered regarding EviCore’s “Hereditary Cancer Syndrome Multigene Panels” policy to advocate for individuals and families affected by hereditary cancer and express concern with EviCore’s misuse of the “most informative family member” recommendation to deny coverage of germline genetic testing for individuals who otherwise meet established testing criteria for a hereditary cancer syndrome.

• NPWH signed a letter sponsored by the Nursing Community Coalition requesting a listening session regarding Optimizing the Food and Drug Administration's Use of and Processes for Advisory Committees. The letter stated: "Having a broad range of input at the federal level, from all aspects of the health care community, including nursing, is imperative." 

• NPWH signed a letter sponsored by the American Medical Women’s Association to express concern about the growing epidemic of obesity and its profound implications on women’s health through the lifespan, stating, "We must address obesity as a critical challenge in advancing the health of the nation."

• NPWH signed a letter sponsored by the Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance to request that the final National Defense Authorization Act language include Section 709 the “Pilot program to prevent perinatal mental health conditions in pregnant and postpartum members of the Armed Forces and covered beneficiaries“ of H.R. 8070, the “Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025” (NDAA) within the final version of the FY 2025 NDAA. This provision is based on the bipartisan Moms Act (S. 3641/H.R. 7087) led by Sen. Shaheen (D-NH), Sen. Fischer (R-NE), Rep. Houlahan (D-PA), and Rep. Bacon (R-NE), which pilots evidence-based maternal mental health prevention t programs at Military Treatment Facilities to support members of the Armed Forces and their families. These programs have been proven to prevent maternal mental health (MMH) conditions and lessen the severity of symptoms, which is essential to improve the health and readiness of pregnant members of the Armed Forces who are disproportionately impacted by MMH conditions. 

• NPWH signed a letter sponsored by the Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services regarding the importance of post-fracture osteoporosis follow-up services to ensure that providers have, and are aware of, a set of appropriate coding and payment mechanisms required to deliver best practices in post fracture evidence-based care.



• NPWH signed a letter sponsored by the American Nurses Association to the Department of Homeland Security requesting the addition of nursing as a STEM degree to the DHS Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Designated Degree Program List, stating that "Nursing is an important STEM profession that advances health and science across many disciplines."

• NPWH signed a letter sponsored by The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the National Association of County and City Health Officials to the Department of Health and Human Services requesting the inclusion of $100 million for the Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Program and $50 million for the Bio–Preparedness Workforce Pilot Program at the Health Resources and Services Administration in the FY 2026 President’s Budget Request. Read more about the program here.

• NPWH signed a new Amicus Curiae Brief to the Ninth Circuit on Behalf of the Gender Justice Movement in United States v. Idaho led by the National Women's Law Center. Idaho's extreme abortion ban conflicts with the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), a federal law enacted in 1986 to ensure that no person suffering a medical emergency is turned away from receiving the care they need. On August 2, 2022, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit in a federal district court challenging the Idaho abortion ban to the extent that it conflicts with federal law. The U.S. District Court agreed, issuing an injunction against the state's abortion ban to the extent it conflicts with EMTALA. In January 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear Idaho's appeal of this decision and allowed Idaho's ban to go fully into effect while its decision was pending. On June 27, 2024, the Supreme Court declined to review the merits of the case but reinstated the injunction against Idaho's ban. The Court dismissed certiorari as improvidently granted and sent the case back to the Ninth Circuit. Amicus briefs to the Ninth Circuit were filed on October 22, 2024.