Only 100 experts across the country have been selected to advise the federal government on what medical items and services should be covered under Medicare. School of Nursing clinical professor Joy Elwell is one of them.
As of Jan. 1, Elwell is serving a two-year term on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Medicare Evidence Development and Coverage Advisory Committee. The group includes national experts in medicine, public health, and related fields, who are responsible for evaluating the latest medical literature and technology. The committee then makes recommendations to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on what should be, or is eligible to be, covered under the national health insurance program.
“I was surprised when I received the invitation, but I’m grateful and excited to be a part of this,” says Elwell, who has been a registered nurse for 40 years, a nurse practitioner for 28, and directs the School’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program. “I see myself as a patient advocate, as an advocate for nursing. I want to use the gifts and knowledge that nursing brings to the table to improve access to health care for everyone.”
Elwell has been involved in health policy since 1997, at both the state and federal levels, but feels she really came into her advocacy role in 2011.
“People think nursing is at the bedside in a hospital, but nursing is everywhere. … We need to be more assertive about how we can improve the health of the nation using the important knowledge that nursing brings.” — Joy Elwell
“When I lived in New York, the governor at the time convened a Medicaid redesign team,” she says. “It was made up of clinical experts from every healing discipline and it was my first exposure to interdisciplinary advocacy.”
As a member of that team, Elwell helped pave the path for full practice authority for nurse practitioners in New York. Other states in the Northeast later followed suit. Now, she’s taking her experience to Baltimore, where the Medicare advisory committee meets at least twice a year.
“Medicare sets the standard that all of the private payers base their reimbursements on,” she says. “There are so many procedures and types of medical visits out there, and all of those reimbursement billables are based on Medicare. That’s why I’m excited to be a part of this — to look at new technologies and best evidence and take the knowledge that I have of evidence-based practice and improve coverage for everyone.”
A family nurse practitioner, Elwell also holds a dual appointment with UConn School of Medicine. She is a fellow of both the American Academy of Nursing and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.
“People think nursing is at the bedside in a hospital, but nursing is everywhere,” Elwell says. “It’s in case management, schools, industry, research teams, the community, the military, correctional institutions, and even NASA. We need to be more assertive about how we can improve the health of the nation using the important knowledge that nursing brings.”
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