Newswise — CHICAGO – The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the world's largest organization of food and nutrition professionals, continues to urge the U.S. Senate to reject the American Health Care Act after the upper chamber on July 25 narrowly passed a procedural vote to open debate on overturning the 2010 Affordable Care Act.
The Academy recommends that the Senate opposes any proposal that fails to improve people's access to high-quality health care and instead works with the Academy and other health professionals to find bipartisan solutions that improve coverage and quality while reducing costs through innovation and enhanced preventive care.
The Academy previously identified five key tenets for analyzing any legislation to reform health care:
- The health of all Americans should improve as a result of our health policy choices. Sufficient resources must be made available to ensure optimal health.
- Access to quality health care is a right that must be extended to all Americans.
- Nutrition services, from pre-conception through end of life, are an essential component of comprehensive health care.
- Stable, sufficient and reliable funding is necessary for our health care system to provide everyone access to a core package of benefits.
- Health care must be patient-centered.
The Academy will work with states to advocate for continued access and coverage for preventive services, coverage for preventive care, ambulatory care, behavioral health and numerous other services where registered dietitian nutritionists are improving patient health.
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All registered dietitians are nutritionists – but not all nutritionists are registered dietitians. The Academy’s Board of Directors and Commission on Dietetic Registration have determined that those who hold the credential registered dietitian (RD) may optionally use “registered dietitian nutritionist” (RDN) instead. The two credentials have identical meanings.
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is the world’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. The Academy is committed to improving the nation’s health and advancing the profession of dietetics through research, education and advocacy. Visit the Academy at www.eatright.org.
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