Legislative successes and continued progress for advanced practice nurses

ARNPs United is proud of the successful passage of Washington State House Bill 1259 authorizing ARNP signatures on documents within our scope of practice that might require physician signature or attestation. In other state legislation, Senate Bill 5175 ensures ARNP reimbursement for services provided through telehealth. We are pleased that the 2015-2017 budget includes continuing academic loan repayment for nurses and ARNPs.

On the national level, the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) prioritized three bills for the current U.S. legislative session. We have already had some success.

House Resolution 2 was signed into law by President Barack Obama on April 16, 2015. This bill repeals the failed Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate Formula, reauthorizes the Children’s Health Insurance Program and removes the barrier for ARNPs to document face-to-face encounters when ordering some durable medical equipment (DME) for Medicare patients. We requested support from Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray and got it! ARNPs are authorized to document the need for DME, effective immediately.

H.R. 1247/S. 297 authorizes the Veterans Health Administration (VA) to recognize ARNPs’ right to practice to the full scope of our training throughout the VA system. Only 21 states and the District of Columbia permit ARNPs to practice to the full extent of our licensure. If an ARNP licensed in a state with restricted or reduced practice goes to work for the VA in another state, he or she is governed by the rules of the state of licensure. The Senate and House have sponsored legislation to amend this; however, the Senate version proposed by Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Illinois) does not include CRNAs. Anesthesiologists oppose full practice by nurse anesthetists, despite the lack of evidence to support the purported concerns regarding patient safety. The Washington State delegation’s aides expressed reluctance to pass legislation that the VA can authorize itself—however, we encourage our representatives to enact this legislation and allow timely access to all ARNPs at all sites, including CRNAs. You can show your support for full practice by ARNPs throughout the VA system by contacting your representatives at www.aanp.org/legislation-regulation/advocacy-center.

S. 578/H.R. 1342 addresses ARNP authorization for home health care for Medicare patients. AANP Governmental Affairs summarizes the bill: “Nurse practitioners have been authorized Part B Medicare providers since 1998. Despite this recognition, NPs with patients who need home health care services still have to locate a physician to certify that the NP has conducted the required face-to-face certification examination to document eligibility for care, even if the physician was never involved. This legislation requests Congress to support improved beneficiary access to home health care services by introducing legislation that allows NPs to verify that the patients under our care are eligible for home health care services.”

For more information about ARNPs United of Washington State and advanced practice nursing in the state of Washington, visit http://auws.org.