ASK CONGRESS TO REMOVE NP BARRIERS UNDER THE FEDERAL EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION ACT

The purpose of this bill is to amend chapter 81 of title 5, United States Code, to cover, for purposes of workers' compensation under such chapter, services by physician assistants and nurse practitioners provided to injured Federal workers, and for other purposes.

In March 2022, the Improving Access to Workers’ Compensation for Injured Federal Workers Act (H.R. 6087) was passed out of the House Education and Labor Committee with unanimous, bipartisan support by voice vote.

Information about this bill is available at:  Improving Access to Workers’ Compensation for Injured Federal Workers Act (H.R. 6087) - GovTrack.us

Neither Rep Simpson nor Rep Fulcher are co-sponsors.

This bill would fix an arbitrary and outdated barrier that prevents NPs from diagnosing, certifying an injury and the extent of the disability, and overseeing patients’ treatment and care under the Federal Employee Compensation Act (FECA). Federal employees can select an NP as their health care provider under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, yet are barred from continuing to receive care from an NP under FECA should they sustain a work-related injury. 

Despite this bill being a clearly common sense, non-partisan piece of legislation, the American Medical Association has decided to weigh in and oppose the bill moving forward with their usual attempts to keep nurses under the thumb of physicians. This despite bipartisan recommendations to remove barriers to NPs from the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine; the Brookings Institute; the American Enterprise Institute; the World Health Organization; the Bipartisan Policy Center; the National Governors Association; Americans for Prosperity; and the Federal Trade Commission, among others.

 
Please contact our two Congressmen and ask them to support this bill.  In a state like Idaho, where 49% of primary care is provided by a NP, this makes a lot of sense.

Thanks.