Why is SB279 good for patients and good for Michigan?
Senate Bill 279 is bipartisan legislation that authorizes Full Practice Authority (FPA) for nurse practitioners. Updating Michigan’s archaic laws will allow NPs to provide quality, affordable healthcare to Michigan patients using the full extent of their graduate education, clinical training and national certifications — just like 27 other states.
There are a lot of good reasons to support SB279:
Access
Improved access to healthcare, especially in underserved rural and urban areas.
Numerous independent studies demonstrate that states with FPA have better access to healthcare in underserved communities.
People living in FPA states had significantly greater access to primary care than those living in states that reduce or restrict nurse practitioners’ scope of practice.
Quality
Full Practice Authority ensures quality healthcare.
Michigan’s independent, nonpartisan Citizens Research Council concluded in a 2016 review that NPs “provide care at or above the quality offered by physicians.”
A physician-run study found that NPs performed as well as junior doctors on all procedures and tasks except two — taking medical history and educating patients at discharge — on which the nurses performed better.
Safety
Full Practice Authority protects patient safety.
Forty years of research confirms that healthcare provided by NPs ensures patient safety.
A 2019 study of 609,668 patients being treated at primary care clinics by physicians, physician assistants (PAs) and nurse practitioners (NPs) found no clinically significant difference in patient outcomes.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, NPs practiced on the front lines of Michigan’s healthcare system without the unnecessary burden of physician supervision. There is no evidence to suggest patient outcomes were negatively impacted.
Cost
Full Practice Authority lowers the cost of healthcare.
Patients under the care of NPs tend to have reduced emergency room visits, decreased hospital length of stay, less costly diagnostic tests and lower prescription drug costs.
Medicare claims data from 2009-2010 found that Medicare evaluation and management payments for patients assigned to NPs were 29% less than payments for patients assigned to primary care physicians.
As costs continue to escalate, FPA for nurse practitioners will make healthcare in Michigan more affordable.
Choice
FPA allows patients to choose the provider that best meets their needs.
The landscape of healthcare is changing and patients have more choices than ever before. Patients who prefer to get their care from an NP should not be restricted due to outdated physician supervision requirements.
Patients who currently see an NP are at risk of losing their healthcare provider if the NP’s supervising physician retires or terminates their state-mandated contract.
The Federal Trade Commission even weighed in, calling physician supervision requirements “anti-competitive.”