Nurse practitioners seek independence in other states

By Anthony Hennen | The Center Square

HARRISBURG, PA – Nurse practitioners rallied in Harrisburg on Wednesday for greater independence in practice, advocating for a change that dozens of other states have already made.

More independence would mean abolishing state requirements for nurse practitioners to have a collaboration agreement with a physician. Instead, advocates want NPs to have full practice authority to see patients and provide the treatment they were trained to give.

“We face a health care crisis that shows no sign of easing,” said Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Charleroi. “Rural communities like mine have been hit the hardest. Many patients in my district face travel times measured in hours, not minutes, for critical appointments — if they can find someone to treat them at all.”

Bartolotta has proposed Senate Bill 25, which would eliminate the requirement to have a physician agreement to work independently. Certified nurse practitioners would qualify to do so after working under a collaboration agreement for three years – roughly 3,600 hours.

“This is an issue that transcends party lines because it’s focused on ensuring quality care and access for all patients, everyone across Pennsylvania,” Bartolotta said.

Limiting the scope of practice for NPs has been a longstanding issue on top of licensing delays that keep health care workers from starting their jobs for months at a time, as The Center Square previously reported.

“We’re losing (nurse practitioners) because we don’t have this bill passed,” Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-Bethlehem, said. “Time to stop that nonsense and let’s move forward.”

Pennsylvania’s neighbors have been able to expand health care access in rural areas by allowing nurse practitioners to work independently. If the state follows Maryland’s lead, a Commonwealth Foundation study argued, nurse practitioner numbers would increase by 30%, eliminating half of the areas facing the health care.

“We currently have a primary care shortage gap that’s only anticipated to grow,” Boscola said. “However, nurse practitioners can and will fill that gap for primary care … that will better serve our communities and provide quality prime care for Pennsylvanians.”

“Let’s get rid of this nonsense and make Pennsylvania the 28th state (to adopt full practice authority), not the 50th,” she added.

Advocates from the Pennsylvania Coalition of Nurse Practitioners argued that the change would update the commonwealth’s health system.

“We are integral to the health care system,” PCNP President Cheryl Schlamb said. “We do not require a pilot to display evidence of health care outcomes – the pandemic was our pilot.”