The ISMA has joined the AMA and other state and national medical organizations in asking leaders of two U.S. House committees to reject a bill expanding the scope of practice for nonphysician practitioners, including nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives, certified registered nurse anesthetists, clinical nurse specialists, and physician assistants.

In the letter, the AMA expressed strong opposition to H.R. 2713, the “Improving Care and Access to Nurses Act, or the “I CAN Act.”

“We are deeply concerned that this broad, sweeping bill endangers the care of Medicare and Medicaid patients by expanding the types of services nonphysician practitioners can perform and removing physician involvement in patient care,” the letter states.

“This legislation would allow nonphysician practitioners to perform tasks and services outside their education and training and could result in increased utilization of services, increased costs, and lower quality of care for patients. Additionally, this bill will remove supervision requirements for certified registered nurse anesthetists, a change that could have a negative impact on quality outcomes for patients.” 
The letter details other reasons the bill would harm patients and explains why removing physician oversight of NPPs would not achieve its stated goal of increasing access to medical care in rural and underserved areas. 

“Due to the increased  education and training of physicians, the ability of physicians to more accurately treat and diagnose patients, the lack of additional access provided by expanding scope of practice laws, and the negative consequences of removing physicians from the care team, the undersigned organizations strongly oppose the I CAN Act,” the letter concludes. “Congress should avoid advancing this sweeping bill that places patient safety at risk.” 
The bill is under consideration in the House Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce Committees.

A copy of the final letter is available here >>