Lawmakers gave first-round approval Feb. 6 to a bill intended to address the shortage of primary care providers in rural Nebraska.<\/p>\n
LB107, introduced by Bellevue Sen. Sue Crawford, would remove the requirement for an integrated practice agreement between a nurse practitioner and a collaborating physician and replace it with a transition to practice agreement.<\/p>\n
Crawford said the bill was identical to one she sponsored last session, which passed on a 43-0 vote before being vetoed by former Gov. Dave Heineman.<\/p>\n
\u201cLB107 does not change the scope of practice for nurse practitioners,\u201d Crawford said. \u201cThe bill is about a restriction of trade and a government regulation that currently does not improve patient safety or outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bill would replace the integrated practice agreement with a transition to practice agreement. The agreement would provide that the nurse practitioner and the supervising provider practice collaboratively within the framework of their respective scopes of practice.<\/p>\n
A supervising provider is defined as a physician, osteopathic physician or nurse practitioner licensed and practicing in the same practice specialty, related specialty or field of practice. A nurse practitioner would be required to have 10,000 hours of practice to qualify as a supervising provider.<\/p>\n
Grand Island Sen. Mike Gloor supported the bill, saying it had overwhelming support last session but that lawmakers ran out of time in the session to pursue a veto override. He said the bill would be an incentive for nurse practitioners to stay in Nebraska, particularly in rural areas.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis bill is important as a small step to address some of our workforce issues,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Crete Sen. Laura Ebke expressed concerns about a possible increase in malpractice claims against nurse practitioners should the bill pass.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think, before we go too far down the path, I\u2019d like to see us at least consider how we structure this,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Crawford said research from other states that grant full practice authority to nurse practitioners have not seen an increase in malpractice claims.<\/p>\n
Senators voted 35-2 to advance LB107 to select file.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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