On February 13, the Senate (S. 575) and House of Representatives (H.R. 1317), led by Representative David Joyce (R-OH) and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OH), introduced bi-partisan legislation to increase patient access to care by removing outdated and unnecessary federal barriers on services provided by advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) under the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
APRNs include nurse practitioners, certified registered nurse anesthetists, certified nurse-midwives, and clinical nurse specialists.
LeadingAge supported the ICAN Act in previous years including working on updates to allow nurse practitioners to bill for hospice services beyond their role as attending clinician.
The legislation would also allow NPs to certify the terminal illness for hospice admission, expand eligibility to certify and recertify a Medicare beneficiary for home health services to certified nurse-midwives, and remove the requirement that SNF care be provided under the supervision of a physician and authorize NPs to perform admitting examinations and all required patient assessments.
Representative Joyce and Senator Merkley were joined by four colleagues in the introduction, Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Jen Kiggans (R-VA), Lauren Underwood (D-IL) and Mike Rogers (R-AL).
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