Improving Access to Workers' Compensation for Injured Federal Workers Act - Amends the Federal Employees' Compensation Act to include physician assistants, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, certified nurse midwives, or certified registered nurse anesthetists as eligible providers of medical, surgical, and hospital services and supplies under such Act.
[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4651 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4651
To amend the Federal Employees' Compensation Act to cover services
provided to injured Federal workers by physician assistants and nurse
practitioners, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 13, 2007
Mr. Hare (for himself and Mr. Souder) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Federal Employees' Compensation Act to cover services
provided to injured Federal workers by physician assistants and nurse
practitioners, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Improving Access to Workers'
Compensation for Injured Federal Workers Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Medical services and supplies provided by physician
assistants (PAs), nurse practitioners (NPs), clinical nurse
specialists (CNSs), certified nurse midwives (CNMs), and
certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs), are not
included in the definition of ``medical, surgical, and hospital
services and supplies'' in the Federal Employees' Compensation
Act (5 U.S.C. 8101 et seq.). PAs, NPs, CNSs, CNMs, and CRNAs
are not included in the definition of ``physician'' in such
Act, and claims signed by PAs, NPs, CNSs, CNMs, and CRNAs have
been denied by the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs of
the Department of Labor.
(2) In some rural areas where many of these providers are
the only full-time providers of care, injured Federal workers
may have to travel more than 100 miles to receive care that is
reimbursable.
(3) In some cases, Federal workers have been advised to use
hospital emergency rooms for non-emergency care, rather than
receiving care after hours at local clinics where many of these
providers are the only health care professionals on-site.
(4) PAs, NPs, CNSs, and CNMs are covered providers within
Medicare, Medicaid, Tri-Care, and most private insurance plans.
(5) PAs, NPs, and CNMs are legally regulated in all 50
States, the District of Columbia, and Guam.
(6) All 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Guam
authorize physicians to delegate prescriptive privileges to the
PAs they supervise, authorize NPs to prescribe medications
under their own signature, and 48 States, the District of
Columbia, American Samoa, and Guam provide prescriptive
authority to CNMs.
(7) PAs and NPs work in virtually every area of medicine
and surgery and are also employed by the Federal government to
provide medical care, including by the Department of Veterans
Affairs, the Department of Defense, and the Public and Indian
Health Services.
(8) CNSs have clinical nursing expertise in diagnosis and
provide direct care to prevent, remediate, or alleviate illness
and promote health. CNSs practice in hospitals, clinics,
nursing homes, and other community-based settings.
(9) CNMs provide vital care to pregnant Federal workers who
are injured on the job.
(10) CRNAs, the oldest of the advanced nursing specialties,
administer more than 65 percent of all anesthetics given to
patients each year, and are the sole providers of anesthetics
in 85 percent of rural hospitals.
(11) CRNAs work in almost every setting in which anesthesia
is given, including operating rooms, dental offices, pain
clinics, and ambulatory surgical settings.
(12) Amending the Federal Employees' Compensation Act to
recognize PAs and NPs as covered providers will bring this Act
in line with the overwhelming majority of State workers'
compensation programs, which recognize PAs and NPs as covered
providers.
(13) The exclusion of PAs, NPs, CNSs, CNMs, and CRNAs from
the category of covered providers under the Federal Employees'
Compensation Act limits patients' access to medical care,
services, and supplies, disrupts continuity of care, and
creates unnecessary costs for the Office of Workers'
Compensation Programs.
SEC. 3. INCLUSION OF PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS AND ADVANCED PRACTICE
REGISTERED NURSES IN FEDERAL EMPLOYEES' COMPENSATION ACT.
(a) Inclusion.--Section 8101 of title 5, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (3), by inserting ``other eligible
providers,'' after ``chiropractors,'';
(2) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraphs (18) and
(19);
(3) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (20) and
inserting ``; and''; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
``(21) `other eligible provider' means a physician
assistant, nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist,
certified nurse midwife, or certified registered nurse
anesthetist, within the scope of their practice as defined by
State law, or as credentialed by the Federal government.''.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--Chapter 81 of title 5, United States
Code, is amended--
(1) in section 8103(a)--
(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by
inserting ``or other eligible provider'' after
``physician'';
(B) in paragraph (3), by inserting ``or other
eligible providers'' after ``physicians''; and
(C) in the matter following paragraph (3), by
inserting ``or other eligible provider'' after
``physician'';
(2) in section 8121(6), by inserting ``or other eligible
provider'' after ``physician''; and
(3) in section 8123(a)--
(A) in the second sentence, by inserting ``or other
eligible provider'' after ``physician''; and
(B) in the third sentence, by striking ``of the
employee'' and inserting ``or other eligible provider
of the employee''.
SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The amendments made by this section shall apply beginning on the
first day of the second Federal fiscal year quarter that begins on or
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E2572)
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
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