II
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1795
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 17, 2007
Mr. Kennedy (for himself, Mr. Isakson, and Ms. Collins) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
A BILL
To improve access to workers' compensation programs for injured Federal employees.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the
Improving Access to Workers’
Compensation for Injured Federal Workers Act
.
Findings
Congress finds the following:
Medical services
and supplies provided by physician assistants (PAs) and nurse practitioners
(NPs) 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 and NPs are not included in the definition of
physician
in such Act, and claims signed by PAs and NPs have
been denied by the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs of the Department
of Labor.
In some rural areas where PAs and NPs 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.
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 PAs or NPs are the only health care professionals on-site.
PAs and NPs are legally regulated in all fifty States, the District of Columbia, and Guam. Forty-eight States, the District of Columbia, and Guam authorize physicians to delegate prescriptive privileges to the PAs they supervise, and forty-nine States, the District of Columbia, and Guam authorize NPs to prescribe medications under their own signature.
PAs and NPs work in virtually every area of medicine and surgery and are covered providers within Medicare, Tri-Care, and most private insurance plans. PAs and NPs 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.
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.
The exclusion of PAs and NPs 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.
Inclusion of physician assistants and nurse practitioners in Federal employees’ compensation Act
Inclusion
Section 8101 of title 5, United States Code, is amended—
in paragraph (3),
by inserting other eligible providers,
after
chiropractors,
;
by adding at the end the following:
other eligible provider means a nurse practitioner or physician assistant within the scope of their practice as defined by State law.
.
Conforming amendments
Chapter 81 of title 5, United States Code, is amended—
in section 8103(a)—
in the matter
preceding paragraph (1), by inserting or other eligible provider
after physician
;
in paragraph (3),
by inserting or other eligible providers
after
physicians
; and
in the matter following paragraph (3), by
inserting or other eligible provider
after
physician
;
in section 8121(6), by inserting or
other eligible provider
after physician
; and
in section 8123—
in subsection (a), by inserting or
other eligible provider
after physician
each place that
such occurs; and
in subsection
(c), by inserting or other eligible provider
after
physician
.
Effective date
The amendment 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.