AANP Thanks President Obama, the Senate and House of Representatives for Medicare Reform

AUSTIN, TX (April 17, 2015) – The American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), the largest professional membership organization for nurse practitioners in the country, today praised President Obama for signing into law the historic Medicare reform measure championed by bi-partisan leaders in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

"Working together, our congressional and executive leaders have taken a strong stand, exemplifying the nation's unwavering commitment to preserving high-quality, cost-effective senior care," said Dave Hebert, Chief Executive Officer of AANP. "The national nurse practitioner community offers its thanks and gratitude on behalf of senior patients everywhere."

According to AANP, the law is more than a "doc fix," as sometimes called. It is also imperative to the growing ranks of nurse practitioners, highly educated and clinically trained health care providers who deliver vital services to diverse patient populations, including seniors.

While the law repeals the flawed "sustainable growth rate" (SGR) formula for Medicare Part B – eliminating serious cuts in reimbursement that would have grave consequences for both Medicare recipients and providers, such as nurse practitioners – it also improves health care delivery in ways specific to nurse practitioner patients, including:

• Authorizing nurse practitioners to document evaluations for durable medical equipment
• Including nurse practitioners in the first year of the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS)
• Ensuring that nurse practitioner-led Patient Centered Medical Homes are eligible to receive incentive payments for the management of patients with chronic disease
• Reauthorizing the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) which will ensure access to care is preserved for millions of children, including those who receive needed services from nurse practitioners
• Extending funding for Community Health Centers and the National Health Service Corp, programs that are vital to the preparation and inclusion of clinicians such as nurse practitioners in the provision of care to the nation’s vulnerable and underserved populations.

Nurse practitioners serve as primary, acute and specialty care providers across the country. They assess, order, perform and interpret diagnostic and laboratory tests; make diagnoses; initiate and manage treatment; prescribe medications and non-pharmacologic treatments; and counsel patients, their families and communities. More than 50 years of peer-reviewed, independent research has shown nurse practitioners to be safe and cost-effective clinicians with patient outcomes that are similar and sometimes better than those of physicians.

Early this year, AANP released data showing that the number of nurse practitioners licensed in the United States has nearly doubled over the past ten years, rising from approximately 106,000 in 2004 to 205,000 as of December 31, 2014.