Government Affairs Update Special Edition December 30, 2019 Action Needed: Make Your Voice Heard Today!

As we have previously reported in past Government Affairs Updates, in October of 2019, the President signed an Executive Order (EO) entitled “Improving Medicare for Our Nation’s Seniors.” Section 5 of this order instructed the Secretary of Health and Human Services to propose a regulation within one calendar year of the EO on ways to remove barriers within the Medicare program that prevent clinicians, including nurse practitioners (NPs), from practicing to the top of their license. At the time that the EO was signed, the American Association of Nurse Practitioners® (AANP) issued a statement of support. You may also recall that in 2017 the Trump Administration launched the Patients Over Paperwork initiative. AANP has been involved with this initiative focused on reducing clinician burden since its inception.

Recently, on December 26, 2019, in accordance with both the EO and the Patients Over Paperwork initiative, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a request for feedback on Medicare regulations that prevent clinicians from practicing to the full extent of their education and clinical training. This is an important part of the process, and we urge you to submit your comment through AANP’s Voter Voice. This is our chance to once again highlight the barriers within the Medicare program that most impact NPs and ultimately your patients.

You can access AANP’s Advocacy Center here, and we encourage you to share this link with your fellow NPs. CMS is accepting comments until January 17, 2020. We anticipate that CMS will receive extensive feedback on this request, and it is incumbent upon us to make sure the NP voice is heard!