Lawmaker Pushes to Give Georgia Nurses More Authority (Georgia Report)

Here is an excerpt from the following article on the development of a Bill that will perspectively grant APRNs full practice authority in underserved areas...

‘Unterman, who was once a nurse herself, said her committee will draft legislation that would give APRNs a wider scope of practice if they agree to work in counties that are defined as medically underserved—that have few or no physicians, a high percentage of the population that is uninsured and larger-than-normal numbers of low birth-weight babies and cardiovascular deaths.

"The goal is the enticement of APRNs to locate in rural counties," Unterman said at the committee's final meeting last week. "We're facing insurmountable problems and there's not an easy way to fix it."

Unterman’s committee is also recommending the expansion of a tax credit program to include physician assistants and APRNs, and a provision that would allow APRNs to bill health insurance providers such as Medicaid. "I think you could quantify this as baby steps," Unterman said.’— By Tom Crawford

Read the full article at: http://flagpole.com/news/georgia-report/2017/12/06/lawmaker-pushes-to-give-georgia-nurses-more-authority