Call to Action: Remove A Barrier to APRN-led Clinics and Practice!

Hello Advanced Practice Registered Nurse / Community Member:

Please take a few moments to support an important bill for APRNs this year! One of the MN APRN Coalition's top legislative priorities this session is HF3440 / SF4303, a bill revising the 2080 transition to practice requirement causing a significant regulatory burden on our state's APRN-led clinics.

Background: Since 2015, APRNs in Minnesota have been granted full practice authority upon the successful completion of a graduate degree, national certification, and licensure. APRNs have begun to establish APRN-led clinics, an innovative new care model to provide primary care and mental health services across Minnesota. Unfortunately, the ability of APRNs to grow and expand these innovative clinical models is inhibited by a burdensome "transition to practice" requirement in MN statute, requiring NP and CNS postgraduates to practice under a transitional collaborative agreement for 2080 hours in a hospital or integrated clinical setting where physicians and APRNs are both employed.

This session, we are introducing legislation with bipartisan support that would revise this unnecessary and outdated regulatory burden. Revising the current statute would allow newly graduated CNSs and NPs to seek employment in APRN-led clinics without the need of a physician present. It would also help grow and expand APRN-led clinics in Minnesota and allow for greater access to skilled healthcare providers and services for patients in underserved and rural areas.

Please take a moment to ask your legislators for their support of HF3440 / SF4303!

Here are the quick and easy steps to contact your state senator and state representative:

* Start out by writing your first and last name as well as your email address. Then click "Next" to start sending the email.

* You will be asked to input your address in order to identify the legislators who represent you.

* Feel free to either send the pre-written email as-is or add a few sentences about why this bill or advanced practice registered nurse care in general is important to you.

Thank you!

MN2023-2024HF 3440

Advanced practice registered nurse postgraduate collaborative practice requirements removed.

Last Action

Author added Schomacker

House • Mar 20, 2024

Latest Version

Introduction

Take action now

What's your district & how can legislators reach you?

Your Message to the legislators

Dear (name and title inserted automatically),

I am a constituent in your district and a member of the Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) Coalition. I am writing to ask for your support on HF3440 (Virnig) / SF4303 (Kupec) -- and to ask for your assistance in requesting a hearing for this bill in Health committee.

Minnesota is facing significant health care workforce shortages. Thirty percent of MN counties, located primarily in greater Minnesota, have a shortage of primary care providers throughout the entire county. Eighty percent of Minnesota counties qualify as mental health shortage areas. Provider shortages undermine health outcomes throughout the state: patients have more difficulty getting appointments, must travel longer, and face greater risk of delayed or foregone care.

APRNs play a critical role in addressing these significant healthcare service needs.  Since 2015, APRNs have begun to establish APRN-led clinics, an innovative new care model providing primary care and mental health services across Minnesota. These clinics often address specialized needs for different populations - including neurodivergent patients, children, women, and mental health patients – and do so with proven excellent outcomes.

Unfortunately, current statute poses an unnecessary regulatory burden on these innovative clinical models. A burdensome "transition to practice" requirement in state statute requires Nurse Practitioners (NPs) and Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNSs) (which both fall under the APRN umbrella) to practice under a transitional collaborative agreement for 2080 hours in a setting where physicians and APRNs are both employed. This statute prevents APRN-led clinics who do not employ physicians from hiring new graduates, even those graduates who were trained in their clinics. It also limits work opportunities for those new graduates, and inhibits fair trade in care delivery, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

HF3440 / SF4303 revises MN statute to ease this regulatory burden on APRN-led clinics. APRN-led clinics should be allowed to hire competent, licensed, and certified APRNs who have met the requirements to practice. This would not only grow and expand this new innovative care model addressing unmet primary and mental health needs in Minnesota, but also allow patients in rural and underserved areas to gain greater access to skilled healthcare providers and services.

As your constituent and an APRN myself, I would urge your support of this bill. We must allow Minnesota to fully utilize the APRN workforce to address critical unmet healthcare needs in the state. Please support HF3440 / SF4303 and request that this important bill be heard in the Health committee this session.

Thank you!