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Our Partners.
Our nation continues to face significant shortages of health care providers, with nearly 100 million Americans currently lacking adequate access to primary care. By 2030, it is estimated the U.S. will face shortages of more than 120,000 providers needed to address patient demand. This need is growing as our nation’s population ages and more individuals require treatment for chronic disease.
America’s nurse practitioners (NPs) represent a vital solution to the health care access challenge threatening the health of our nation. NPs are revolutionizing health care delivery in America. Each year, patients turn to NPs more than 1 billion times for primary, acute, specialty and long-term care across every health care setting. As clinicians who blend clinical expertise with an added emphasis on disease prevention and health management, NPs bring a comprehensive perspective to health care.
Twenty-six states, the District of Columbia and two U.S. territories have granted patients full and direct access to NPs, providing consumers a choice of health care providers and strengthening patient access care. This model of regulation is known as Full Practice Authority (FPA), and states that have adopted it are ranked among those achieving the best health system performance, access to care and patient health outcomes in the nation. In the remainder of states, outdated licensure laws reduce or restrict patient access to NPs.
States that have adopted Full Practice Authority have:
States with modernized licensure laws see growth in recruitment of NPs to the state and higher numbers of NPs working in rural and underserved areas. NPs are a vital and rapidly growing sector of the health care workforce with a major role in making high-quality, patient-centered health care available to the broadest possible range of consumers.
Medicare enrollment is expected to increase to 80 million by 2030.1 The predicted prevalence of multiple chronic diseases among Medicare beneficiaries is increasing. By 2030, 4 in 10 seniors are predicted to be diagnosed with a chronic health issue, like heart disease or diabetes, and 25% are predicted to have cancer. NPs are leading the charge to meet the growing demand for access to care for America’s aging population and delivering high-quality care to Medicare beneficiaries.
Patients want access to high-quality health care from the provider of their choice. As more Americans are looking for a provider who is also an active partner in their health, many are realizing their choice is an NP. Multiple studies demonstrate that NPs spend more time with patients, provide additional health education and engage more in patient follow-up that can lead to better health care outcomes. It’s no wonder that a majority of Americans favor legislation that makes it easier to choose an NP as their health care provider.
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