Prevent the US Senate From Expanding Non-Physician Scope of Practice

On June 7, 2022, a bipartisan majority of the US House passed H.R. 6087, the “Improving Access to Workers’ Compensation for Injured Federal Workers Act.”

If signed into law, this bill will allow nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) to diagnose, prescribe, treat, and certify an injury and extent of disability for purposes of compensating federal workers under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA). To take this function away from physicians who have the proper education, training, and expertise to make these evaluations is an unacceptable threat to the practice of medicine.

Not only does this bill threaten patients’ health and safety, but its dangerous approach has also been shown to lead to increased health care costs while doing little to expand access, particularly in rural and underserved areas. IPSIS informed its US members about this issue and urged them to contact their representatives. The AMA also sent a letter to Congressional leaders detailing these and other pitfalls associated with this legislation.

It is critical that as physicians, we stand together and send a powerful message to the Senate and President Biden: Don’t support legislation that prevents physicians from being at the center of critical health care decisions.

You can also help sustain this vital advocacy with your donations. The International Pain and Spine Intervention Society (IPSIS) is a tax exempt organization under US section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. As such, contributions are deductible to the extent allowed by law.