Political Quotes

“I appreciate that information being shared, but I would like to address some of the concerns that my good friends from the Doc Caucus have presented. We have discussed this in committee representing districts that are rural, urban, and suburban, and the challenges that are there. Again, the issue of States' rights and the ability of States to make decisions, there is a primacy that is there that we ought to consider very strongly. A majority of States already allow nurse practitioners and PAs to diagnose, certify an injury, and oversee patients' treatment. Furthermore, if we are talking about precedent, our bill will align the FECA program with other Federal programs currently in place. Currently, the Federal Government allows care provided or overseen by PAs and NPs in, I state it again, Medicare, Medicaid, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, and TRICARE. That is significant. Those are textbook studies on how it is working already. Adding to this just seems like it is justified and very important to do. Going back to the States' concerns, as well, if diagnosing or treating a particular workplace injury is outside of the scope of practice for a nurse practitioner or a physician assistant under their State's law, then they would not be covered under this bill, plain and simple. The bill preserves States' rights to make those determinations. H.R.…”