NCC thanks senators for bill to improve access to workers’ compensation

Fifty-two members of the Nursing Community Coalition, including AONL,  thanked Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., for introducing the Improving Access to Workers’ Compensation for Injured Federal Workers Act (S. 3296). The bill would remove outdated barriers in the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act limiting the ability of nurse practitioners to diagnose and treat federal employees who are injured or become ill while at work. Although federal law permits federal employees to select an NP as their primary provider, current law requires a physician to diagnose, certify the injury and extent of the disability and oversee the patient’s treatment. The NCC says authorizing NPs to certify disabilities and oversee care would improve access and efficiency. The NCC encourages Congress to pass the bill. (NCC letter, 1/23/26)