Reps. Courtney, Walberg Lead Bicameral, Bipartisan Bill to Improve Health Care Access for Federal Workers
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT), a senior Member of the House Committee on Education and Workforce, and Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), Chairman of the House Committee on Education and Workforce, introduced the Improving Access to Workers' Compensation for Injured Federal Workers Act.
This bipartisan bill would amend the Federal Employees Compensation Act to allow injured workers to receive treatment for work-related injuries from state-licensed physician assistants (PAs) and nurse practitioners (NPs). Current law prohibits federal workers from being treated by PAs and NPs for federal worker compensation cases.
"Federal employees represent a major portion of America’s workforce, but right now they’re barred by law from visiting licensed Nurse Practitioners and Physician’s Assistants when they need treatment for workplace injuries and illnesses," said Rep. Courtney. "Our bill would tweak FECA to enable NPs and PAs to certify workers’ claims, get reimbursed, and help federal employees get healthy and get back on the job sooner—that includes the 1,000 federal workers we’ve got at SUBASE New London, from firefighters, to police officers, to crane operators. Chairman Walberg and I teamed up in 2022 to pass this bipartisan bill in the House, and I look forward to getting this across the finish line this year."
"In a time where we want the federal government to be operating as effectively as possible, this bill is common sense," said Rep. Walberg. "Under the current system, many federal workers face long delays in receiving care for their injuries because an approved provider may not be within a reasonable distance. This is especially true in rural communities. Delay in care means delays in injured workers returning to their jobs. Nurse practitioners and physician assistants are a critical component to filling this provider gap. This bipartisan bill would update federal law to make the federal workers compensation program more efficient by improving access to care and getting federal employees back to work quicker."
“The American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), on behalf of the over 431,000 nurse practitioners (NPs) nationwide, would like to thank Chairman Walberg and Representative Courtney for introducing the Improving Access to Workers’ Compensation for Injured Federal Workers Act,” said AANP President Stephen A. Ferrara, DNP. “This legislation will allow injured federal employees to continue to receive care from their chosen health care provider when they are injured at work by authorizing an NP to certify the workplace injury or illness, as well as oversee their care in the federal workers’ compensation program. Today, NPs are the provider of choice for millions of patients and state workers’ compensation programs are increasingly relying on NPs to treat patients. This important bill will update the federal workers’ compensation program to better reflect delivery of care in our nation. AANP urges Congress to pass this bipartisan legislation to improve access to health care for federal employees.”
The bill passed the House in the 117th Congress with strong bipartisan support.
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