On April 11, 2022, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the state budget into law, which includes reforms surrounding services that health care workers are allowed to provide and will allow nurse practitioners full practice authority. New York joined with 24 other states, the District of Columbia, and two United States territories in adopting full practice authority legislation.
With full practice authority, nurse practitioners in New York will now be able to evaluate, test, diagnose, manage treatment, and prescribe medications for patients without having to sign a contract agreement with a supervising physician. According to the New York State Nurses’ Union, nurse practitioners with more than 3,600 practice hours under their belts can practice independently in primary care while nurse practitioners with less than 3,600 hours should complete their practice hours under a physician.
According to the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), nurse practitioners deliver “high quality health care in more than 1 billion patient visits each year” and that as of April 2022, there are more than 350,000 licensed nurse practitioners in the United States.
If a state does not have full practice authority, nurse practitioners in the state must work with a physician, often having to sign practice agreements and pay fees to do so, and they often have limitations on their ability to prescribe medications.
States that have approved full practice authority for nurse practitioners often have more nurse practitioners working in more rural and underserved areas.
AANP Applauds the Legislation
“New York has taken a critical step forward in our country, increasing access to vital health care services. New Yorkers will now have full and direct access to the comprehensive care NPs provide,” said April N. Kapu, DNP, APRN, ACNP- BC, FAANP, FCCM, FAAN, president of AANP. “Over the past two years, New York has waived unnecessary and outdated laws limiting access to health care. AANP applauds the state legislature and Gov. Hochul for recognizing that these provisions need to continue. These changes will help New York attract and retain nurse practitioners and provide New Yorkers better access to quality care,” said Kapu.
“As the 25th state with Full Practice Authority, New York joins an expanding list of states acting to retire outdated laws that have needlessly constrained their health care workforce and limited patient access to care,” said Jon Fanning, MS, CAE, CNED, chief executive officer of AANP. “This is a no-cost, no-delay solution to strengthening health care for the nation. Decades of research show that states with Full Practice Authority are better positioned to improve access to care, grow their workforce and address health care disparities, while delivering quality health outcomes for patients. We look forward to more states following suit.”