More Than 260 Organizations Show Their Support for the Improving Care and Access to Nurses Act
Media Contact: Bryan Black
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 17, 2025) — Last week, the American Association of Nurse Practitioners® (AANP) and more than 260 organizations sent a letter to the leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance illustrating their strong support for H.R. 1317/S.575, the Improving Care and Access to Nurses (ICAN) Act.
“Nurse practitioners (NPs) are the fastest growing Medicare providers and are essential to ensuring that Medicare and Medicaid patients have access to high-quality, comprehensive health care, particularly in rural and underserved communities,” said AANP President Stephen A. Ferrara, DNP. “The ICAN Act will retire outdated barriers on NPs and their patients in Medicare and Medicaid, in support of a more efficient and patient-centered health care system that reflects our modern health care workforce. We are thrilled to see the broad support for this legislation across the health care community.”
This bipartisan, bicameral legislation, which was introduced in February, would authorize NPs to order cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation, certify when patients with diabetes need therapeutic shoes, ensure NPs’ patients are represented in the beneficiary attribution process for the Medicare Shared Savings Program, refer patients for medical nutrition therapy, certify and recertify a patient’s terminal illness for hospice eligibility, perform all mandatory examinations in skilled nursing facilities and more.
NPs provide high-quality, cost-effective health care to Medicare and Medicaid patients across all geographic areas and health care settings. Over 40% of Medicare beneficiaries receive care from NPs, and NPs are the fastest-growing clinicians in the Medicare program. Yet, despite the high-quality health care NPs provide to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, administrative barriers still exist within the programs that prevent the effective and efficient delivery of care.
AANP is proud that this legislation is supported by such a wide-ranging, comprehensive coalition of national, state and local organizations.
Read the full letters.
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The American Association of Nurse Practitioners® (AANP) is the largest professional membership organization for nurse practitioners (NPs) of all specialties. It represents the interests of the more than 431,000 licensed NPs in the U.S. AANP provides legislative leadership at the local, state and national levels, advancing health policy; promoting excellence in practice, education and research; and establishing standards that best serve NPs' patients and other health care consumers. As The Voice of the Nurse Practitioner®, AANP represents the interests of NPs as providers of high-quality, cost-effective, comprehensive, patient-centered health care. To locate an NP in your community, visit npfinder.com. For more information about NPs, visit aanp.org.