Post COVID-19 Reimbursement Parity for Nurse Practitioners

Abstract

Reimbursement parity of nurse practitioners (NPs) and physicians is appropriate now more than ever. Studies have demonstrated that NPs provide the same quality of care as physicians, yet they do not receive the same reimbursement. The rise in full practice authority states, as well as nurse managed clinics and retail clinics, has led to more NPs practicing independently. The COVID-19 pandemic opened a need for NPs to provide a greater amount of care in more settings, and thus led to temporary removals of practice restrictions to increase access to care. This article offers a review of the issues, such as “incident to” billing; direct and indirect reimbursement; and quality of care. We consider MedPAC and reimbursement policy, post COVID-19 policy solutions, and action steps to move forward to seek reimbursement parity. The COVID-19 pandemic serendipitously led to the removal of many restrictions on NP practice, offering an opportunity for NPs to work with MedPAC to achieve full reimbursement for care provided.