[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 72 (Thursday, May 26, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6043-S6044]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ISAKSON (for himself and Mr. Kennedy):
  S. 1149. A bill to amend the Federal Employees' Compensation Act to 
cover services provided to injured Federal workers by physician 
assistants and nurse practitioners, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I am pleased to rise and join Senator 
Kennedy in introducing the Improving Access to Workers' Compensation 
for Injured Federal Workers Act.
  One of Congress's biggest challenges year in and year out is 
providing access to affordable quality healthcare for the American 
people. Today, I am pleased to announce that Senator Kennedy and I have 
found an opportunity to provide injured Federal workers with a better 
system of reimbursable healthcare for their workers compensation 
claims.
  Physicians assistants and nurse practitioners are vital contributors 
to our healthcare system. Together, they provide economical quality 
medical care to the American people. Unfortunately, however, they are 
currently not recognized in the current FECA statute. When Federal 
workers' compensation claims are signed by NPs or PAs, the Federal 
Government denies these claims. With the introduction of this bill, 
Senator Kennedy and I want to correct this hurdle to economical medical 
care.
  The need for this straightforward legislation is clear. In some rural 
area health clinics, NPs and PAs are the only full-time providers of 
medical care. Likewise, NPs and PAs may be the only healthcare 
professionals on-site after hours at local clinics.
  These professions are regulated by all States and are covered 
providers within Medicare, Tri-Care, and nearly all private insurance 
plans. Indeed, many Federal workers already regularly receive medical 
care from NPs and PAs through their Federal Employee Health Benefits 
Plan. NPs and PAs are also employed by the Federal Government, 
including the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of State, 
Department of Defense, and the Public and Indian Health Services. In 
fact, most State workers' compensation programs cover NPs and PAs as 
reimbursable providers.
  Again, I thank Senator Kennedy for his cooperation in ensuring cost-
effective quality medical care is available to injured Federal workers.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, today, with my distinguished colleague 
Senator Isakson, I am pleased to introduce the Improving Access to 
Workers' Compensation for Injured Federal Workers Act.
  Our federal employees serve the American public. Day in and day out, 
they keep our homeland secure, protect our environment, and oversee and 
care for those in need. They ensure the safety of our food and our 
medicines, deliver our daily mail, and undertake countless other duties 
that, while they sometimes go unnoticed, should never be taken for 
granted.
  More than two-and-a-half million of these workers are covered by the 
Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA). In addition to compensating 
workers for lost wages, FECA provides medical treatment to Federal 
workers injured on the job, to help them return to health and to work 
quickly.
  FECA is an effective and fair compensation system. This bill will 
make it even better by expanding it to cover services provided by nurse 
practitioners and physician assistants. This will protect many workers 
who are now without access to needed care when a job-related injury 
strikes.
  Nurse practitioners and physicians' assistants play growing role in 
medical care, with more than 100,000 nurse practitioners and 46,000 
physicians' assistants across the country. They provide crucial 
services--diagnosing and treating illnesses, ordering and interpreting 
diagnostic and laboratory tests and educating and counseling patients 
and families. In many States they can also prescribe medications.
  Nurse practitioners and physicians' assistants provide these top 
quality services in a cost-effective way. The Department of Health and 
Human Services reports that an office visit to see a nurse practitioner 
costs 10 percent to 40 percent less than comparable services from a 
physician, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics calls physicians' 
assistants ``cost-effective and

[[Page S6044]]

productive members of the healthcare team.''
  While their impact is felt throughout our nation, these care 
providers play a particularly important role in rural and low-income 
urban areas, which are often underserved by doctors. In fact, in some 
rural areas, an injured Federal worker may be required to travel more 
than one-hundred miles to see a physician and receive care that is 
covered under FECA. This bill would expand Federal workers' service 
options to include physicians' assistants or nurse practitioners who 
are more likely to be located nearby.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill and 
recognizing the invaluable work done by our Federal employees and the 
high-quality cost-effective care provided by nurse practitioners and 
physicians' assistants.
                                 ______