Expanding Nurse Practitioners’ Authority to Improve Healthcare in Michigan

Guest Opinion

By Jennifer Attie | Sept. 30, 2023

One of the biggest concerns I hear about as a nurse practitioner living in Emmet County is how difficult it is for people of all ages to find a primary care physician. Therefore it should come as no surprise that more than 3.5 million Michigan residents (approximately one third of our population) are without a primary care physician, with a majority of these individuals living in rural Michigan communities just like ours.

This shortage of primary care physicians leaves many people, including those with an established primary care provider, in a dire situation when they are in need of healthcare. Often, they end up finding it through an urgent care or emergency departments, resulting in excessive fees, high deductible payments, and long wait times.

For decades, nurse practitioners have helped fill this shortage by providing primary care to Michigan residents as a “partner” in their care. But Michigan nurse practitioners have never had full practice authority to allow us the opportunity to assess, plan, diagnose, treat, prescribe, and advocate for our patients without the supervision of a physician.

This could all change with Senate Bill 279, recently introduced by State Senator Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor) with bipartisan support.

Senate Bill 279 will allow Michigan to join 27 other states that provide full practice authority to their certified nurse practitioners. This would broaden the scope of care for nurse practitioners by removing the unnecessary burden of physician requirements, while honoring our education, training, and commitment to the safety and care of our patients and their families.

Like many nurse practitioners, my educational journey began with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing followed by many years as an acute care nurse in an inpatient hospital setting. As I observed the many inadequacies of inpatient healthcare, I decided to return to school for my Master’s of Science in Nursing—another three years of education.

The degree allowed me the opportunity to become a nurse practitioner and obtain a certification from the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners that guaranteed I had a broad knowledge base of medical care and safety to practice. Since 2006, I have held several jobs in an outpatient setting, caring for individuals of all ages as long as a physician agreed to enter into a contract with me as my collaborating physician.

Every physician who has entered into a collaborative agreement with me has been supportive and willing to assist me whenever I needed to ask further questions, discuss a plan of care, or seek a second opinion. I am certain that each of them would have done all of these things without a mandatory contract because everyone in healthcare knows that our model of care is changing and we need a team of providers to meet the needs of our patients, their families, and our community.

Now is the time to allow nurse practitioners in Michigan full practice authority so that we are recognized as primary care providers in our state and our communities. Allowing nurse practitioners the opportunity to function as primary care providers will help close the gaps in access to care and lower healthcare costs.

It will also keep Michigananders safe and healthy, provide a choice for healthcare, and—perhaps most importantly—ensure quality healthcare for all. In fact, it has been demonstrated that people living in states with full practice authority have significantly improved access to care compared to those living in states that restrict or reduce a nurse practitioner’s scope of practice.

Nurse practitioners often have years of nursing experience in addition to years of education culminating with a masters or a doctorate degree. It’s time to remove the barriers between patients in need and nurse practitioners who can provide much needed healthcare.

Denying our ability for full practice authority is simply depriving patients access to affordable healthcare—something 3.5 million Michiganders are already without.

Jenni Attie has been a Family Nurse Practitioner since 2006 and currently practices in Petoskey.