From Michigan Council of Nurse Practitioners:

The bill for Full Practice Authority was introduced earlier this year and is officially SB 680.  The sponsor of the bill is Senator Outman and the co-sponsors are Republican Senators, Runestad, Barrett, and Schmidt and Democrat Senators, Irwin and Santana. 

• Allowing nurse practitioners to utilize the full extent of their graduate education, clinical training and national certification is known as Full Practice Authority or FPA.
• Michigan is just one of 11 states that restrict nurse practitioners’ scope of practice and require NPs to sign a state-mandated contract with a supervising physician.
• Senate Bill 680 amends the Public Health Code to align Michigan with 26 other states that allow Full Practice Authority for nurse practitioners.

Update as of 05/24/22:

Senate Bill 680 remains in the Michigan Senate Health Policy Committee. It needs to be moved from committee and approved by a majority senate vote. Once passed in the Senate it will move to the House Health Policy Committee for review and approval. It will then need to pass a house vote and be ratified by the governor in order to become statute, allowing NPs to achieve full practice authority and practice to the full extent of their training and certification. If you work for a large healthcare system or hospital, FPA may not significantly change your ability to provide healthcare to your patient population. However, community based NPs who are working in small practices or mental health settings are not able to provide care to underserved populations because of the need for a collaborating physician.

There is a long fight ahead. Every voice matters. It is easy to contact your state legislators to inform them about NP education and practice, excellent patient outcomes when NPs provide care, and the need for unencumbered practice in order to serve all Michigan residents with the healthcare they need and deserve.

We have until the end of the year to pass this legislation. Legislators will be leaving for the summer in July and August, and many will be campaigning in the fall. The time to act is now!

Watch for regular updates here as this bill moves through the channels of the Michigan legislature.

MICNP Full Practice Authority Page where you can access materials for talking to legislators and others as to why FPA is important in Michigan.