|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
by WILL FOLKS
***
As the administration of president Donald Trump seeks to “reinvent” rural healthcare, competing bills in South Carolina would move the Palmetto State in vastly different directions.
Earlier this month, U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) director Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the launch of Trump’s landmark ‘Rural Health Transformation Program,’ a $50 billion investment designed to “empower states to transform the existing rural health care infrastructure and build sustainable health care systems that expand access, enhance quality of care, and improve outcomes for patients.”
“This is a bold new approach – $50 billion across all fifty states – to rebuild rural health care from the ground up,” Kennedy said in a video promoting the investment.
In outlining the specific proposals, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz – whose agency will dispense these funds – noted a key criteria was the extent to which states allow nurse practitioners to expand their roles.
Nurse practitioners are registered nurses with advanced training and education and competency in clinical practice settings. In most states, they have wide latitude in providing treatment – including prescribing medications – to patients.
***
“NPs have been providing primary, acute and specialty health care to patients of all ages and walks of life for nearly half a century,” the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) noted. “NPs assess patients, order and interpret diagnostic tests, make diagnoses and initiate and manage treatment plans — including prescribing medications. Millions of patients choose NPs as their health care providers, with visits totaling nearly a billion annually.”
According to Dr. Oz, Trump’s administration is hoping to make nurse practitioners an even bigger part of its push to improve rural health outcomes.
“Rural health depends on people,” Dr. Oz stated. “States can recruit and retain professionals by letting pharmacists and nurse practitioners expand their roles.”
In fact, states which refuse to grant nurse practitioners “full practice authority” – i.e. the ability to handle patient needs as they see fit within their scope of care – will be penalized when applying for these federal funds.
In South Carolina, state senator Tom Davis has been advancing a bill that would grant this authority to nurse practitioners – removing a current requirement in the law which forces them to “collaborate” with physicians. In addition to driving up patient costs across-the-board, Davis has argued this collaboration requirement is being exploited – the end result of which is limited access to healthcare (especially in the Palmetto State’s impoverished rural areas).
***
RELATED | LET’S HEAR IT FOR NURSES!
***
Last December, Davis filed legislation – S. 45 – which would remove the “collaboration” requirement and allow certain qualified nurse practitioners expanded freedom to practice.
“Thirty-eight states provide their nurse practitioners with full practice authority – the right to practice independently within their scope of competency without physician supervision – allowing them to open clinics in underserved areas, reduce wait times, and provide cost-effect primary care,” Davis told FITSNews. “And per HHS and CMS, applications from those states for funding from the Trump Administration’s new $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program will be favored.”
According to Davis, his bill would allow nurse practitioners to “go into rural areas and provide primary care” – while at the same time freeing up potentially hundreds of millions of federal dollars in support of their efforts.
Davis stated his legislation would further lower costs by ending the costly racket in which physicians receive huge fees from nurse practitioners for their “collaboration” – yet do precious little collaborating.
“Physicians are charging nurse practitioners huge sums to be their supervisory collaborators,” Davis said.
***
***
Davis’ bill is being fought tooth-and-nail by the S.C. Medical Association (SCMA) – which, ironically, lists “expanding rural healthcare” among its 2025 legislative priorities. While complaining about barriers to “physician independence” – and lamenting “physician burnout” – the SCMA’s agenda is clearly disinclined to allow nurse practitioners the expanded role they seek.
In noting its commitment to “preserving physician-led health care,” SCMA stated it would fight for patients’ rights to “dedicated care led by the most highly trained health care professionals – physicians.”
Davis’ bill isn’t the only proposal before lawmakers. There’s also S. 669 – the so-called “Team Based Health Care Act.” This legislation, introduced in May by senator Danny Verdin, would require nurse practitioners to “practice as a part of a patient care team, regardless of practice setting, corporate structure, or practice ownership.”
Supporters of Verdin’s bill say it aims to eliminate some of the abuses of the current system, although opponents argue it further ensconces the Palmetto State’s outdated model into the statutory code.
Neither bill advanced to a vote during the 2025 legislative session, but count on FITSNews to keep close tabs on both pieces of legislation moving forward. Now that Trump’s rural healthcare initiative has linked its funding stream directly to this issue, look for it to garner significantly more attention in the coming legislative session.
***
ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
***
WANNA SOUND OFF?
Got something you’d like to say in response to one of our articles? Or an issue you’d like to address proactively? We have an open microphone policy! Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. Got a tip for a story? CLICK HERE. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? CLICK HERE.
2 comments
Don’t worry the “Tylenol causes autism” folks are on it!
Right after the “Big Beautiful Bill” was passed, there was a list of 6 rural hospitals in SC that were at risk of closing due to lost funding. Add to that the decreased access to clinics that offer women’s health services, and I can see why we need more travelling nurses. Hopefully this will raise us from our position as the 6th worse state for healthcare in the country…..