The Legislative Committee is looking to recruit members at the annual meeting who are interested in establishing an agenda of legislative issues important to the membership for the next two years. Our affiliation with NAPNAP and the legislative committee gives us access to Allison Sheer and her expertise in legislative matters on Capitol Hill. It would be ideal to have regional representation for setting this national agenda. If you are interested, please contact me at kgd@itsa.ucsf.edu. Linda Lindeke, member of the AFPNP Legislative Committee, submitted a brief report on the Annual Summit of the American College of Nurse Practitioners in Washington D. C., which she attended in early February. Approximately 100 nurse practitioners were in attendance, and lively discussion and presentations occurred. Linda spoke on the Managed Care Strategies panel where various states' experiences in obtaining positive practice/legislative results were discussed. There continues to be great differences between the states in reimbursement practices. Winifred Carson, ANA legal staff member, was present at the ACNP presentation and spoke about HCFA issues and various lobbying strategies. The issue of billing "incident to" continues to be discussed; Margie Koehler, ACNP grassroots liaison on practice issues, has been working hard with HCFA on home care reimbursement issues for NPs. The "incident to" HCFA regulations refers to the conditions under which an NP can bill for direct services. This language is putting NP's at high risk of fraud unless the MD is very involved in the visit. There is an effort to have this phased out of future regulations but continued lobbying is needed. This annual meeting is well worth attending as those who come to it are generally very well informed and active. Linda has also been appointed to the ACNP Public Policy Committee which is a very active group on Capitol Hill. If you have specific questions, contact Linda Lindeke, U of Minnesota, linde001@tc.umn.edu. Below are links to key legislative sites: The National Conference of State Legislatures. The Public User link takes you to the section on Nurse Practitioners: www.ncsl.org/programs/health/nursepro.htm This is an important site on the ANA website that shows state-by-state Analysis and Comparison of Advance Practice Recognition with Medicaid Reimbursement and Insurance Reimbursement Laws. www.nursingworld.org/gova/charts/medicaid.htm Reimbursement Chart: Where the Blues reimburse APNs www.nursingworld.org/gova/charts/blues.htm State-by-State Rx Authority Chart: www.nursingworld.org/gova/charts/dea.htm The NP National Marketing Campaign, of which NAPNAP is a contributor, announced the hiring of MSI Strategic Communications of Chicago, Illinois, as the PR firm that will coordinate and carry out the Campaign's objectives on behalf of all NPs. MSI is well versed in the NP profession and eager to take up the challenge of bringing the NP profession into the media limelight. NPs with media experience and access availability are urged to volunteer for the Speakers Bureau by contacting Nancy Sharp at nursesharp@aol.com for the application and contact specifics. Media training will be a part of the PR firm's responsibilities. NP success stories or human interest stories are needed and may also be coordinated through Ms. Sharp to give to the PR firm. Currently there is $82,500 invested from NP organizations and the Board is actively calling on every NP, RN, nursing organization and student to join this important effort. Your personal support is also encouraged in this effort. This joint Campaign effort has taken this major step toward expanding the visibility of NPs as part of the strategy for promoting the importance of NPs in the health care solution. If any of the AFPNP members would like to report on this effort at the annual meeting, please contact me at kgd@itsa.ucsf.edu. I will be reporting on current legislative issues at the annual conference. kgd

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