ARNPs United of Washington State
10024 SE 240th Street, Suite 102, Kent, WA 98031
 Phone: 253.480.1035   Fax: 253.852.7725
au@auws.org

Labor and Industries Bill Passed!


"This bill Authorizes advanced registered nurse practitioners to examine, diagnose,
and treat injured workers covered by industrial insurance."
 Governor Gary Locke, March 22nd, 2004

2004 Legislative Wrap Up

The passing of HB 1691 this legislative session authorizes ARNPs to be attending providers for Labor and Industries. This removes the requirement for physician co-signatures on the accident report and time loss forms. Unfortunately, the L&I system takes time.

Part of the authorizing legislation requires that a study be done to determine the effectiveness of ARNPs providing care to L&I patients. The major outcome measure of this study will be time loss. To help Washington ARNPs polish their L&I skills, ARNPs United of Washington State has added an L&I section to our website.

2004 Legislative Agenda

Labor and Industries
HB 1691 - This bill will allow Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioners (ARNPs) to sign the Accident Report Form and the Time Loss Form for L&I. ARNPs have been able to provide all of the care for L&I patients as well as bill for these services. This resolves an administrative problem by allowing ARNPs to sign the forms for care they can already provide.

Professional Liability Insurance
Increases in professional liability insurance are forcing certified nurse-midwives to halt their services, leaving many women without the services they need and the choices they deserve. To protect access to healthcare, AUWS supports alternative dispute resolution and a reduction in the statute of limitations for birth to seven years. We support a cap on non-economic damages of $1,000,000 with an annual adjustment for inflation. We do not support a cap on economic damages.

Monitoring
AUWS will continue to monitor bills that can affect Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioners and their patients, with an emphasis on: