Durable Medical Equipment Ruling: Impact on Nurse Practitioner Role

In an effort to generate billions of dollars in federal savings, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as the Affordable Care Act, signed into law provisions that will fight against monetary waste, fraud, and abuse perpetrated against the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services yearly. According to Section 6407 of the Affordable Care Act, nurse practitioners will not be allowed to order certain durable medical equipment for Medicare and Medicaid patients without written physician consent and a face-to-face encounter with their patient at least 6 months before providing the written order, likely causing NPs logistical and scope of practice problems.