On March 16, Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed Senate Bill 36 into law, making the state the 27th to enact full practice authority for nurse practitioners (NPs). The new law will empower NPs to provide care to the full extent of their training and licensure, and removes requirements to contract with a physician in order to practice. NNCC applauds Utah in modernizing its nursing laws and ensuring that patients there will have expanded access to high quality, cost-effective care.
"Implementing full practice authority for nurse practitioners is a victory for Utah patients and providers. Decades of research demonstrate the efficacy of nurse-led care in delivering quality outcomes, expanding access to care, and making up ground as communities across the country face primary care shortages. We look forward to seeing the positive changes this policy brings to underserved communities throughout the state."
Sarah Hexem Hubbard, Executive Director of the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium Utah is the fifth state to adopt full practice for NPs since 2021. Two states, Massachusetts and Delaware, enacted full practice authority in 2021, with New York and Kansas following suit in 2022. Healthcare advocates in numerous other states continue to push for full practice authority with their legislatures.
Twenty-three states continue to uphold unnecessary barriers to high quality, nurse-led care. Please visit our advocacy page for more information on the fight for full practice authority in legislatures across the country.
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