II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1795 

To improve access to workers’ compensation programs for injured Federal 

employees. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 17, 2007 

Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. ISAKSON, and Ms. COLLINS) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To improve access to workers’ compensation programs for 

injured Federal employees. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Improving Access to 

5 Workers’ Compensation for Injured Federal Workers 

6 Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress finds the following: 

9 (1) Medical services and supplies provided by 

10 physician assistants (PAs) and nurse practitioners 


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1 (NPs) are not included in the definition of ‘‘medical, 

2 surgical, and hospital services and supplies,’’ in the 

3 Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (5 U.S.C. 

4 8101 et seq.), PAs and NPs are not included in the 

5 definition of ‘‘physician’’ in such Act, and claims 

6 signed by PAs and NPs have been denied by the Of7 fice of Workers’ Compensation Programs of the De8 partment of Labor. 

9 (2) In some rural areas where PAs and NPs 

10 are the only full-time providers of care, injured Fed11 eral workers may have to travel more than 100 miles 

12 to receive care that is reimbursable. 

13 (3) In some cases, Federal workers have been 

14 advised to use hospital emergency rooms for non15 emergency care, rather than receiving care after16 hours at local clinics where PAs or NPs are the only 

17 health care professionals on-site. 

18 (4) PAs and NPs are legally regulated in all 

19 fifty States, the District of Columbia, and Guam. 

20 Forty-eight States, the District of Columbia, and 

21 Guam authorize physicians to delegate prescriptive 

22 privileges to the PAs they supervise, and forty-nine 

23 States, the District of Columbia, and Guam author24 ize NPs to prescribe medications under their own 

25 signature. 


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1 (5) PAs and NPs work in virtually every area 

2 of medicine and surgery and are covered providers 

3 within Medicare, Tri-Care, and most private insur4 ance plans. PAs and NPs are also employed by the 

5 Federal Government to provide medical care, includ6 ing by the Department of Veterans Affairs, the De7 partment of Defense, and the Public and Indian 

8 Health Services. 

9 (6) Amending the Federal Employees’ Com10 pensation Act to recognize PAs and NPs as covered 

11 providers will bring this Act in line with the over12 whelming majority of State workers’ compensation 

13 programs, which recognize PAs and NPs as covered 

14 providers. 

15 (7) The exclusion of PAs and NPs from the 

16 category of covered providers under the Federal Em17 ployees’ Compensation Act limits patients’ access to 

18 medical care, services, and supplies, disrupts con19 tinuity of care, and creates unnecessary costs for the 

20 Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs. 

21 SEC. 3. INCLUSION OF PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS AND NURSE 

22 PRACTITIONERS IN FEDERAL EMPLOYEES’ 

23 COMPENSATION ACT. 

24 (a) INCLUSION.—Section 8101 of title 5, United 

25 States Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘other eligi2 ble providers,’’ after ‘‘chiropractors,’’; 

3 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(21) ‘other eligible provider’ means a nurse 

5 practitioner or physician assistant within the scope 

6 of their practice as defined by State law.’’. 

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Chapter 81 of 

8 title 5, United States Code, is amended— 

9 (1) in section 8103(a)— 

10 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

11 by inserting ‘‘or other eligible provider’’ after 

12 ‘‘physician’’; 

13 (B) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘or 

14 other eligible providers’’ after ‘‘physicians’’; and 

15 (C) in the matter following paragraph (3), 

16 by inserting ‘‘or other eligible provider’’ after 

17 ‘‘physician’’; 

18 (2) in section 8121(6), by inserting ‘‘or other 

19 eligible provider’’ after ‘‘physician’’; and 

20 (3) in section 8123— 

21 (A) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘or 

22 other eligible provider’’ after ‘‘physician’’ each 

23 place that such occurs; and 

24 (B) in subsection (c), by inserting ‘‘or 

25 other eligible provider’’ after ‘‘physician’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

2 The amendment made by this section shall apply be3 ginning on the first day of the second Federal fiscal year 

4 quarter that begins on or after the date of the enactment 

5 of this Act. 

Æ 


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