How Qualified Nurse Practitioners are Creating a Brighter Future for Healthcare

January 1, 2023 marks a historic victory for California nurses as AB 890 takes effect. In 2020, Governor Newsom signed AB 890 into law, a legislative bill aimed at expanding provider availability for patient access to healthcare, which has now come into full effect.

Additional Background & The Law's Significance

The law establishes provisions which enables California nurse practitioners (NPs) to practice and provide care without physician supervision. Historically, all nurses regardless of their credentials were not afforded the right to provide care without additional oversight.

As of January 1, 2023, California nurses may now begin taking steps to establish their credential trail, thereby preparing themselves to then seek independent practices. Under the agreed upon provisions outlined by the Business and Professions code section 2837.104, Nurses with three years of experience qualify to operate independently within the patient population focus of their license. The specificities of AB 890 and its implementation path can be found on the California Board of Registered Nursing's website.

California has fewer than 200,000 care providers, now including Nurse Practitioners. At the same time, PCPs and NPs make up a much smaller segment of the marketplace than specialists while having larger populations to serve.

CDC survey results indicate 82.3% of adults sought a medical doctor 2.67 times each year on average. In California, that represents 32.3 million people.

While patient populations continue to surge, generating 86M provider visits each year, the growth rate of NP jobs is also increasing. California currently has over 19,000 open, unfilled roles for Nurse Practitioners. For NPs, this is a ripe opportunity for advancement and growth.

Looking Ahead at the Benefits

AB 890's implementation offers many benefits, perhaps most importantly it offers the expansion of healthcare access to underserved communities. Historically, rural communities and other underserved populations have had greater difficulty receiving equitable quality and access to care. This law's implementation enables capable NPs to expand their offering to their local communities, establish offices in more rural areas, and bring access to populations where other physicians don't readily serve.

This also serves as a great opportunity to support Nurse Practitioners who will need medical equipment, space to care for patients, and the technology to effectively manage patient records. Marketplace vendors will be able to grow their sales while supporting the care pathways for new patient populations.

OECD Health expenditure and financing: Health expenditure indicators

The United States is already home to the highest healthcare spending, increasing access to medical care will require providers to be more competitive in the insurance policies accepted or risk losing patients to other, more accommodating providers. Increasing the number of providers through AB 890's implementation will promote competition, expand access to care, and fuel industry innovation.