Committee Passes Bill to Expand Provider Options Under FECA

A U.S. Senate committee passed a bill that would allow physician assistants and nurse practitioners to certify injuries and oversee treatment of injured federal workers. The voice vote by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs Thursday sends the bipartisan "Improving Access to Workers' Compensation for Injured Federal Workers Act" to the floor of the Senate for consideration by the full body. The Federal Employees' Compensation Act allows only physicians to treat injured workers and defines the term to mean only medical doctors and doctors of ...