Federal workers gain access to nurse practitioners and physician assistants

What it does

This bill expands federal workers' compensation coverage to include services provided by nurse practitioners and physician assistants, not just physicians and osteopathic practitioners. It amends the Federal Employees' Compensation Act to recognize these providers as eligible to treat injured federal workers, with implementation rules due within 6 months.

Why we flagged it

The bill's sole operative mechanism is to expand the class of eligible medical providers under federal workers' compensation law. It is a straightforward access-broadening measure with no hidden provisions or narrow beneficiaries.

What the text implies

• Nurse practitioners and physician assistants may be able to bill federal workers' compensation at rates comparable to physicians, potentially increasing their income and market share in occupational medicine.
• States with different scope-of-practice laws for NPs and PAs will create variation in what services are covered under federal workers' comp, depending on state licensure rules.
• The 6-month regulatory timeline may create interim uncertainty about billing codes, reimbursement rates, and procedural requirements for these new provider categories.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Injured federal workers gain expanded access to qualified healthcare providers (nurse practitioners and physician assistants), potentially reducing wait times, increasing provider availability, and lowering barriers to timely medical care. The bill does not restrict any existing rights or protections; it only broadens the pool of eligible providers.

Who stands to gain

• nurse practitioners and physician assistants (expanded market access and billing opportunities)
• healthcare providers in occupational medicine (broader provider network)

Named in the bill

Federal Employees' Compensation Act, 5 U.S.C. Chapter 81, U.S. Department of Labor, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, federal workers

Where it stands

10 cosponsors: 8 Democrats, 2 Republicans.

• Dec 2, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• Dec 2, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.”
• Aug 6, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

9 lobbying clients named this bill on 12 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $1,793,067 in lobbying spend. A filing names 27 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 89% of bills with at least one filing.

Susan Collins, the sponsor, reported $2,459,513 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• American Association of Nurse Practitioners — $950,000 on 2 filings
• American Academy of Physician Associates — $320,000 on 2 filings
• National Association of Letter Carriers — $140,000 on 1 filing
• American Association of Nurse Practitioners — $130,000 on 2 filings
• American Association of Colleges of Nursing — $90,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 22, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.