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HB 813

Nurse practitioners; authorize certain to practice to the full extent of their education and training if they provide services to Medicaid recipients.

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Donnie Scoggin

Bill would authorize nurse practitioners in Mississippi to practice independently when treating Medicaid recipients only, then died in committee.

Died In Committee
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Bill Summary · HB 813

Legislative bill overview

HB 813 would have allowed nurse practitioners in Mississippi to practice to the full extent of their education and training, but only when providing services to Medicaid recipients. This represents a conditional expansion of nurse practitioner scope of practice, limiting the broader autonomy to a specific patient population rather than across all patients.

Why is this important

Nurse practitioner scope of practice directly affects healthcare access and affordability, particularly for low-income populations. Mississippi has significant healthcare workforce shortages in rural areas, and expanding NP autonomy could increase care availability, though the Medicaid-only restriction would limit broader systemic benefits.

Potential points of contention

  • Insurance-based discrimination concerns: Limiting expanded scope to only Medicaid patients creates a two-tiered system where privately insured patients would receive care from more restricted NPs, raising equity questions
  • Physician opposition: Medical associations typically resist scope expansion, citing patient safety and training differences between NPs and MDs, which likely contributed to committee opposition
  • Implementation complexity: Medicaid-specific licensing or credentials would create administrative burden and confusion compared to universal scope expansion across all patient populations

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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