Wisconsin Health News May 15, 2025

Nursing independence bill receives support, but concerns raised over ER care

A compromise bill that would allow some nurses to practice independently of physicians received support at a public hearing Wednesday. But a doctors’ group raised concerns about emergency rooms operating without emergency physicians. 

Advanced practice nurses have pushed for more than a decade for independence. They’ve faced opposition from doctors and Gov. Tony Evers, who vetoed their last two proposals. 

The latest plan would allow advanced practice nurses to work independently of doctors after four years, with restrictions around practicing pain management and title protections for physicians. 

“We're confident the bipartisan bill before you — a compromise reached between our offices, so many stakeholders and the governor's office — will make it across the finish line,” bill author Rep. Tony Kurtz, R-Wonewoc, told the Assembly Committee on Health, Aging and Long-Term Care. 

“This legislation is long overdue,” said Terri Vandenhouten, a nurse practitioner in New Franken in northeast Wisconsin. “I look forward to my colleagues providing the best care possible to those in need of care.” 

Dr. Aurora Lybeck, an executive board member for the Wisconsin Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians, testified for information only. She said the bill has a “major deficiency” by not having physician staffing requirements for emergency rooms. 

Lybeck said emergency physicians are trained to handle complex medical cases and provide life-saving treatment based on minimal medical information. They’re seeing trends like for-profit microhospitals with minimal staffing as well as emergency departments without emergency physicians, particularly in rural areas. 

“I'd argue that an emergency department without an emergency physician is really just an urgent care,” she said. 

Lybeck acknowledged the Legislature may be concluding the discussion on advanced practice nursing independence, but said that conversation — and potentially legislation — on emergency department staffing may follow.