Nurses becoming part of a compact

Nurses working in Minnesota who want to practice in other states must obtain an additional license to do so. That may change.

Rep. Kim Norton (DFL-Rochester) sponsors HF462, which would establish Minnesota as a member of the Nurse Licensure Compact and permit multi-state practice for registered nurses and practical/vocational nurses who are licensed and practice in compact states.

Twenty-four states are compact members, including North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Wisconsin.

Norton said she believes the proposed legislation “will help bring Minnesota a step closer to the future in health care” in technological advancement and home-care models.

Representatives from a number of Minnesota-based health care organizations testified before the House Health and Human Services Reform Committee March 9 in support of the bill. Approved on a 15-6 vote, the bill was referred to the House Health and Human Services Finance Committee.

The Minnesota Nurses Association opposes the bill. Its representatives maintain that becoming a compact state would compromise the state’s responsibility for establishing requirements for initial and continued competency of non-resident nurses. It also maintains that the state would lose revenue under the compact due to a decrease in license registration and renewals.

When the nurses union enacted a one-day nursing strike last year, more than 3,400 nurses applied for temporary permits to work in Twin Cities metropolitan area hospitals, said association President Linda Hamilton. A nursing license costs $105 for a two-year period, after which it can be renewed for $85.

“If Minnesota had been a compact state, this would have resulted in a loss of nearly $400,000 to our state,” Hamilton said.

Despite the claim, Board of Nursing Executive Director Shirley Brekken said compact states have not reported significant losses in licensing revenue.

Norton cited Minnesota’s “snow birds” who live in southern states during the winter as an example of those who would benefit from the state entering into the compact. According to current regulations, Minnesota nurses cannot dispense advice over the phone or Internet to patients physically in another state if the nurse does not have a license for that state. Patients who live near the state border would also benefit from the compact, she said.

A companion, SF230, sponsored by Sen. Chris Gerlach (R-Apple Valley), awaits action by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.