Thank You Legislators!

AONP thanks the 72 members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives who supported House Bill 1013. We are especially thankful for the bill’s authors, Rep. Josh Cockroft and Sen. AJ Griffin. Gaining full practice authority is not an easy task, but the vote to pass the bill out of the House considerably increased public awareness and support of the need for full practice authority in Oklahoma.

We would also like to thank the many senators who were supportive of the measure. Although Sen. Yen did not grant the bill a hearing, the support we received from the Senate is greatly appreciated. The legislators in the House and the Senate who supported our measure understand the difficulties many Oklahomans have in accessing quality, affordable health care, and they made it clear that they stand on the side of improving the lives and the health of Oklahomans.

If your representative voted for the bill and you have not yet reached out to them, call or email to thank them for their vote and support of full practice authority. To identify your legislators and find their contact information, search on the Oklahoma State Legislature website. You can find the voting record for HB 1013 online as well. Calling or emailing builds goodwill and lays the groundwork for next legislative session. Plus, it’s just a nice thing to do.

Gaining full practice authority will drastically change and improve the lives of Oklahomans. By allowing nurse practitioners to practice at the full extent of their training and education, access to rural health care will increase and the shortage of primary care providers in the state will be addressed. The progress made throughout the last year and, most recently, during the legislative session created a strong foundation to build upon in the coming months.

Continue working throughout the rest of this year, speaking with your legislators and in your communities about the need for full practice authority. The resources on our legislative pagewill continue to be great tools as we continue to work together toward full practice authority.