H.R. 10410: Educating Future Nurses Act

This bill would create a new

national graduate nurse education program

within Medicare. The program would pay eligible hospitals for some of the reasonable costs of training advanced practice registered nurses—which includes nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, certified nurse-midwives, and certified registered nurse anesthetists.

In practical terms, the bill is designed to help hospitals and nursing schools work together to expand clinical training opportunities for graduate nursing students. To participate, a hospital would need written agreements with:

• at least one accredited school of nursing, and
• at least two non-hospital community-based care settings, such as federally qualified health centers, rural health clinics, nursing homes, home health agencies, or similar sites.

The hospital would have to lead a Graduate Nurse Education (GNE) Hub that includes these partners and has a governance and oversight structure involving the nursing school(s) and other hub partners. The program requires coordination of clinical sites and preceptors, timely reimbursement to partner organizations, and consideration of local, state, and regional workforce needs.

Payments would be tied to the number of advanced practice registered nurses receiving qualified clinical education through the hospital. The per-student payment amount would be set by the Secretary of Health and Human Services using prior data from an earlier nurse education demonstration project, then adjusted annually for inflation using the consumer price index.

The bill limits participation so that:

• only one GNE Hub may operate in each geographic region established by the Secretary, and
• an eligible hospital or partner may participate in only one hub.

The bill also says these payments must supplement, not replace, other federal funding for advanced practice registered nurse training.

Hospitals receiving payments would have to file annual reports describing things like:

• the types of clinical education provided,
• the number of students trained,
• new partnerships formed,
• changes made to curricula or training methods,
• how many graduates went on to practice in the hospital’s service area or state, and
• other information the Secretary asks for.

If a hospital fails to submit the required report, or leaves out required information, its payment would be reduced by 25%. Before applying that penalty for missing information, the Secretary would have to give notice and allow 30 days to fix the problem.

The bill would also require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to submit a report to Congress within two years summarizing program data, describing the program’s results, and making recommendations for changes.

Funding for the program would come from transfers from the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and the Medicare Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund into the CMS program management account, in amounts the Secretary determines are needed.

The bill defines qualified clinical education as training that gives APRNs the skills needed to provide primary care, preventive care, transitional care, acute care, chronic care management, and similar services for Medicare beneficiaries. At least half of that training generally would have to take place in non-hospital community-based settings, although the Secretary could waive that requirement for hospitals in rural or medically underserved areas.

Relevant Companies

None found.