{"id":467420,"date":"2026-02-14T02:53:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T02:53:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/467420\/"},"modified":"2026-02-14T02:53:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T02:53:15","slug":"doctors-and-nurses-are-feuding-as-n-j-weighs-possible-rule-change-is-it-safe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/467420\/","title":{"rendered":"Doctors and nurses are feuding as N.J. weighs possible rule change. Is it safe?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some health care clinics and med spas are rejoicing \u2014 at least for now \u2014 thanks to a new executive action<\/a> by Gov. Mikie Sherrill.<\/a> <\/p>\n

With the stroke of her pen, the governor gave a new lifeline to practices that are run independently by Advanced Practice Nurses, or APNs.<\/p>\n

Without the move, they would have had to hire collaborating physicians to run their practices \u2014 or shut their doors by Feb. 16.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith today\u2019s executive order, we are providing more time for advanced practice nurses and physician assistants to adjust to this new regulatory landscape, delivering on our commitment to make it easier for small businesses to thrive in New Jersey,\u201d Sherrill said in a press release. <\/p>\n

\u201cThese sudden regulatory changes will have wide-ranging impacts on health care professionals and patients alike \u2013 potentially even forcing clinics and small, independent practices to close their doors, making it more difficult for New Jerseyans to access critical health care services,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

But the future is still unclear. Sherrill\u2019s action gives them 45 more days to come into compliance with the collaborating physician rule. But importantly, the move also gives lawmakers who support APN independence more time to put new rules into place. <\/p>\n

The conflict was spotlighted in an NJ.com special report<\/a> earlier this month. <\/p>\n

APNs first received autonomy during the height of the COVID pandemic when then-Gov. Phil Murphy<\/a> lifted a longstanding rule that required APNs to work with a collaborating physician. <\/p>\n

The idea was to increase access to health care at a time when hospital systems were deluged with overwhelming patient loads during the pandemic. <\/p>\n

And it worked, but it wasn\u2019t without controversy. <\/p>\n

Some APNs started their own practices, focusing on everything from women\u2019s healthcare to pediatrics to mental health care. But others opened aesthetic med spas that offer treatments like Botox and IV therapy, something critics say was not in line with the spirit of Murphy\u2019s order. <\/p>\n

On his last day in office, Murphy put back in place the original regulation, taking away the autonomy that APNs had enjoyed for nearly six years. Then, to keep their practices, they would need to partner with a collaborating physician or shut down, and they\u2019d have only 30 days to do it. <\/p>\n

It threw New Jersey\u2019s medical community into chaos, with APNs crying foul.<\/p>\n

It would cost from $1,000 to $2,000 a month to add a collaborating physician \u2014 who would never see patients \u2014 to his practice, said Marcel Kaganovskaya, a family and psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner who works in Montclair and New York City.<\/p>\n

\"HealthDr. Marcel Kaganovskaya, a dual-certified Family and Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner speaks durintg the hearing. The Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens committee holds a hearing on S2996, which would eliminate certain practice restrictions for advanced practice nurses. The hearing was held at the Statehouse Annex in Trenton, New Jersey on Monday, February 9, 2026. Patti Sapone | NJ.com <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is going to be a public health emergency,\u201d said Kaganovskaya, who also is the executive director of The Society of Psychiatric Advanced Practice Nurses. <\/p>\n

He, and others, said they\u2019d consider leaving the state because of the rule change. <\/p>\n

Fighters on both sides of the issue descended on the Statehouse in Trenton earlier this week to sway lawmakers who were considering a bill<\/a> that would permanently eliminate certain practice restrictions for APNs. <\/p>\n

It would keep independent APNs in business. <\/p>\n

More than two dozen practitioners and lobbyists pleaded their cases for more than 90 minutes at the Senate health committee hearing.<\/p>\n

\"HealthThe Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens committee holds a hearing on S2996, which would eliminate certain practice restrictions for advanced practice nurses. The hearing was held at the Statehouse Annex in Trenton, New Jersey on Monday, February 9, 2026. Staff | NJ.com<\/p>\n

Doctor after doctor claimed that patient safety was at issue. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot compromise patient safety in the name of access,\u201d said Dr. Kendrick Abad, a psychiatrist representing the New Jersey Psychiatric Association.<\/p>\n

Emergency measures put in place during COVID should not \u201cpermanently weaken longstanding clinical safeguards \u2014 especially in complex, high-acuity areas of medicine,\u201c said Richard Colavita, a physician anesthesiologist and pediatrician. <\/p>\n

\u201dThis is not safe and sets a dangerous precedent,\u201d said Colavita, president of the New Jersey State Society of Anesthesiologists.<\/p>\n

\"HealthRichard Colavita\u00caspeaks during the hearing. The Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens committee holds a hearing on S2996, which would eliminate certain practice restrictions for advanced practice nurses. The hearing was held at the Statehouse Annex in Trenton, New Jersey on Monday, February 9, 2026. Patti Sapone | NJ.com <\/p>\n

But the nurses argued that there was no evidence during the six years of independence that patients were harmed because of practices operating without a physician.<\/p>\n

Since the pandemic, New Jersey\u2019s APN workforce grew 75% without an uptick in reported adverse events or malpractice, said Daria Waszak, executive director for the New Jersey Collaborating Center for Nursing.<\/p>\n

And, supporters said, access to care improved.<\/p>\n

Larider Ruffin, an APN representing the New Jersey State Nurses Association, said losing practices like his would hurt the state\u2019s \u201cmost vulnerable residents.\u201d<\/p>\n

He encouraged passage of the bill \u201cfor the sake of my patients, my families, your families and your constituents.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shonta Collins, a family nurse practitioner, said her clients from underserved communities count on her for care. <\/p>\n

\u201dI was paying thousands of dollars to this collaborator that I never saw,” she said of her practice before the pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am a servant and that is what I do,\u201d she said, unable to hold back tears during her testimony. <\/p>\n

\"HealthShonta Collins becomes emotional as she speaks during the hearing. The Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens committee holds a hearing on S2996, which would eliminate certain practice restrictions for advanced practice nurses. The hearing was held at the Statehouse Annex in Trenton, New Jersey on Monday, February 9, 2026. Patti Sapone | NJ.com <\/p>\n

Next, lawmakers who support APN autonomy will have to hustle to find an agreement and get a bill passed before the 45-day period ends. <\/p>\n

State Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex and co-sponsor of the bill to give autonomy back to nurses permanently, said he was grateful for the time to find a legislative solution <\/p>\n

\u201cNurse practitioners for the past six years – since COVID – have worked to the full extent of their training, providing care to thousands of New Jerseyans, whether it\u2019s physical health or mental health,\u201d said Vitale, chairman of the Senate health committee.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have not only filled the gap, they have extended the level of care,\u201d he said. \u201cSafety has never been an issue.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Some health care clinics and med spas are rejoicing \u2014 at least for now \u2014 thanks to a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":467421,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[97,252,253],"class_list":["post-467420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health-care","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-healthcare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=467420"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467420\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/467421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=467420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=467420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=467420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}