Eliminating Barriers for Nurse Practitioners

Campaign urges private health insurers to amend policies

CNA and the Nurse Practitioner Association of Canada (NPAC) are calling on all health insurance companies who provide private health insurance plans in Canada to amend their policies and language to reflect the legal scope of practice of nurse practitioners (NPs).

Most Canadian private insurance plans reimburse their clients only for physician-issued prescriptions for medically necessary devices, supplies, and treatments performed by other health professionals. NPs are not included in Canadian private insurance plans’ definitions of prescribers, even though these activities are well within NPs’ legal scope of practice.

In 2018, there were 5,697 NPs practising across Canada. NPs in primary care serve nearly three million Canadians. Insurance plan members with an NP as their primary care provider should not be subject to reduced access to health insurance coverage.

Read and share our one-page information sheet [PDF, 106 KB] for more information.

Take action

CNA and NPAC have launched a national campaign calling on nurses and the public to stand up and let private health insurance companies know that they must review their policy and correct it so that future prescriptions written by NPs are honoured. By doing so, they will be acknowledging NP legislation and helping reduce delays in patient treatment.

Join the letter-writing campaign now

CNA and NPAC have drafted this letter [DOCX, 18.5 KB] that you can easily modify and send to a private health insurance company. We’re targeting Canada’s top three insurance companies, but you can send the letter to any company you want. 

Learn more

• On November 13, 2019, CNA, NPAC and other health-care providers jointly launched a call to private insurers to eliminate barriers to nurse practitioners. Read their statement.