MAAPC working for you: Provider neutral language and Medicare.com

May 2021

 

The Medicare Team

Medicare Contact Center Operations
PO Box 1270
Lawrence, KS 66044

 

RE: Provider neutral language and Medicare.com 

The Maryland Academy of Advanced Practice Clinicians formally requests that the Medicare Team change the title of its tool “Find the doctor that's right for you” to “Find the primary care provider that's right for you.”

Using language that implies that only Physicians/Medical Doctors can provide primary care is misleading and may limit access to care.

Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) have worked tirelessly to provide competent and available primary care during the pandemic. They are recognized as primary care providers by every state, by Medicare and by Medicaid. As the available pool of physicians diminishes, APRNs (Nurse Practitioners, Clinical Nurse Specialists, Nurse Midwives and Nurse Anesthetists) are filling the void; often in under-served areas, and throughout the pandemic, have travelled across the U.S. often working in areas overwhelmed by the hospitalization of COVID-19 patients.

It is time that we stop using outdated terms that promote bias for one primary care provider over another.

Respectfully,

Dr. Elaine Crain, DNP, FNP, MAAPC Past-President

Shirley Devaris, RN, BSAD, MA, JD