On July 29, 2021, the AACU and 102 state and specialty societies sent a letter to the Secretary of the Veterans Affairs regarding the VA’s plan to establish new national standards of practice, which would override current state practice and licensure laws and allow non-physicians to operate outside of their training.
In Secretary Denis McDonough’s October 8 response, he asserts that the “VA believes it is critical to develop national standards of practice that ensure Veterans receive the same high-quality care regardless of where they enter the system.” The Secretary insists that Federal standards of practice are not new, pointing to standardized practice for certain Department of Defense health care professionals, as well as national standards for three classes of Advanced Practice Registered Nurses dating back to 2017.