In a move to combat the ongoing nursing shortage in Connecticut, a bill sponsored by Gov. Ned Lamont successfully cleared the Public Health Committee on Monday (March 11).
The bill paves the way for Connecticut to join the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC), a multistate deal that simplifies the licensing process for nurses, allowing them to obtain one license that allows them to practice in all compact states.
Remarkably, Connecticut has remained one of only nine states yet to join in the NLC, despite actively participating in similar compacts within the healthcare sector. The state joined the license compact for physicians and psychologists in 2022, and the physical therapy compact in 2023.
In his written testimony, Gov. Lamont highlighted the benefits of joining the NLC, stating it would “Improve access to care, ease the burden on nurses of maintaining multiple licenses and facilitate the practice of telehealth.”
He also pointed out that Connecticut’s neighboring states, New Jersey and Rhode Island, are already NLC members, and noted how New York and Massachusetts are considering joining it as well. Gov. Lamont warned that without joining the NLC, Connecticut risks becoming an “outlier in the country and region.”
“Connecticut faces a shortage of nurses and nursing faculty,” he declared, and that this “will have lasting effects on the quality of care to patients throughout the state.”
Gov. Lamont went on to write, “The shortage is hindering the State’s ability to recruit and train enough new nurses to meet the increased demand for nurses. We need to rapidly expand our teaching capacity so that more students can be trained to join the profession.”
Due to Connecticut’s stringent licensing requirements for nurses, which dictate that educators must also hold a state license, attracting faculty can be challenging due to the added bureaucratic barriers. Gov. Lamont stated, “Joining the NLC will expand the pool from which to draw faculty to teach and train the next generation of Connecticut’s nurses,” highlighting the initiative as a strategic move to widen the availability of nursing educators in the state.
The red tape also applies to nurses wishing to utilize telehealth because they need to be licensed in the state where the patient is located. This requirement, he notes, leads to “logistical difficulties for telehealth services across state lines.” He argues that by joining the NLC, these barriers would be significantly reduced, enabling nurses to provide telehealth services across all member states with a single license regardless of their location.
The House Republican Caucus, who support the bill, echoed Gov. Lamont’s concerns about the shortage of nursing educators in their written testimony. They wrote, “Despite a large increase in nursing students, nursing schools are experiencing a teacher shortage and have been unable to meet this demand, which in turn results in fewer people entering the nursing field.”
They view joining NLC as one way to “help fix the nursing shortage crisis that threatens our already strained healthcare system.”
The bill’s opponents have raised two concerns about the implications to HAVEN, a program that provides a confidential option to avoid “public disciplinary action for professionals suffering from chemical dependency, emotional or behavioral disorder, or physical or mental illness.”
According to the written testimony by HAVEN Executive Director Mariella LaRosa, J.D., NLC nurses enrolled in an alternative to discipline program are not eligible for a compact license. They would also be “subject to self-disclosure requirements regarding current participation in the alternative program,” which is a violation of state law that allows for confidential participation in the HAVEN program.
LaRosa emphasized that “this undermines public policy of this state to promote the health and wellness of our healthcare professionals, and to reduce the fear and shame associated with seeking help.”
She proposes adding language to the bill that states “a nurse can deactivate the multistate compact license at any time, for any reason and without the need to disclose the reason, then HAVEN can support the bill.”
However, funding HAVEN is an issue as well. The program currently relies on a $5 fee from the annual license renewals of Connecticut healthcare professionals, which is then allocated to a professional assistance program account within the Department of Public Health (DPH). LaRosa estimates this funding makes up roughly 15% of HAVEN’s budget.
The potential loss of these license fees, because of the state ceasing to collect them under the NLC, poses a risk to HAVEN’s financial stability and its ability to deliver services.
To address this, LaRosa suggests adding language to the bill that requires a $5 fee for each annual license and renewal of compact privileges to be deposited into the professional assistance program account. This, LaRosa argues, is essential for “continued operation and growth of HAVEN,” emphasizing the need for consistent and reliable funding sources.
Rep. Cristin McCarthy Vahey (D-Fairfield), Co-Chair of the Public Health Committee, assured at the committee meeting that they will “be working together with stakeholders” to address HAVEN’s concerns about the funding and privacy for nurses.
One of the state’s largest labor unions also stands in opposition to the bill. Ed Hawthorne, the AFL-CIO President, expressed in his written testimony concerns that joining the NLC “would limit the state’s ability to enforce nursing laws and monitor violations.” In other words, the union’s concern centers around not collecting union dues from out-of-state nurses rather than a focus on enhancing access to healthcare services.
The bill is now advancing to the House, where it awaits scheduling for a vote at a yet-to-be-determined date.
