Source: Washington Post
by Donna G Matias
“For more than 30 years, nurse practitioner Marcy Markes has cared for patients in intensive care units and small-town clinics across Missouri. She holds degrees from the University of Missouri and runs an allergy and asthma clinic in Columbia, Missouri. The state has a serious health care access problem, and its residents would be better off if experienced providers like Markes were free to provide the care they are licensed to give. Instead, a state law requires nurse practitioners to contract with a physician, which by some estimates can cost an average of $7,000 per year. The price tag for Markes to practice? $50,000 a year. … Courts have increasingly been willing to reassess occupational licensing laws that appear to serve entrenched economic interests more than consumer protection. Missouri’s CPA regime presents a fairly clear case …” (06/10/26)