The fight for the future of healthcare delivery in South Carolina is HERE. On Wednesday, September 10, the Senate Medical Affairs Subcommittee will hold a hearing where legislators will be presented with two very different options:

OPTION 1: S.669 – The So-Called “Team-Based Healthcare Act”

Restricts Access: This bill adds unnecessary bureaucracy by requiring permanent physician oversight, even when no meaningful collaboration exists. If a collaborating physician retires, dies, or relocates, APRNs are forced to suspend patient care—leaving entire communities without providers.

Raises Costs: It entrenches a system in which many APRNs must pay physicians for signatures, inflating costs for practices and ultimately patients.

Fails Rural South Carolina: 42 out of 46 counties are medically underserved. Physicians alone cannot and will not fill these gaps. This bill locks patients out of care instead of expanding access.

Protects Power, Not Patients: This is not about safety. Over 40 years of research and national data show APRNs deliver care equal to physicians in primary care, maternal health, and chronic disease management. This bill is about control, not better outcomes.

OPTION 2: S.45 / H.3580 – Full Practice Authority for APRNs

Expands Access to Care: Allows APRNs to practice to the full extent of their education and training after 2,000 practiced hours with a collaborating physician.

Improves Outcomes: Research consistently shows APRNs provide high-quality, safe, cost-effective care that improves patient satisfaction and outcomes.

Supports Rural & Underserved Communities: States with FPA have increased access to primary care, better maternal outcomes, and lower ER utilization.

Protects Patient Choice: Patients deserve the right to choose their provider—especially when APRNs are often the only providers in their community.

WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU

Show Up: Be at the Statehouse no later than 9:00 AM on September 10. Hearings start at 10:00, but we want the room filled with nurses, APRNs, students, and allies in scrubs and white coats by the time legislators walk in. Many of us (SCNA Members, APRNs from across the state, and supporters) will arrive as early as 7:30 AM.

Stay: Plan to remain until at least noon. Your presence matters as much as testimony.

Stand Together: You do not have to testify. We have expert witnesses ready. But the power of the collective voice is in the visual of a packed room of nurses standing united for patients.

WHY THIS MATTERS

South Carolina ranks near the bottom in overall healthcare outcomes and among the worst for maternal health. We cannot afford barriers that keep skilled APRNs from providing care.

S.669 doubles down on a broken system. S.45/H.3580 is about fixing it—expanding access, lowering costs, and saving lives.

NURSES — THIS IS OUR PIVOTAL MOMENT.
It’s time to show lawmakers that the Power of Nurses® cannot be ignored. Together, we will demand a future where South Carolinians get the care they deserve.