Despite California’s population becoming increasingly diverse, the current health workforce has yet to reflect these demographic shifts; however, Nurse Practitioners (NPs) play a critical role in addressing gaps in primary care access across the state. In 2023, California implemented new regulations through Assembly Bill (AB) 890 (Wood) enabling NPs to practice independently—without physician oversight after three years and fully independently after three more years. With these new laws in place, NPs have the opportunity to pursue independent practices and serve historically marginalized and vulnerable populations like Medi-Cal enrollees.

Based on the 2024 work of Ulrike Muench, Amy Quan, Rosalind de Lisser, Timothy Bates, and Joanne Spetz in their paper, Nurse Practitioner Race and Ethnicity and Interest in Independent Primary Care Practice and Serving Medicaid Enrollees this fact sheet—produced by ITUP in partnership with Policy at Healthforce—highlights key insights from the study.