Senate Bill 249: The SAVE Act

• Modernizes North Carolina nursing regulations by establishing a comprehensive APRN (Advanced Practice Registered Nurse) licensure system with four defined roles: Nurse Practitioner, Certified Nurse Midwife, Clinical Nurse Specialist, and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist.

• Grants prescribing, ordering, dispensing, and furnishing authority to licensed APRNs pursuant to expanded scope of practice definitions for each APRN role.

• Repeals G.S. 90-18.2 (previous APRN regulations) and Article 10A of Chapter 90, replacing the joint Medical Board-Board of Nursing approval process with independent APRN licensure by the Board of Nursing.

• Establishes grandfathering provisions allowing persons recognized as APRNs or approved to practice as APRNs on December 31, 2021 to maintain all practice privileges without reapplication.

• Requires the Governor to submit a Medicare opt-out letter within 30 days allowing hospitals and surgical centers in North Carolina maximum flexibility for anesthesia services reimbursement; effective October 1, 2021.