The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is dedicating payments of up to $200 million for hospitals to train advanced practice registered nurses (APRN) through its Graduate Nurse Education Demonstration, a new initiative under health reform, the agency announced Wednesday. With goals to strengthen primary care, the CMS' payments over four years will cover the costs of training to enable nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, nurse anesthetists and nurse midwives to serve in primary care roles.
CMS will pick five eligible hospitals to participate, whose payments will be directly tied to the number of additional APRNs the hospitals and their partnering entities train. CMS also is encouraging students to practice in non-hospital community-based settings, including underserved areas. Announcement