Which legislation granted provider status to nurse practitioners and authorized NPs to bill Medicare directly for providing services to its recipients, regardless of setting?

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The key idea is identifying which law opened the door for nurse practitioners to be recognized as Medicare providers who can bill directly for the services they personally furnish, no matter the setting. The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 made this change by amending the Social Security Act to expand the role of advanced practice nurses within Medicare Part B, allowing NPs to bill Medicare directly for their own services. This was a major shift from relying on physician supervision or facility billing to direct NP reimbursement, supporting greater autonomy and access to care across diverse settings. The Social Security Act lays the Medicare foundation but doesn’t by itself grant NP direct billing rights across settings; the Affordable Care Act broadened coverage and payment reform in various ways but not this specific provider status; the American Health Care Act is not the legislation that granted direct NP billing.