Final Weeks of Session Brings Numerous Concerning Scope Expansion Bills
The recently enacted State Budget importantly rejected numerous proposals that would have threatened patient safety by removing the important oversight and/or collaboration that physicians provide in the delivery of patient care. However, as we enter the final three weeks of the scheduled 2024 Legislative Session, MSSNY is continuing to work with affected specialty societies to oppose the litany of “stand-alone” bills under consideration that would inappropriately expand the scope of services that can be provided by various non-physicians without adequate physician involvement.
These problematic bills include, but are not limited to:
- A.8378/S.9038 which would allow Physician Assistants (PAs) to practice independently without physician oversight after 8,000 hours of practice. There have been discussions regarding potential amendments that would narrow the settings where such independent PAs could practice and increase the number of clinical hours before such PA could practice without defined supervision. Nevertheless, MSSNY and specialty societies continue to raise patient safety concerns about any effort to eliminate physician supervision requirements, particularly when options exist to change regulations to increase the number of PAs a physician can supervise.
You can send a letter to your legislators here: Preserve Physician-led, Team-based Healthcare (p2a.co)
- A.2217-B/S.2254-B which would significantly expand the scope of practice of a podiatrist to treat conditions of the ankle and leg.
- A.6958-A/S.769-A would allow Nurse Anesthetists to administer anesthesia with reduced physician oversight.
- S.66-A/A.1262-A which would grant prescribing rights to psychologists similar to psychiatrists. You can send a letter to your legislators in opposition here:
- A2300 would remove all time/visit limitations on patient access to physical therapy services without referral from a physician.
At the same time, MSSNY is also supporting legislation (A.9802, Fahy) that would enable Medical Assistants to administer immunizations. MSSNY is also supporting legislation (S.9214/A.10009) before the Senate Higher Education Committee next week that would require healthcare practitioners to provide greater disclosure of their professional credentials in their advertisements and in their clinical encounters with their patients.
