06/25/2024

LEGISLATIVE ALERT: OAPA Submits Written Opponent Testimony on HB 102

The Ohio Association of Physician Assistants tirelessly advocates for Ohio PAs, including raising our voice when we see legislation that may negatively impact PA practice.

House Bill 102 has passed the Ohio House Health Provider Services committee and will move on for consideration by the full House. OAPA opposes this bill because it aims to solve the issue of a provider shortage for people with cardiopulmonary disease by creating a new, niche profession rather than empowering existing professions, such as physician assistants, to work at the top of their license.

From OAPA's written testimony:

"Across Ohio, there are already many PAs working in critical care with knowledge of ventilation management as well as the systemic and medications that could affect the patient, and some health systems offering critical care fellowship for PAs. Ohio has 17 PA training programs, which equates to hundreds of graduating students each year, and yet too many of them elect to pursue their careers in other states with less restrictive scope of practice laws. Ohio’s antiquated PA practice barriers are deterrents for employers to hire PAs. Instead of creating more government bureaucracy, we ask you to eliminate outdated policies that limit PAs from providing comprehensive health services to the people of Ohio."

Suggested improvements to existing law regarding PA practice that OAPA proposed include:

• Eliminating the statutory clause that makes a physician liable for a PAs mistake, which discourages physicians from entering into supervision agreements with PAs
• Removing the requirement for on-site supervision of a PA by a physician for the first 500 hours of practice, which also makes new graduate PAs undesirable candidates for employers who do not have the full-time physician workforce to provide the oversight
• Eliminating or increasing the ratio of PAs to supervising physicians
• Removing the statutory ban on PA advertising
• Adding PAs to the Ohio Preceptor Tax Incentive for taking PA (and/or NP students)

OAPA believes that taking these straightforward, common sense actions could help to address provider shortages in cardio-pulmonary care and beyond. Read OAPA's full written testimony for more detail.

To further help us advance PA practice through government advocacy, please support the OAPA Legislative Fund!