Some physician assistants are pushing state lawmakers to support expanding their autonomy, as was done in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s budget proposal includes eliminating supervision requirements for PAs working in primary care medicine and some other non-surgical specialties with 8,000 clinical hours. Similar bills have been proposed by the Legislature, and the measure was proposed last year by the governor.
Edward Mathes is president of the New York State Society of PAs. He is urging state lawmakers to support Hochul’s budget proposal, saying that it would allow PA’s to use their training, education and experience to improve health care resources.
“It will allow us that flexibility to move into areas of need,” he said.
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services says 6.5 million New Yorkers live in healthcare professional shortage areas (HPSA). Mathes said 40% of PA’s serve patients in the zones, and he feels the proposal will help provide them with reliable care.
“Our primary concern is access to care, getting into the more rural areas, federal-qualified health centers,” he said. “In the more rural reaches of the Finger Lakes, up in the Adirondacks and the Catskills, we have health care deserts.”
There is strong opposition to the proposal from others in the field.
Dr. Paul Pipia is president of the Medical Society of the State of New York.
He says the organization’s position is clear: PA’s are not a substitute for trained physicians, and the solution to New York’s health care workforce shortage is to make the state a better place for physicians to work, rather than relying on PAs to provide the same degree of care.
“They’re a valued member of our team, but they need to have the physician drive the patient’s care,” he said.
Pipia cited an American Medical Association study finding that when PA’s were allowed to practice independently at a clinic in Mississippi, patients experienced higher…
