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Committee OKs bill clarifying that nurses may delegate certain tasks to medical assistants
Summary
House Bill 327 clarifies that advanced practice registered nurses may delegate non–independent‑clinical‑judgment tasks to certified medical assistants in provider offices; supporters said the change reflects modern clinic staffing and avoids regulatory gaps, while the bill preserves limits on tasks requiring independent clinical judgment.
Representative Dorothy Healy, sponsor of House Bill 327, told the Senate Health & Welfare Committee the bill clarifies that medical assistants working in provider offices may be supervised by advanced practice registered nurses and that the statute should reflect current care models.
"This bill does is simply puts it into code that a nurse can oversee a medical assistant in this setting," Representative Healy said. "It helps with everyday process everyday, organization, working in the medical clinics."
Healy described medical assistants as a distinct workforce from certified nursing assistants, licensed practical nurses and registered nurses. She said the bill is intended to allow delegation of tasks "that do not involve the exercise of independent clinical judgment," and that delegated duties should be limited to tasks for which the individual has received formal training and national certification acceptable to the board.
Senator Blaylock said delegation is important to care delivery and asked why the change needed to be placed in code. Healy answered that existing nursing statutes and IDAPA nursing rules primarily reference nursing roles and do not specifically recognize the medical‑assistant occupation; leaving the clarification in statute will permit smaller clinics without extensive delegation protocols to use medical assistants while preserving supervision and training requirements.
Healy and other senators discussed how the bill avoids detailed "can/cannot" task lists so as not to interfere with clinics that have already developed delegation protocols. She said the bill uses language from existing training standards and requires that the individual have formal training and be certified by a national organization acceptable to the nursing board.
Robert Vandermeer (testifying in favor) described practical scenarios in small clinics where a physician might not be on site and nurses and medical assistants must perform and accept delegated tasks. "The nurse could then say I'm delegating this task to a medical assistant ... nurses he or she should be able to delegate," Vandermeer said.
Committee members asked for examples and Healy said common duties for medical assistants include taking vital signs, obtaining labs and collecting medical information; those tasks do not by themselves require independent clinical judgment.
A motion by Senator Keiser, seconded by Senator Blaylock, moved House Bill 327 to the floor with a due-pass recommendation. The committee approved the motion by voice vote with no recorded nays in the hearing record; the bill will be reported to the full Senate for consideration.
Why it matters: sponsors said the bill closes a statutory gap that left medical assistants outside explicit supervision language, aligning the law with current clinic staffing and preserving nurse‑led delegation while limiting who may perform tasks that require independent clinical judgment.
The bill will proceed to the Senate floor.
