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Kentucky committee approves bill clarifying inclusion of physician assistants and dietitians in health workforce program
Summary
The House Postsecondary Education Committee gave House Bill 305 a favorable recommendation after Representative Kenneth Fleming said the bill clarifies that physician assistants and dietitians are included in a program to address health care workforce shortages, particularly in rural areas.
The House Postsecondary Education Committee on an unspecified date gave House Bill 305 a favorable recommendation after Representative Kenneth Fleming said the measure clarifies that physician assistants and dietitians are included in a health workforce program intended to address provider shortages.
Representative Kenneth Fleming, who presented the bill, said HB 305 is an outgrowth of House Bill 200 and is intended to help address shortages across a broad spectrum of health professions, including mental health. Fleming said he sought language clarifying that physician assistants and dietitians were covered by the earlier law and should be explicitly included in HB 305.
Fleming said there is a “pretty big need” for both professions, particularly in rural parts of the Commonwealth, and cited Medicaid-related needs tied to diabetes care. He told the committee that “about 55 percent of the dietitians that apply for internships has declined over the past couple years,” a decline he called significant for workforce planning.
Representative Rorcks offered supporting remarks on the role of dietitians in clinical care and on access to nutrition guidance that physicians and nurses may not be positioned to provide. The committee then took a formal roll call and the chair announced that HB 305 received 14 aye votes and 0 no votes and passed with favorable recommendation to the full House.
The committee record does not show the name of the member who made the motion or who seconded it; the transcript records only that there was “a motion and a second.” The committee chair noted that “the same should pass on the House floor.”
No amendments or implementation details were recorded in committee testimony. The bill’s discussion focused on expanding and clarifying which professions are treated as part of the state’s response to health workforce shortages, and on the particular needs in rural areas for dietitians and physician assistants.
The committee adjourned after concluding the item; no effective dates or further implementation steps were identified in the transcript excerpt provided.
