Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Health Workforce Pa Practice topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee hears mixed testimony on changing PA supervision to collaboration; members defer further action
Summary
Senate Bill 88 would replace physician 'supervision' with a 'collaboration' standard for physician assistants to align Kentucky law with team‑based practice and ease hiring; the committee received pro and con testimony and deferred final action to gather more input.
Senate Bill 88, which would modernize the statutory relationship between physicians and physician assistants by replacing a “supervision” standard with a “collaboration” standard, drew extended testimony and partisan concern on Feb. 18, 2025. The Senate Standing Committee on Licensing and Occupations deferred further action to gather additional testimony.
Sponsor Sen. Lindsey Tichenor said the bill “is just modernizing language from the role of a physician and a physician assistant from supervisory to collaborating” and that the change aims to meet workforce needs and ease hiring in areas with provider shortages. Tichenor read the bill’s proposed definition: “Collaboration means consultation with or referral to the appropriate physician or other health care professional by a physician assistant as indicated by the patient's condition, education, competency, and experience of the physician assistant, and standard of care for the condition.” She framed the change as a workforce tool for rural and underserved areas.
Supporters: Aaron Chalmers, president of the Kentucky Academy of Physician Assistants (KAPA), and Andrew Rutherford, chair of KAPA’s Government Affairs Committee, said the change would reduce administrative barriers and retain PAs who otherwise leave Kentucky for states with modernized practice laws. A PA educator told the committee that Kentucky currently loses “about 50% of PA graduates annually” to states with looser statutory restraints and that the bill is not a move toward independent practice but toward team‑based, practical use of PA training.
Opponents and concerns: Corey Meadows, deputy executive vice president and director of advocacy for the Kentucky Medical Association, testified in strong opposition. He said replacing “supervision” with “collaboration” is “not just a simple wording change” and warned it could introduce vagueness in oversight, increase legal uncertainty for medical errors and ultimately threaten patient safety and physician willingness to enter collaborative agreements. Meadows also suggested further statutory changes could be the next step in a broader push for greater PA autonomy.
Clinician testimony: Dr. Robert Kuhn, an emergency physician, testified in support and described daily collaborative practice with PAs in his emergency department; “we need more physician assistants in the emergency department,” he said.
Committee response and deferral: Several senators voiced concern about rural access and the difference between supervision and collaboration. Senator Meredith moved to defer the item so the committee could gather additional testimony; the committee agreed. The substitute (PSS 1) to SB 88 was adopted earlier in the hearing, but the committee took no final action on the bill itself and will schedule additional testimony and stakeholder engagement before further consideration.
What’s next: SB 88 will be deferred pending additional stakeholder testimony, including engagement with physician groups, the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure and PA organizations.
