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Senate moves physician-assistant practice bills forward while negotiations continue with medical groups
Summary
First-substitute SB27 and SB28 — bills to expand physician assistant (PA) autonomy, including mental-health practice provisions — were advanced toward third reading after sponsors said they are negotiating compromises with the Utah Medical Association and other stakeholders and plan to circle the bills on third until final language is agreed.
Senators considered first-substitute SB27 and SB28, measures intended to expand physician assistants' career pathways and permit greater autonomous practice after defined supervision and experience thresholds. The sponsor, Senator Bramble, said stakeholders including Intermountain Healthcare, Revere Health, Regence, SelectHealth and the Utah Medical Association have participated in negotiations.
Bramble said the bills are "a work in progress" with a proposed experience framework discussed in committee and at the chair's office. He described a phased approach discussed on the floor — examples ranged from several thousand hours up to a 10,000-hour total experience threshold before full independent practice — and emphasized the bills include transition and supervision requirements and will not immediately remove safeguards around controlled-substance prescribing.
Senator Kennedy and others urged caution, noting medical training for physicians is longer and discussing the policy trade-offs between increasing access and preserving high-level physician training. Senator Iwamoto and others highlighted rural access concerns, saying expanded PA practice could help underserved areas if safeguards are appropriate.
The Senate recorded votes advancing the first substitutes, with SB27 passing third-read preparatory votes (first-substitute recorded as 'having received 26 yay votes, 2 nay votes, 1 absent' on the floor) and SB28 moved and circled for further work before final third reading. Sponsors said they expect to finalize compromises before third-reading votes.
