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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR SPAC

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/31/2007

3/16/2007 HB

SHORT TITLE Physician Licensure Requirements

SB CS/20/aHBIC

ANALYST Aguilar/Moser

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

NFI

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Regulations and Licensing Department (RLD)

NM Medical Board

SUMMARY

Synopsis of HBIC Amendment

The House Business and Industry Amendment to Senate Public Affairs Committee Substitute

for Senate Bill 20 amends the Physician Assistant Act and the Osteopathic Physicians’ Assistant

Act by removing language that prohibits any physician from supervising more than two

physician assistants except under specific circumstances and with board authorization. It adds

language that enforces the essential requirement that all physician assistants must have a

supervising physician.

Synopsis of Original Bill

The Senate Public Affairs Committee (SPAC) Substitute for Senate Bill 20

proposes to amend

the Osteopathic Physicians’ Assistant Act by removing language that prohibits an osteopathic

physician from supervising more than two osteopathic physician assistants and adds language

that enforces the essential requirement that all physician assistants must have a supervising

physician as authorized by the board.

CS/Senate Bill 20/aHBIC – Page

2

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

None

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The medical board indicates that the change proposed by SB20 would update the Physician

Assistant Act to better reflect the changing structure of health care organizations and facilities,

and would facilitate increased access to physician assistants. Today’s physicians and physician

assistants work more and more in complex organizations, rather than in small private practices,

and the Medical Board is well aware that this change is pushing the supervisory relationship to

be more fluid and responsive to change. Removing the statutory limitation of two physician

assistants per physician will allow organizations and providers to respond to change more

quickly and efficiently.

In addition, the board indicates that the proposed change will increase access to basic health care

by expanding the physician assistant workforce, and may possibly reduce some of the costs of

that care. These benefits should be seen within the larger health care organizations, but also

among the segment of physicians in private practice, who would be able to hire additional

physician assistants for their practices without also having to hire additional physicians.

SB20 adds language that reinforces the essential requirement that a physician assistant must have

a primary supervising physician, and mandates that supervisory relationships be approved by the

Board. Physician assistants often have several secondary supervising physicians, but by statute

and Medical Board rule the primary supervising physician is the individual ultimately

responsible for the performance of the physician assistant. The medical board will need to

create rules and procedures to ensure that physicians who apply to supervise more than two

physician assistants can do so effectively and safely, whether they do so within a large

organization or whether they are in a small or rural medical practice.

The Regulations and Licensing Department indicates that SPAC substitute for Senate Bill 20

authorizes the Osteopathic Physicians’ Board to consider the expanding needs of large health

care facilities with multiple osteopathic physicians who are capable of supervising more than two

osteopathic physician assistants and still ensure high quality patient care. Health care has

changed from small independent practice to larger facility care and this change is needed to

create a more flexible supervisory relationship in order to increase training opportunity and

patient access to skilled providers. This bill could increase the number of osteopathic physician

assistants available in a healthcare facility which increase the number of patients treated and

reduces the patients waiting time.

WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL

The osteopathic board would need to create rules and procedures to ensure that osteopathic

physicians who apply to supervise more than two osteopathic physician assistants can ensure

quality healthcare and uncompromised patient safety.

GM/csd:nt