State Legislative Roundup: Scope of Practice Bills in Louisiana and New Hampshire
Across the country, many state legislatures continue to meet and discuss bills of interest to radiologists.
Louisiana
Senate Bill (SB) 175 would remove the physician collaboration requirement for nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, clinical nurse specialists and nurse practitioners who have 1,000 hours of experience. It has been assigned to the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare.
SB 158 would vastly change the required collaboration between a physician assistant (PA) and a physician. This, bill among many things, would change the requirement that a supervising physician be a physician approved by the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners, and instead define a supervising physician(s) as a group practice or partnership of physicians, a professional medical corporation, or a hospital or other healthcare organization or entity. The Senate Committee on Health and Welfare amended and passed the bill, and it will now be considered by the full Senate.
The Radiological Society of Louisiana opposes SB 158.
House Bill (HB) 543 would define advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) with 10 years of clinical health experience and completion of collaborative practice hours as a consulting practitioner. APRNs would be exempt from a collaborative practice agreement if they have 2,080 collaborative practice hours and successfully complete coursework in advanced physical assessment and diagnostic reasoning, advanced pharmacology and advanced pathophysiology. The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Health and Welfare.
HB 941 would allow only physicians who have completed a residency in orthopedic surgery or neurosurgery to perform a decompression, fusion or instrumentation procedure on the lumbar, thoracic or cervical spine. The bill was voluntarily deferred for further studies, effectively killing the bill for this session
The American College of Radiology® (ACR®) has signed on to a letter led by the Spine Intervention Society (SIS) in opposition to HB 941.
New Hampshire
If enacted, SB 382 would require an out-of-state healthcare professional providing services by means of telemedicine or telehealth to be licensed, certified or registered by the appropriate New Hampshire licensing body if the patient is physically located in the state at the time of service. This bill would also direct the New Hampshire Office of Professional Licensure and Certification to seek reciprocity agreements with other states that have licensure requirements for physicians and PAs that are substantially equivalent to New Hampshire’s, as determined by the board of medicine. The bill has passed both chambers and will be sent to the Governor for consideration.
The American College of Radiology Association® (ACRA®) Radiology Advocacy Network can assist state chapters with action alerts related to legislation. Please contact Melody Ballesteros, ACR Assistant Director of Government Relations, for more information. For information about any of the bills above, please contact Dillon Harp, ACR Senior State Government Relations Specialist.
Louisiana
Senate Bill (SB) 175 would remove the physician collaboration requirement for nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, clinical nurse specialists and nurse practitioners who have 1,000 hours of experience. It has been assigned to the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare.
SB 158 would vastly change the required collaboration between a physician assistant (PA) and a physician. This, bill among many things, would change the requirement that a supervising physician be a physician approved by the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners, and instead define a supervising physician(s) as a group practice or partnership of physicians, a professional medical corporation, or a hospital or other healthcare organization or entity. The Senate Committee on Health and Welfare amended and passed the bill, and it will now be considered by the full Senate.
The Radiological Society of Louisiana opposes SB 158.
House Bill (HB) 543 would define advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) with 10 years of clinical health experience and completion of collaborative practice hours as a consulting practitioner. APRNs would be exempt from a collaborative practice agreement if they have 2,080 collaborative practice hours and successfully complete coursework in advanced physical assessment and diagnostic reasoning, advanced pharmacology and advanced pathophysiology. The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Health and Welfare.
HB 941 would allow only physicians who have completed a residency in orthopedic surgery or neurosurgery to perform a decompression, fusion or instrumentation procedure on the lumbar, thoracic or cervical spine. The bill was voluntarily deferred for further studies, effectively killing the bill for this session
The American College of Radiology® (ACR®) has signed on to a letter led by the Spine Intervention Society (SIS) in opposition to HB 941.
New Hampshire
If enacted, SB 382 would require an out-of-state healthcare professional providing services by means of telemedicine or telehealth to be licensed, certified or registered by the appropriate New Hampshire licensing body if the patient is physically located in the state at the time of service. This bill would also direct the New Hampshire Office of Professional Licensure and Certification to seek reciprocity agreements with other states that have licensure requirements for physicians and PAs that are substantially equivalent to New Hampshire’s, as determined by the board of medicine. The bill has passed both chambers and will be sent to the Governor for consideration.
The American College of Radiology Association® (ACRA®) Radiology Advocacy Network can assist state chapters with action alerts related to legislation. Please contact Melody Ballesteros, ACR Assistant Director of Government Relations, for more information. For information about any of the bills above, please contact Dillon Harp, ACR Senior State Government Relations Specialist.