Currently, physician assistants can prescribe medications and diagnose or manage conditions, but only under physician supervision.
The bill would allow physician assistants to provide care unsupervised after they complete 3,000 hours of supervised training with a physician.
Legislators have tried to introduce similar bills in 2021 and 2022. The bill this year stresses physician assistants would not be allowed to be majority owners of a practice, meaning practices are still required to be owned by a physician.
The bill is being introduced as a solution to lack of access to care in rural areas. There are currently no physicians or physician assistants practicing in six Colorado counties, no physician assistants in three counties, and no physicians in three additional counties, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
