Moderator ventana Posted May 18, 2012 Moderator Share Posted May 18, 2012 [TABLE] [TR] [TD=align: left]The Senate just passed their version of cost containment legislation. I am thrilled to announce that the bill includes the most transformative changes for our profession since the passage of prescriptive practice many years ago. Below is a short overview of PAs under the final Senate cost containment bill: PAs are granted primary care provider status. Carriers must recognize PAs as participating providers and shall include coverage for care provided by PAs on a nondiscriminatory basis. The bill removes the number of PAs a physician can supervise at one time (currently 4). Physicians will now be able to determine how many PAs they are capable of supervising at the practice level. The requirement that a supervising physician’s name be included on the prescription prescribed by a PA is removed under the Senate bill, alleviating this administrative and time consuming burden. The definition of a PA was made consistent through the Senate bill to recognize that we are licensed practitioners – “Physician assistant, a person who is duly registered (adds) “andlicensed” by the board. PAs were added to the list of providers whose apology or act of omission to a patient or patient’s family cannot be used against us in litigation. PAs were added to a provision of the bill that deals with the Good Samaritan law. In the cases of emergency when a PA provides assistance, he or she cannot be sued for apologizing over an unexpected outcome. PAs were added to the Health Care Workforce Advisory Council that advises the Health Care Workforce Center established by the bill. In addition, PAs’ role in primary care was added as a requirement for the Center to study further. This is a tremendous success for the PA profession in Massachusetts . The House will debate their version of the cost containment bill in early June and we will need your help again to ensure all the changes MAPA seeks are made in both the versions of legislation. We owe our State Senate, especially PA champions State Senator Berry and State Senator Chandler, a great deal of gratitude. Please take a moment to call your State Senator to extend thanks on behalf of the PA profession in Massachusetts . Action Steps You can identify your State Senator, and his or her contact information, by clicking here - http://www.malegislature.gov/People/Search Call and ask to speak to your State Senator. If they are not available, ask to speak with a legislative aide. Here’s what to say: My name is ______________ and I am a physician assistant who lives in your district. I would like to thank the Senate for the changes made to the PA profession under SB2260. These changes represent the most significant and positive changes to our profession since the passage of prescriptive practice many years ago. Again, on behalf of Massachusetts ’ PAs, thank you for your support. Thank you, Heather Trafton MBA, PA-C Immediate Past President and Legislative Chair hatrafton@gmail.com This e-mail alert is being sent to you by the AAPA at the request of your state chapter. The Massachusetts Association of Physician Assistants and the American Academy of Physician Assistants: Partners in State Advocacy. [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] If you no longer wish to receive e-mail from us, please click here. [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted May 18, 2012 Moderator Share Posted May 18, 2012 excellent, congrats. those are all huge steps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KMD16 Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 What an impressive lists! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsfelder0417 Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 Score 1 for the home team! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator ventana Posted May 20, 2012 Author Moderator Share Posted May 20, 2012 Not through yet. Now house and senate have to reconcile differences might just make MA one of the best states to practice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator LT_Oneal_PAC Posted May 20, 2012 Moderator Share Posted May 20, 2012 For sure. Hope it passes because I did like Boston when I visited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LESH Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 Outstanding work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmj11 Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 You guys must have a real PA hero in the state Senate. We need a few on the federal level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hemegroup Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 F Yea!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joelseff Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 This is great news I hope the contagion spreads to the other 49 states.......starting with California? :D Sent from my myTouch_4G_Slide using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator ventana Posted November 7, 2013 Author Moderator Share Posted November 7, 2013 of course we are still behind the NP NP in this same bill had a single line that said "NPs can sign anything a phsycian can" Wow great line.... Things an NP can sign that we can't Death Certificate Certifying for home health assistance (Adlib programs paid for by MASSHEALTH) and a slew of other things...... oh MAPA is working hard on it.... we are getting closer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyblu Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 Ventana, a MAPA rep had told me (albeit in passing) that a PA can actually sign a death certificate in MA, as long as it is at some point co-signed by an MD. Is this for sure not the case? The big thing that bothers me daily is that a PA in MA cannot sign a Section 12 (involuntary psychiatric commitment) form. A police officer can sign it, a doctor, a psychologist or therapist can sign them (even those without doctorates), so why not PA's? I have written MAPA as this is a huge thing in the ED. I don't always have a nearby doc to sign the "pink paper" when I know a patient needs to stay for a psych eval. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator ventana Posted December 13, 2013 Author Moderator Share Posted December 13, 2013 Ventana, a MAPA rep had told me (albeit in passing) that a PA can actually sign a death certificate in MA, as long as it is at some point co-signed by an MD. Is this for sure not the case? The big thing that bothers me daily is that a PA in MA cannot sign a Section 12 (involuntary psychiatric commitment) form. A police officer can sign it, a doctor, a psychologist or therapist can sign them (even those without doctorates), so why not PA's? I have written MAPA as this is a huge thing in the ED. I don't always have a nearby doc to sign the "pink paper" when I know a patient needs to stay for a psych eval. PA may not sign a death certificate in Massachusetts. might be getting confused with the declaration of death which we can do. But not the certificate. Nope. We can't sign the section 12, in my ER job. I do the whole work up if I have to, then have the docs signed. Honestly I just have the Doc the patient to avoid the old game a telephone where everything gets messed up. we also are not able to sign for visiting nurse Association services VNA we also are not able to sign for any of the in-home services for which mass health pays, but a nurse practitioner can. I have been told there are forms. I'm not able to sign for workman's, I always sign him and have never heard back otherwise. Legislation has to catch up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcreek Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 Does the part saying PA's are granted primary care provider status mean they can practice independently in primary care? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator ventana Posted December 14, 2013 Author Moderator Share Posted December 14, 2013 Does the part saying PA's are granted primary care provider status mean they can practice independently in primary care? thanks for the laugh..... yes we can see as many patients as we want in a day if you call that independently..... but we still need the good old SP and agreements.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just_nelle Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 I echo your irritation with the inability to sign the Section 12, just because it is something we deal with multiple times daily in the ED. Same as you said, ventana, sometimes I (and other PA colleagues) don't even bother seeing the patients who need to be sectioned and just let the docs see them...unless they need some sort of other medical workup other than just their psych c/o. Or, it just ends up being me filling out the pink paper and then handing it over to the doc for a signature. But...we can write the order to d/c the Section 12... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paula Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 Will the MA physician society fight the bill? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator ventana Posted December 15, 2013 Author Moderator Share Posted December 15, 2013 no Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.