Massachusetts' legislative session is in full swing, and the Massachusetts Association of PAs (MAPA) is supporting three key pieces of legislation! We need your help - please email your state senator and representative asking them to support these bills.

 What these bills do:

• An act relative to removing barriers to care for physician assistants (H2371/S1502). This bill would remove the requirement that PAs have to file a supervising physician with the state, allowing supervision arrangements to be determined at the practice level. It would make permanent a temporary Executive Order issued by the Baker Administration during the COVID-19 state of emergency, which helped increase access to healthcare provided by PAs and had no adverse impacts.
• An act enabling physician assistants to authorize psychiatric holds and ensure adequate training on their use (H2206/S1387). This bill would add PAs to the Section 12 statute, allowing them to authorize psychiatric emergency holds when the patient is a threat to themselves or others. This bill will help ensure the safety of patients and reduce the criminalization and escalation of mental health crises. It would also require mandated training for all providers to authorize this type of hold.
• An act relative to physician assistant interstate compact (H2531/S1608). This bill would have Massachusetts join the 19 other states currently participating in the PA licensure compact. It would allow PAs licensed in Massachusetts to practice in other member states, and PAs licensed in those states to practice in the Commonwealth. PAs practicing in Massachusetts, even if licensed by another state, would still be required to follow all state regulatory or statutory requirements for practice in the Commonwealth.

How you can help:

• Using the pre-written message we have provided, send an email to your Massachusetts state senator and representative asking them to support these bills.
• Please customize this message using your own personal story. The more personal your message is, the better! Please add information about how these bills could help you and your practice.

Thank you for your advocacy efforts!