HB 341: "An Act relating to physician assistants; and providing for an effective date."
00HOUSE BILL NO. 341 01 "An Act relating to physician assistants; and providing for an effective date." 02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 03 * Section 1. AS 21.36.090(d) is amended to read: 04 (d) Except to the extent necessary to comply with AS 21.42.365 and AS 21.56, 05 a person may not practice or permit unfair discrimination against a person who 06 provides a service covered under a group disability policy that extends coverage on an 07 expense incurred basis, or under a group service or indemnity type contract issued by 08 a nonprofit corporation, if the service is within the scope of the provider's occupational 09 license. In this subsection, "provider" means a state licensed physician, physician 10 assistant, dentist, osteopath, optometrist, chiropractor, nurse midwife, advanced nurse 11 practitioner, naturopath, physical therapist, occupational therapist, psychologist, 12 psychological associate, [OR] licensed clinical social worker, or certified direct-entry 13 midwife. 14 * Sec. 2. AS 23.30.265(24) is amended to read:
01 (24) "physician" includes doctors of medicine, surgeons, physician 02 assistants, chiropractors, osteopaths, dentists, and optometrists; 03 * Sec. 3. AS 28.10.495(c) is amended to read: 04 (c) Proof of disablement or medical handicap, for the purpose of this section, 05 shall be the same as that required for the purposes of AS 28.10.181(d), except that, 06 for purposes of this section, the person's ability to walk under 23 C.F.R. 1235.2 07 may be determined by a physician assistant registered under AS 08.64. 08 * Sec. 4. AS 47.07.030(b) is amended to read: 09 (b) In addition to the mandatory services specified in (a) of this section, the 10 department may offer only the following optional services: case management and 11 nutrition services for pregnant women; personal care services in a recipient's home; 12 emergency hospital services; long-term care noninstitutional services; medical supplies 13 and equipment; advanced nurse practitioner services; physician assistant services; 14 clinic services; rehabilitative services for substance abusers and emotionally disturbed 15 or chronically mentally ill adults; targeted case management services for substance 16 abusers, chronically mentally ill adults, and severely emotionally disturbed persons 17 under the age of 21; inpatient psychiatric facility services for individuals age 65 or 18 older and individuals under age 21; psychologists' services; clinical social workers' 19 services; midwife services; prescribed drugs; physical therapy; occupational therapy; 20 chiropractic services; low-dose mammography screening, as defined in 21 AS 21.42.375(e); hospice care; treatment of speech, hearing, and language disorders; 22 adult dental services; prosthetic devices and eyeglasses; optometrists' services; 23 intermediate care facility services, including intermediate care facility services for the 24 mentally retarded; skilled nursing facility services for individuals under age 21; and 25 reasonable transportation to and from the point of medical care. 26 * Sec. 5. AS 47.07.035 is amended to read: 27 Sec. 47.07.035. PRIORITY OF MEDICAL ASSISTANCE. If the department 28 finds that the cost of medical assistance for all persons eligible under this chapter will 29 exceed the amount allocated in the state budget for that assistance for the fiscal year, 30 the department shall eliminate coverage for optional medical services and optionally 31 eligible groups of individuals in the following order:
01 (1) midwife services; 02 (2) clinical social workers' services; 03 (3) psychologists' services; 04 (4) chiropractic services; 05 (5) advanced nurse practitioner services; 06 (6) physician assistant services; 07 (7) adult dental services; 08 (8) [(7)] emergency hospital services; 09 (9) [(8)] treatment of speech, hearing, and language disorders; 10 (10) [(9)] optometrists' services and eyeglasses; 11 (11) [(10)] occupational therapy; 12 (12) [(11)] mammography screening; 13 (13) [(12)] prosthetic devices; 14 (14) [(13)] medical supplies and equipment; 15 (15) [(14)] targeted case management services; 16 (16) [(15)] rehabilitative services for substance abusers and emotionally 17 disturbed or chronically mentally ill adults; 18 (17) [(16)] clinic services; 19 (18) [(17)] physical therapy; 20 (19) [(18)] personal care services in a recipient's home; 21 (20) [(19)] prescribed drugs; 22 (21) [(20)] hospice care; 23 (22) [(21) long-term care noninstitutional services; 24 (23) [(22)] inpatient psychiatric facility services; 25 (24) [(23)] intermediate care facility services for the mentally retarded; 26 (25) [(24)] intermediate care facility services; 27 (26) [(25)] individuals described in AS 47.07.020(b)(11); 28 (27) [(26)] individuals under age 21 who are not eligible for benefits 29 under the federal aid to families with dependent children program because they are not 30 deprived of one or more of their natural or adoptive parents; 31 (28) [(27)] skilled nursing facility services for persons under age 21;
01 (29) [(28)] aged, blind, and disabled individuals who, because they do 02 not meet the income requirements, do not receive supplemental security income under 03 Title XVI of the Social Security Act, but who are eligible, or would be eligible if they 04 were not in a skilled nursing facility or intermediate care facility, to receive an 05 optional state supplementary payment; 06 (30) [(29)] individuals in a hospital, skilled nursing facility, or 07 intermediate care facility whose income while in the facility does not exceed 300 08 percent of the supplemental security income benefit rate under Title XVI of the Social 09 Security Act, but who, because of income, are not eligible for the optional state 10 supplementary payment; 11 (31) [(30)] individuals under age 21 under supervision of the 12 department [,] for whom maintenance is being paid in whole or in part from public 13 money and who are in foster homes or private child-care institutions; 14 (32) [(31)] individuals under age 21 who the department has determined 15 cannot be placed for adoption without medical assistance because of a special need for 16 medical or rehabilitative care and who the department has determined are hard-to-place 17 children eligible for subsidy under AS 25.23.190 - 25.23.220. 18 * Sec. 6. AS 47.07.900 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 19 (20) "physician assistant services" means services furnished by a person 20 who is registered as a physician assistant under AS 08.64.107 that are within the scope 21 of the person's registered authority. 22 * Sec. 7. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).