{"id":37,"date":"2026-05-14T15:06:26","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T15:06:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/?p=37"},"modified":"2026-05-14T15:06:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T15:06:26","slug":"alaska-legislature-formalizes-rules-for-physician-assistants-working-within-the-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/?p=37","title":{"rendered":"Alaska Legislature formalizes rules for physician assistants working within the state"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Physician assistants may soon be able to operate more independently in Alaska, if Gov. Mike Dunleavy approves a bill passed Friday by the Alaska Legislature.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Alaska lawmakers raise education lawsuit conflict concern for attorney general designee<\/a><\/p>\n

PAs currently operate many clinics in rural Alaska, but their duties have generally been described in state regulation, not law. That <\/span>caused problems<\/span> in 2023, when the state medical board <\/span>proposed significantly restricting them<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The board withdrew that proposal soon after it was introduced, but state lawmakers subsequently acted to protect physician assistants from further interference by advancing <\/span>Senate Bill 89<\/span>, which would put PAs into state law and allow them to act more independently.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The bill was written using model legislation and it has <\/span>the support<\/span> of the Alaska State Medical Association.<\/span><\/p>\n

In <\/span>an 18-2 vote<\/span> on Friday, the Alaska Senate finalized SB 89 and sent it to Gov. Mike Dunleavy for veto or approval. The state House approved it by <\/span>a 38-2 vote<\/span> on Thursday.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Alaska Legislature considers exempting some Native corporations from public disclosure<\/a><\/p>\n

Physician assistants are not doctors but in Alaska must have a cooperative agreement with a doctor in order to work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SB 89 would remove that requirement if a PA works in a facility licensed by the Alaska Department of Health. If a PA works in a non-licensed facility, they will still need to meet the requirement.<\/span><\/p>\n

State legislatures across the United States <\/span>have been moving to encourage their work<\/span> in an attempt to lower health care costs more generally.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Alaska prosecutors charge man with multiple felonies for allegedly starting summer 2025 wildfire<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Physician assistants operate in medical facilities across Alaska, and a new bill would give them more independence from doctors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"yoast_head":"\nAlaska Legislature formalizes rules for physician assistants working within the state - Moving to Alaska<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/?p=37\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Alaska Legislature formalizes rules for physician assistants working within the state - 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