Alaska Legislature formalizes rules for physician assistants working within the state

A medical document and stethoscope are seen in an undated photo. (Getty Images)

By James Brooks

Alaska Beacon

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.

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

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

The bill was written using model legislation and it has the support of the Alaska State Medical Association.

In an 18-2 vote 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 a 38-2 vote on Thursday.

Physician assistants are not doctors but in Alaska must have a cooperative agreement with a doctor in order to work. 

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.

State legislatures across the United States have been moving to encourage their work in an attempt to lower health care costs more generally.

• James Brooks Cascade is a longtime Alaska reporter who lives in Juneau. He previously worked at the Anchorage Daily News, Juneau Empire, Kodiak Mirror and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Alaska Beacon is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.