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After a long, hard-fought advocacy battle, we are disappointed to report that due to constitutional time restraints and a lack of political will, Kentucky Senate Leadership has decided to once again block the movement of House Bill 93. We know the below message is lengthy, but we encourage you to take a moment to read it in its entirety to fully understand where we are and where we plan to be in the future.

As the momentum picked up during the legislative session kicking off in January, KAPA had at least seven representatives from our Government Affairs team in Frankfort almost every day meeting with legislators and stakeholders. Every legislator we met with gave us their full support and indicated we would find similar support once our bill made it to the full House for a vote.

On April 2, 2018 Governor Matt Bevin signed HB 81 into law which amends KRS 189.456 to include physician assistants on the list of licensed professionals allowed to issue temporary accessible parking placards.

A special thank you to Representatives Jerry Miller (R) and Wesley Morgan (R) who sponsored this important legislation for PAs.

On April 2, 2018 HB 497, which amends KRS 202A.011 to include physician assistants on the list of individuals able to serve as qualified mental health professionals, was signed by signed by the Speaker of the House, the President of the Senate and delivered to Governor for signature. The bill was signed into law on April 13, 2018 by Governor Matt Bevin.

A special thank you to Representatives Daniel Elliott (R) and Steve Riggs (D) who sponsored this important legislation for PAs.

Lexington, KY., February 10, 2017 – As the only state currently not allowing patients to take advantage of PAs (physician assistants) training in prescribing medications the Kentucky Academy of Physician Assistants (KAPA) is actively supporting Senate Bill 55, which will allow PAs to prescribe Schedule II-V medications.

Frank Romanelli, Pharm.D., MPH, FAPhA, BCPS, AAHIVP, Professor of Pharmacy and Associate Dean at the University of Kentucky applauded the proposed measure citing the fact that, “PA students receive extensive clinical training on how to diagnose and treat illnesses and injuries by knowledgably administering controlled medications.”