Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, states around the country, including Arizona, temporarily removed harmful barriers on telehealth and the scope of practice of health care professionals to expand the capacity of health care providers to care for infected patients.
Policymakers should make these reforms permanent and enact other reforms to strengthen Arizona’s capacity to address its long-term health care challenges. Together, this series of reforms makes up what Americans for Prosperity refers to as the Personal Option™.
When it comes to health care, there is no one magic solution. Arizonans are desperate for increased access to quality, affordable health care. Arizona currently has a shortage of 560 primary care physicians and will require an additional 1,941 by the end of the decade due to factors like population increases, rising rates of chronic disease, and the aging of our existing population.
Considering the circumstances, Arizona needs to approach this crisis with patients in mind, not the government or the special interests who benefit from complex rules and regulations.
This legislative session, AFP Arizona is focusing on:
S.B. 1249 (International medical graduates; licensure)
• This bill would make it easier for highly qualified doctors trained in other countries to practice medicine in Arizona.
H.B. 2043 (Physician assistants; supervision; collaboration)
• This bill would follow the lead of other states, where trained and highly experienced physician’s assistant are freed from burdensome regulations that require unnecessary supervision for PA’s to perform medical treatments they are already trained and licensed to perform.