Honorable Dan Patrick, Lieutenant Governor, Senate Honorable Joe Straus, Speaker of the House, House of Representatives
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB1625 by Uresti (Relating to the Texas Physician Assistant Board and the licensing and regulation of physician assistants.), Conference Committee Report
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would amend the Occupations Code relating to the Texas Physician Assistant Board and the licensing and regulation of physician assistants. The bill would permit the physician assistant board to conduct deliberations relating to a license application or disciplinary action in an executive session. The bill would amend the training requirements of the physician assistant board members and would require the executive director of the Texas Medical Board (TMB) to create a training manual.
The bill would amend the eligibility requirements for a physician assistant license. Under the provisions of the bill, the physician assistant board would be permitted to refuse to renew a license if the license holder was in violation of a board order. The bill would prohibit suspending or discriminating against certain individuals under the provisions of the bill. The bill would modify requirements of an informal meeting to include at lease one licensed physician assistant as a panelist. The bill would permit the board to extend the validity of a physician assistant license issued by the TMB for a term of two or more years through board rule.
The bill would require that certain applicants for licensure submit fingerprints to the board or the Department of Public Safety (DPS) for the purpose of a criminal history record check from the Department of Public Safety and Federal Bureau of Investigation. The bill would allow the board to enter into an agreement with DPS to administer the criminal history check and authorize DPS to collect from applicants an amount to cover the costs incurred by the agency in conducting the criminal history check. The bill would require all current licensees who have not undergone a criminal history check to do so by September 1, 2019.
The bill would add minimum contents of a prescriptive authority agreement and would specify the frequency and contents of certain periodic meetings.
If the TMB interprets the provisions of the bill as allowing physician assistants to prescribe Schedule II controlled substances under delegation on an outpatient basis, there could be additional costs if there were an overall increase in prescriptions; however, it is assumed any increased costs would be offset by the lower reimbursement for physician assistants and avoidance of higher cost services.
The Comptroller of Public Accounts estimates that the change in timing of renewals could affect the timing of fee collections; however, since a renewal schedule would be determined by TMB rule the effect on revenue over the biennium cannot be determined.
Due to the provisions of the bill requiring finger-print based background checks of licensees, it is assumed there would be revenue gain in Appropriated Receipts at the Department of Public Safety, however the revenue gain is not anticipated to be significant.
The Department of Public Safety, the Health and Human Services Commission, Department of State Health Services, Texas Medical Board and the Board of Pharmacy anticipate any additional work resulting from the passage of the bill could be reasonably absorbed within current resources.
Local Government Impact
No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.
Source Agencies:
304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 405 Department of Public Safety, 503 Texas Medical Board, 515 Board of Pharmacy, 529 Health and Human Services Commission, 537 State Health Services, Department of