Close to 100 physician assistants (PAs) and PA students from across the state are expected to gather at the South Carolina State House today to advocate for legislative changes they argue are vital to addressing the state’s critical shortage of medical providers.
The annual “PA Day at the Capitol,” organized by the South Carolina Academy of Physician Assistants (SCAPA), focuses on educating lawmakers about the barriers to care caused by current regulatory frameworks. With roughly 3,500 licensed PAs in South Carolina, advocates maintain that this workforce is underutilized at a time when 41 of the state’s 46 counties are officially designated as Health Professional Shortage Areas.
Pushing for Practice Modernization
The centerpiece of the legislative push is S. 44 (and its companion House bill H. 3579), known as the PA Modernization Bill. The proposal seeks to eliminate the requirement for experienced PAs—defined as those with at least 2,000 hours of clinical practice—to maintain a formal, state-mandated supervisory agreement with a physician.
Instead, the bill would transition the profession to a collaborative model. Advocates argue that the current “supervisory tether” creates significant administrative delays and hiring hurdles, particularly for small clinics in rural communities that struggle to find physicians willing or able to sign off on the paperwork.
Streamlining Care in Rural Districts
Representative Heath Sessions, who chairs a key House medical subcommittee, is currently drafting additional measures to further streamline PA practice. The goal of these upcoming proposals is to allow PAs to work at the full extent of their education and training, which many in the industry say is the only viable way to reach the nearly 90% of South Carolinians living in areas with insufficient healthcare access.
Supporting the Educational Pipeline
The rally also highlighted the robust educational system for PAs in South Carolina, which includes programs at:
-
The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC)
-
University of South Carolina (USC)
-
Charleston Southern University
-
North Greenville University
-
Presbyterian College
By removing barriers to practice, SCAPA hopes to retain more graduates from these programs within the state. Currently, many new PAs are drawn to neighboring states like North Carolina, which recently modernized its own practice laws to allow for more flexible, team-based care models.
Sign up for our Sunday Spectator. Delivered to your inbox every Sunday, with all the news from the week.
