The Governor’s proposal now moves into negotiations with the State Senate and Assembly. During this period, language may be revised, expanded, narrowed, or removed entirely before the final state budget is passed.

At the same time, our stand-alone legislation — A.7988/S.7981 — continues to be present in the legislative process independently of the budget. These bills represent years of thoughtful collaboration with our sponsors, stakeholders, and policymakers. The language has been carefully refined to ensure clarity, consistency, and long-term statutory alignment.

Why does that matter? 
Budget language can address policy direction, but stand-alone legislation provides detailed statutory updates that offer lasting structure and clarity. Together, they create stability and predictability for our profession and for the patients we serve.

Our goal is straightforward: 
We hope to remain in the final state budget while continuing to utilize the language in our stand-alone bills A.7988/S.7981 — ensuring that any modernization efforts reflect the carefully developed language we have worked on for years. Modernizing the PA profession is not about expanding beyond our training; It is about removing outdated administrative requirements so PAs can practice at the top of their existing education and experience — improving efficiency, reducing delays, and strengthening access to care across New York.

This is an important moment in the process. Inclusion in the Executive Budget reflects progress.

We will continue working closely with the Governor’s office and our bill sponsors to ensure modernization efforts are thoughtful, consistent, and centered on patient care.

What does this legislation mean for PA Students?

For PA students, this legislation would not have any immediate impact on your education, clinical training, or transition into practice. The criteria outlined in the proposed legislation apply specifically to experienced PAs practicing in designated specialty areas. These provisions are intended for professionals who have already completed their training and have accumulated the required clinical experience in their field. In other words, this legislation does not change educational requirements or affect current PA students. Instead, it focuses on modernizing practice parameters for established PAs in certain areas of medicine, ensuring that experienced clinicians can continue to deliver care efficiently and effectively within their scope.

What does this legislation mean for PAs?

Central NY District Director, Chris Torell, MS, PA-C, CPT, hosted a February district dinner with CNY PAs and PA students - a reminder that this is showing up! Thank you to all our district directors for hosting district events for our members!

When we think of advocacy, we might picture Lobby Day in Albany — walking the halls, sitting across from legislative staff and lawmakers, making the case for our profession.

And this year, Albany went virtual, but our message stayed loud and clear. And that’s the point. Advocacy isn’t just about being physically in Albany. It’s about showing up — wherever
you are. It’s maintaining your NYSSPA membership even when your schedule feels impossible.

It’s attending a district dinner when you can. It’s explaining to a patient what a PA is. It’s mentoring a PA student. It’s encouraging a colleague to get involved. Every one of those actions strengthens our profession and you can do those anytime!

Join or Renew Today!

There are more than 24,000 licensed PAs in New York State. NYSSPA works every single
day on behalf of all of them — and for the future PAs who will follow us. Our legislative advocacy, regulatory work, and professional protection benefit the entire profession.

And yet, our membership represents just over 1,400 PAs. Imagine the impact if even a fraction more joined. Our influence, credibility, and negotiating power grow with every additional PA who stands behind NYSSPA.

Advocacy is supporting your profession, your colleagues, and the future of healthcare in
New York for our patients. Through your membership — you are part of something bigger- and together, our voices are powerful.

HERE’S WHAT WE NEED YOU TO DO & HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR EFFORTS:

• Submit your comment here now (it takes just a few minutes) and goes directly to the Department of Education. Your comment should be personal and substantively different from others. Regulators give more weight to individualized stories than to copied form letters.
  
  
• Include details about:
  • How loans made PA school possible for you
  • The sacrifices you made to finance your education
    
  • How you serve patients today
  • If you’re a student or pre-PA: how this rule would affect your ability to enter the profession
  • Explore more ways to engage

• For background, talking points, and additional advocacy opportunities, visit AAPA’s one-stop resource hub on student loans. This page includes everything you need to understand the issue and maximize your impact.

This proposed rule is inconsistent with federal law and threatens to deter qualified students from entering healthcare at a time of severe workforce shortages.

Nothing is more powerful than thousands of PAs speaking in their own words.

Thank you for standing up for PA students, the PA workforce, and the patients who depend on us.

Learn more at www.pasforpatients.org. 

• PAEA Campaign: Send a letter to your member of Congress asking them to ensure PA student access to professional student loans.
  
• Sign and Share AAPA’s Petition: We are asking as many PAs, PA students, and aspiring PAs as possible to sign AAPA's petition to the Department of Education urging them to revise this proposal. We need a strong showing of public outcry for change, so please share the petition and letter with colleagues, PA students, and aspiring PAs in your networks.
  
• Share Your Personal Experience: AAPA is collecting personal stories from those willing to share why student loans were essential to their education and what it would mean if future students could not access the funds needed to cover their training. Your voices and stories will help AAPA put a human face on this issue and show the Department what’s truly at stake for the country's workforce and the communities PAs serve.

• Sign and Share AAPA’s Petition: We are asking as many PAs, PA students, and aspiring PAs as possible to sign AAPA's petition to the Department of Education urging them to revise this proposal. We need a strong showing of public outcry for change, so please share the petition and letter with colleagues, PA students, and aspiring PAs in your networks and encourage them to sign, too.
  
  
• Share Your Personal Experience: AAPA is also collecting personal stories from those willing to share why student loans were essential to their education and what it would mean if future students could not access the funds needed to cover their training. Your voices and stories will help AAPA put a human face on this issue and show the Department what’s truly at stake for the country's workforce and the patients PAs serve. 

AAPA is actively monitoring the situation as it develops and exploring all possible avenues available to ensure PA programs are recognized as professional degrees, and that future PAs can access the education they need to serve their communities.

“The New York State Society of PAs (NYSSPA) strongly urges lawmakers to take meaningful action by supporting A.7988/S.7981 during the 2026 Legislative Session – a crucial piece of legislation that would modernize PA practice in New York. This bill would remove unnecessary supervision requirements for PAs employed by hospitals and health systems, as well as for those working in primary care.

“Such a change is not only timely but evidence based. Research consistently shows that PAs are instrumental in alleviating the healthcare workforce shortage, particularly in rural and medically underserved areas. More than just filling gaps, PAs foster trusted, long-term relationships with patients – relationships that are essential for delivering preventive care, managing chronic conditions, and improving health outcomes. New York’s PAs are trained to diagnose and treat patients, and doing so in the early stages of a patient’s disease state could realize millions in cost savings to delivery systems while increasing a patient’s quality of life.

“By passing A.7988/S.7981, New York has the opportunity to empower PAs to practice to the full extent of their training and experience – and in doing so, help ensure that no community is left behind when it comes to access to care.”

Several (but not all) of the approved electronic submission partners will accept paper CMS-1500 forms and convert them to electronic on your behalf. If this is something you need, please discuss with your prospective submission partner. If you choose to work with a submission partner that converts paper bills to electronic bills, complying with the Board’s mandate may be as simple as changing the address to where you currently mail your paper bills. If you currently work with a billing clearinghouse, you can contact them to see if they work (or can work) with a Board-approved submission partner.

Please note: When you begin working with an electronic submission partner, you will no longer send your CMS-1500 forms and associated medical narratives to the Board. The electronic submission partner MUST submit the form and narrative on your behalf to both the payer and the Board.

COST OFFSET
Providers can offset the cost of electronic submission by using CPT code 99080 on the CMS-1500 form. The price entered for this code should reflect the actual cost of electronic submission of the individual bill (based on your agreement with your chosen electronic submission partner), up to a maximum of one dollar. When adding code 99080 to the CMS-1500 form, input the last date the patient received services listed on the form (do not use the date of billing). Payers who do not properly reimburse health care providers for CPT code 99080 may be subject to penalties from the Board. Read more in the June 30, 2025, notice.

DENIAL OF PAPER BILLS
If you submit a paper CMS-1500 bill on or after August 1, 2025, the payer will not send you payment Instead, the payer will send an Explanation of Benefits or Explanation of Reimbursement that references CARC 16/RARC N34 codes, which indicates your bill was not submitted electronically. In order to be paid, you MUST resubmit the bill to the payer electronically through an approved electronic submission partner within 120 days from the day medical care was rendered.

CMS-1500 WEBINARS
The Board is hosting webinars on electronic submission through July. These one-hour sessions provide an overview of the mandate and include time at the end for participant questions. Visit the Upcoming Webinars section of the website to find a date that works for you.

MORE INFORMATION
Visit wcb.ny.gov/CMS-1500.

The What Payers Need to Know and What Providers Need to Know sections of the Board’s website walk payers and providers through getting started in the workers’ compensation system. Each section also features important updates for payers and providers.

If you have not already done so, be sure to sign up to receive Board news straight to your inbox, including updates on the progress of this initiative, upcoming webinars, and more.

Questions? Email CMS1500@wcb.ny.gov

Why Be a Preceptor? Mentorship Joy: Being a preceptor allows you to guide and shape future PAs. Seeing your students grow and develop into competent, compassionate healthcare providers is incredibly rewarding. Their enthusiasm can also reignite your own passion for the field. Lifelong Connections: You’ll build lasting relationships with your students, which often evolve into professional friendships. Your guidance will leave a lasting impact, appreciated for years to come. Staying Current: Teaching keeps you updated with the latest medical advancements and best practices, enhancing your own clinical practice. Personal Growth: Being a preceptor is a step in your professional development, showcasing leadership and dedication. These qualities are highly regarded in the healthcare community.

Your mentorship ensures that new graduates are well-prepared to meet the demands of the healthcare industry, leading to better patient care and improved health outcomes.

How to Get Started: If you’re ready to become a preceptor, reach out to your local PA programs or visit their websites for information on how to volunteer. Most programs provide resources and support to help you succeed in your new role. Being a PA preceptor is more than just teaching—it’s an opportunity to give back, inspire, and shape the future of our profession. The rewards are immense, both personally and professionally. So, why not take that next step and say, “Yes, sign me up for students!”

Amanda S. Lois, MSPAS, PA-C SUNY Upstate Medical University

The PA field in general is fairly young. Nurses and physicians have a clear pathway to leadership positions, whereas we are just starting to see PAs in roles outside of Chief PA or Director of PA services, such as Quality and Patient Safety (Managers, Directors, CQO) COO, etc. If you are passionate about any role outside of the clinical PA world, don’t let the fact that a PA has never been in that role before stop you from applying and showing folks how capable and knowledgeable PAs are. We have to keep striving for these hospital leadership positions to make sure that PAs always have a seat at the table.

Can you share a challenge you faced in your career and how you overcame it?

In my personal career a challenge that I have faced is that many of the positions I’ve applied for have been roles where PAs have not been in them before. I was lucky enough to have had a mentor who believed I would be good on the administrative side of hospitals. That mentor gave me an opportunity in quality and patient safety and that’s why I continue to give other PAs opportunities.

What are some key trends or changes you foresee in the future of the PA profession?

I may be biased in my answer, but again at rend that I am extremely happy to see is more and more PAs in hospital leadership positions. 

Outside of your professional life, what hobbies or activities help you stay balanced and energized? 

Outside of work, I enjoy traveling, exploring different cuisines, and I am an avid DIY enthusiast. I love to design and build furniture and tackle home improvement projects.

The PA Leader of NY series is brought to you from the NYSSPA Leadership Committee, chaired by Erin Sherer, EdD, PA-C, RD. To nominate a PA for this feature, please email us at leadership@nysspa.org with he nominee’s name and a brief description of their contributions.

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More than 23,000 PAs licensed in New York State are providing preventive health services, diagnosing illnesses, developing and managing treatment plans, prescribing medications, and often serving as a patient’s principal healthcare provider. PAs practice in primary care, all surgical specialties, critical care, rural health, hospice, telehealth, palliative medicine and mental health. 

Media Contact: Leanne Politi

• S.9038-A/A.8378-A – Increases MD to PA ratios in private physician practices and Department of Corrections and Community Supervision facilities, allows PAs to write durable medical equipment in hospitals, allows PAs to write non-patient specific standing orders, and removes the physician name/NPI requirement from prescriptions written by PAs.
• S.8470-A/A.8247-C – Allows PAs to supervise radiologic technologists that administer intravenous contrast media.
• S.8561/A.8232-A – Expands eligibility for appointment to county boards of health and health services advisory boards to include PAs.

More than 23,000 PAs licensed in New York State are providing preventive health services, diagnosing illnesses, developing and managing treatment plans, prescribing medications, and often serving as a patient’s principal healthcare provider. PAs practice in primary care, all surgical specialties, critical care, rural health, hospice, telehealth, palliative medicine and mental health. 

“Scope creep” campaign is undermining efforts to enhance patient care and address systemic healthcare challenges.

September 26, 2024 - The New York State Society of PAs (NYSSPA) today sent a letter to the Medical Society of the State of New York (MSSNY) urging them to end their “scope creep” campaign. The letter invites MSSNY to join PAs in a meaningful dialogue in advance of this year’s legislative session to ensure we work together to address critical issues facing healthcare providers and patients.

NYSSPA has been advocating for the legislature to empower PAs to practice to the full extent of their education and training by removing administrative barriers to practice. Six other states have enacted laws modernizing practice to allow decisions to be made at that practice level rather than a legal requirement for a specific relationship between a PA and any other healthcare provider.  

PAs are not asking to practice independently or to increase their scope of practice; they are asking to be given the ability to address the needs of today’s diverse patient population. PAs did just that during the COVID-19 public health emergency. For three years, PAs served the sickest patients without the requirement for supervision under gubernatorial executive orders. Patients and their families benefited and there were no untoward outcomes. Current law does not reflect the way modern medicine is practiced in teams with multiple providers relying on each other’s expertise to best meet the needs of patients. Actions connected to the "scope creep" campaign have created unnecessary barriers to expanding patient access to care.

“PAs play an indispensable role in addressing healthcare disparities and ensuring equitable access to care. The campaign against “scope creep” is a thinly veiled effort to maintain outdated practices rather than confronting the urgent issues we face. This unfounded campaign perpetuates division and undermines our collective ability to provide high-quality care. We strongly urge MSSNY to continue discussions and collaborate with NYSSPA and other stakeholders to address the pressing workforce issues within our healthcare system,” said Jonathan Sobel, President, New York State Society of PAs. 

New York State is home to more than 20,000 licensed PAs who provide preventive health services, diagnosing illness, develop and manage treatment plans, prescribe medications, and often serve as patients’ principal healthcare providers. PAs practice in primary care, all surgical specialties, critical care, rural health, hospice, telehealth, palliative medicine, and mental health. These healthcare professionals provide high-quality care and have similar health outcomes as physicians, with the ability to see patients of all ages, in any setting or any specialty. On top of that, 40% of primary care PAs work in Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) across the state. The NYS Department of Labor projects that the number of jobs for PAs in the state will increase by 40% by 2030.

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