State Scope of Practice Legislative Update

The American College of Radiology® (ACR®) is constantly working in conjunction with state radiological chapters across the country to advocate against scope of practice (SOP) expansion by non-physician practitioners. As the majority of state legislative sessions have ended for the year, ACR’s state government relations team wanted to give an overview of the more than 100 pieces of SOP legislation in 39 different states and the District of Columbia that ACR tracked.

More than 50 bills in 24 states were introduced this year to expand the scope of practice of physician assistants (PA) by varying degrees. While most were unsuccessful, ten states did pass legislation to expand the scope of practice of PAs.

ACR also tracked more than 30 bills in 15 states that would have expanded the scope of practice of advanced practice registered nurses (APRN). As detailed in an April update, the Oklahoma State Radiological Society and the Wisconsin Radiological Society worked with other medical specialty groups to advocate for a veto by their respective governors and were ultimately successful. Only two states passed legislation to expand the scope of practice of APRNs this year.

ACR would like to thank its physician volunteers and leaders for their advocacy efforts regarding scope of practice expansion throughout the country.

ACR partners with Fiscal Note, a legislation and regulation tracking service, to provide continuous, comprehensive updates on radiology and healthcare-related legislation. For more information about state-level scope of practice expansion legislation, or if you’d like to have access to Fiscal Note, contact Dillon Harp, ACR Senior Government Relations Specialist