AAPA applauds Baucus' efforts to move forward on health care reform legislation

The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA), representing 75,000 clinically practicing physician assistants (PAs) in the United States, is very pleased that America's Healthy Future Act of 2009, produced yesterday by Senator Max Baucus, fully integrates PAs into new team-based models of care that are designed to promote primary care and the coordination of care for patients with chronic medical conditions. The bill also contains provisions to allow PAs to order skilled nursing facility care and to provide hospice care for Medicare beneficiaries, eliminating two key barriers to care for Medicare patients whose primary health care professional is a PA.

AAPA applauds Finance Committee Chair Baucus' efforts to move forward on health care reform legislation. AAPA is particularly pleased with the bill's focus on promoting wellness and prevention and in addressing health care disparities. Additionally, AAPA appreciates the bill's recognition of the critical role of PAs in our nation's health care delivery system.

"AAPA looks forward to working with both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives in enacting legislation that meets AAPA's health care reform principles," said AAPA President Stephen Hanson.

"Physician assistants are critical to expanding the ability of patients to receive quality medical care and are critical to health care reform. The Baucus bill recognizes this by removing two key barriers to care provided by PAs in Medicare and by fully integrating PAs into new models of care."

AAPA continues to work with Congress to provide access to quality, affordable, cost-effective care for all Americans; support evidence-based medicine; endorse physician-directed teams of health care professionals; and promote optimal utilization of primary care as measures that should be part of true health care reform.

The Academy also endorses medical liability reform that treats both patients and providers equitably and encourages health care professionals to apologize for adverse outcomes without increasing risk, and sustainable financing and payment mechanisms that take into account comparative effectiveness information.