Frequently Asked Questions

  • No.

    PAs want to provide care in collaboration with physicians and all members of the health care team. PAs believe that they should be responsible for the care that they provide like all other health care providers, and that they shouldn’t have their licenses tied to another clinician.

    PAs want to continue to collaborate with physicians, but in a way that makes sense for patient care at the practice level.

  • PAs are not looking to expand their scope.

    We believe that scope should be determined at the practice level based on the education, training, and experience of an individual PA. In fact, this is how scope is determined currently for hospital-based PAs and is safe, effective, and efficient.

  • Physicians undergo the most extensive and rigorous training of all healthcare providers. That’s why PAs want to continue to collaborate with physicians.

    PAs are highly skilled and rigorously trained providers who can provide much-needed care to Illinois patients. By not tethering PA licensing to individual physicians, PAs and physicians can collaborate in a way that makes sense and provides care to many Illinois patients.

  • PAs complete four years of undergraduate study followed by two to three years of graduate study in an accredited PA program before being eligible for licensure and national board certification.

    PAs can complete an additional one to two years of residency or fellowship training at the beginning of their career. PAs hold Masters degrees in medical science and some have completed a Doctorate in Medical Science (DMSc) or Ph.D.

    PAs hold their own state license, controlled substance license, and individual DEA license.

    Like physicians, PAs are required to obtain yearly continuing medical education (CME) to maintain national board certification and state licensure and are required to retake board exams every 10 years.

  • Illinois legislation hasn’t kept pace with how medicine is practiced.

    Nurse Practitioners (NP) or Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) are similarly trained to PAs. In fact, published research shows that PAs are, at minimum, equally trained to NPs.

    PAs are not seeking Full Practice Authority on par with our APRN colleagues and believe in continued collaboration with physicians. However, legislation needs to be updated to bring PAs more in line with their equally skilled APRN colleagues.

  • Simply put, under this legislation, PAs cannot directly bill for services, which prevents a PA from practicing independently.

    PAs continue to prioritize functioning as part of a healthcare team.

  • The Illinois Academy of Physician Associates is committed to advancing PA practice and expanding access to care for Illinois patients. Our current legislative priorities focus on modernizing outdated barriers that affect the greatest number of PAs and patients today, including reducing administrative friction, improving workforce stability, and enabling PAs to practice to the full extent of their education and training within team-based care.

    That focus should not be interpreted as opposition to PA-owned practices.

    In Illinois, “PA-owned practice” is not simply a policy preference; it intersects with multiple other frameworks (corporate practice of medicine rules, payer credentialing, facility licensing, supervision/collaboration structures, liability coverage, and scope-specific regulations) that can create complexity and unintended consequences if pursued as a primary legislative vehicle.

    Our responsibility is to advocate for changes that are:

    • Clinically safe and accountable for patients

    • Legally durable and implementable under Illinois’ broader regulatory environment

    • Politically achievable in a way that protects the overall modernization effort

    • High-impact for access to care across health systems, community clinics, and underserved areas

    In short: we’re not closing the door on innovative practice models. We are choosing a strategy that maximizes near-term, statewide benefit while strengthening the profession’s standing and protecting reforms from being derailed by more polarizing issues. As the landscape evolves — and as we build broader coalition support — IAPA remains open to continuing that discussion in a thoughtful, evidence-based way.