09/29/2025
Inside OAPA’s Ongoing Work to Strengthen PA Practice in Ohio
Over the last several weeks, your OAPA Government Affairs team and lobbyists have been fully engaged on multiple fronts, making significant strides toward advancing PA priorities across Ohio's healthcare landscape.
Our efforts have spanned executive agencies, legislative stakeholders, and regulatory boards, all with one unified goal to ensure that Ohio PAs are empowered to practice at the top of our training and deliver the care Ohioans need.
Ohio Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services
We sat down once again with ODMHAS leadership to continue educating them on PA education, reimbursement pathways, and the critical value PAs bring to the behavioral health workforce initiative.
We are knocking on doors, and stakeholders are answering.
State Medical Board of Ohio
We continued our dialogue around modernizing PA practice laws, eliminating outdated PA practice policies, and restructuring the Physician Assistant Policy Committee (PAPC) so that it represents and adds value to PA licensure and practice and is more than just a procedural formality. Further, our Executive Director attended the September SMBO board meeting, during which OAPA’s presence was formally acknowledged and appreciated by the SMBO Director.
We are showing up, and decisionmakers are noticing.
House Bill 353 — The PA Title Change Bill
We met with our legislative sponsors to underscore why the title change is critical, not only for practicing PAs and PA students, but for public understanding, workforce expansion, and long-term professional accuracy grounded in more than five decades of PA history and data. We highlighted that graduates from Ohio's 17 PA programs are entering a workforce where their job title does not match their level of training or the responsibility they hold. Health systems already recognize and promote PAs as high-autonomy medical providers with advanced procedural and clinical capabilities. Yet, the outdated term "assistant" diminishes public perception and fails to reflect modern healthcare reality. The discussion was very encouraging, and we now look forward to sponsor testimony scheduled for October 1 before the House Health Committee.
We are advancing priorities, and lawmakers are listening.
Other Notable Activities
We are continuing to refine statutory language for a PA practice modernization bill and remain closely aligned with AAPA and key state agencies to ensure transparency and accuracy as we progress. More details to come very soon.
Lastly, we closely monitor many active bills while remaining focused on our priorities. Visit our website to follow along with us.
What's Next?
All eyes are on Ohio PA Advocacy Day at the Statehouse on October 22.
There will be nearly 100 practicing PAs and PA students on the ground in force, amplifying three core messages:
- Ohio PAs have the education and training to provide the high-quality, accessible, and cost-effective patient care that Ohioans deserve.
- Ohio must advance the PA title change to reflect our level of competence, experience, and leadership.
- Ohio must modernize PA practice laws to unlock workforce potential and improve access to care.
Because at the end of the day, this isn't just about our profession. It's about making sure Ohioans get the high-quality care they deserve.
Matthew Freado, MBA, PA-C, is the Government Affairs Committee Chair of the Ohio Association of Physician Assistants.
The Government Affairs Committee supports the profession through advancing PA legislative priorities and removing barriers to practice. Please consider sharing your story about how PA practice law impacts you or providing financial support to advance PA advocacy via the OAPA Legislative Fund.