Physician assistants could use an interstate licensing compact

Participating states would recognize a qualifying physician assistant license through a compact privilege to practice for patients in another participating state. The privilege would cover physician assistants with an unrestricted license from a participating state who practice for patients located in another participating state. Applicants would need to meet education, certification, criminal-history, licensing, and other eligibility requirements. Applicants would need to notify the compact commission, satisfy the remote state's legal-knowledge requirement, and pay applicable fees. The physician assistant would remain subject to the remote state's laws and licensing board, including rules for controlled-substance prescribing. The compact would take effect only when seven states have enacted it; a privilege would last until the qualifying license expires or is revoked, subject to adverse-action limits.

An employer would not be allowed to require a New Mexico-licensed physician assistant to use the interstate compact as a condition of employment. The rule would apply to employers and physician assistants licensed in New Mexico under the Physician Assistant Act. An employer could still require a physician assistant to hold licenses in several states if the worker may obtain and keep those licenses through any method allowed by each state's law. The employment rule would apply if the act takes effect; the supplied text does not state a separate start date.

The New Mexico medical board would handle compact-related oversight, public postings, joint investigations, and state and federal fingerprint-based background checks for license applicants. The duties would cover New Mexico's medical board, its appointed compact commissioners, physician assistant license applicants, and joint investigations involving other state medical boards. The board would keep criminal-history reports confidential and could not share that information across state lines. Joint investigations would require a written agreement with the other boards. The board could not issue a joint-investigation subpoena that conflicts with New Mexico's reproductive and gender-affirming care protections. The board's public website would need to post certain commission actions within thirty days; the supplied text does not give a separate start date for the other duties.