Submit a Witness Slip in Support of PA Modernization in Illinois

Show your support to modernization of the PA practice act by submitting a witness slip for SB3421. Here are the steps:

How does SB 3421 Update the PA Practice Act?

This legislation provides several important changes to the PA Practice Act in Illinois:

  • Creates an optimal practice pathway for experienced PAs who meet defined experience and continuing education requirements.

  • Removes the written collaborative agreement requirement for qualifying PAs who enter optimal practice.

  • Modernizes PA prescriptive authority by removing the need for physician delegation while preserving controlled substance licensing requirements.

  • Reduces administrative barriers that delay onboarding, credentialing, and deployment of PAs across healthcare settings.

  • Preserves team-based care and patient safety by maintaining collaboration, consultation, referral, employer policies, and credentialing requirements.

  • Protects local control for hospitals and employers, allowing them to continue setting privileging, scope, supervision, and practice expectations.

  • Aligns Illinois PA practice laws with modern healthcare delivery and helps keep Illinois competitive in recruiting and retaining PAs.

Why do Illinois PAs need these updates?

These updates are important for Illinois PAs for several reasons:

  • Illinois’ PA practice laws are outdated and no longer reflect how PAs are educated, trained, licensed, and utilized in modern healthcare teams.

  • Unnecessary administrative barriers delay care, slow onboarding, and make it harder for employers to deploy PAs where patients need them most.

  • Modernization helps address access-to-care challenges, especially in rural communities, underserved areas, and health professional shortage areas across Illinois.

  • PAs should be able to practice to the full extent of their education, training, and experience while remaining accountable to patient safety, professional standards, and employer credentialing requirements.

  • Illinois must stay competitive with other states that have already modernized PA practice laws and created more flexible team-based care models.

  • Modernized PA laws support—not replace—team-based care by removing outdated paperwork requirements while preserving collaboration, consultation, and hospital privileging processes.

  • Patients benefit when experienced PAs can respond efficiently, reduce bottlenecks, and help expand access across clinics, hospitals, surgical teams, and community-based settings.

  • Practice modernization strengthens the PA workforce in Illinois by improving recruitment, retention, and job opportunities for highly trained clinicians.