Joint Statement Opposing House Bill 4715

The West Virginia State Medical Association, West Virginia Osteopathic Medical Association, West Virginia Academy of Family Physicians, West Virginia Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians, West Virginia Chapter of the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians, West Virginia Chapter of the American College of Physicians, West Virginia Chapter of the American College of Surgeons, West Virginia Orthopaedic Society, and West Virginia Chapter of the American College of Cardiology jointly oppose House Bill 4715, which would expand the independent scope of practice for non-physician providers in West Virginia.

Across the country, some states have enacted similar scope expansion policies, often with the promise that they would improve access to care, particularly in rural and underserved areas. Those promises have not materialized. Repeated analyses show that states adopting independent practice models did not experience improved access to care, including in rural communities. What did occur, consistently, was higher health care utilization and increased overall costs, driven by greater emergency department use, additional imaging and testing, and more referrals all without improved patient outcomes.

West Virginia’s health care system already operates with little margin for additional inefficiency or risk. Any policy change that alters how care is delivered must be evaluated not only for cost implications but for its impact on clinical oversight, care coordination, and patient safety, particularly in complex and high-acuity settings.

In contrast, physician-led, team-based care has consistently demonstrated lower emergency department use, better care coordination, and lower total costs especially for patients with complex medical needs. Removing physician leadership from the care team undermines accountability and places additional burden on hospitals and emergency departments at a time when West Virginia can least afford it.

Our organizations strongly support collaborative models in which physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants work together to care for patients. Nurse practitioners and physician assistants are essential members of the health care team. However, experience from other states makes clear that eliminating physician leadership does not expand access and does increase cost and system burden.

We urge lawmakers to reject House Bill 4715 and instead focus on evidence-based solutions that have been shown to work, including telehealth expansion, physician workforce recruitment and retention, loan forgiveness for rural practice, and residency training programs tied to service in West Virginia.

West Virginians deserve health care policies grounded in evidence – policies that protect patient safety, control costs, and strengthen access to care, not legislation that repeats failed experiments from other states.