This bill amends the definition of "treating physician" within Montana's Workers' Compensation Act to explicitly include physician assistants as eligible providers, regardless of the proximity of other healthcare providers. The current law previously stipulated that physician assistants could only serve as treating physicians if there were no other licensed physicians available in the area. The bill also makes similar amendments to the section regarding impairment evaluations, allowing physician assistants to conduct these evaluations without the previous requirement of proximity to a physician.

In addition to these changes, the bill updates the definitions in Sections 39-71-116 and 39-71-711 of the Montana Code Annotated (MCA) to reflect the inclusion of physician assistants in both the treatment and evaluation processes. The bill is set to take effect immediately upon passage and approval, thereby enhancing the accessibility of medical services for workers' compensation claimants by broadening the range of qualified healthcare providers.

Statutes affected:
LC Text: 39-71-116, 39-71-711
HB0143_1(1): 39-71-116, 39-71-711
HB0143_1(2): 39-71-116, 39-71-711
HB0143_1(3): 39-71-116, 39-71-711
HB0143_1(4): 39-71-116, 39-71-711
HB0143_1(5): 39-71-116, 39-71-711
HB0143_1(6): 39-71-116, 39-71-711
HB0143_1: 39-71-116, 39-71-711
HB0143_2: 39-71-116, 39-71-711
HB0143_X: 39-71-116, 39-71-711