HB 1524- Schedule II bill (Lucio III)

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The state of Texas currently limits the prescribing of schedule II medications by a PA to hospice and inpatient care settings, leaving out the ability for PAs to treat patient’s pain in all other settings. This disproportionately affects PAs in surgery and pain management who are unable to care for patients’ pain, chained by these outdated regulations. This also affects patients seeking treatment for ADHD, as medications for this condition are also categorized as schedule II; and under the same regulation by the State of Texas. Further, schedule II medications can only be filled at inpatient pharmacies, limiting the number of places that a patient can fill their prescription. These unnecessary regulations have failed to put the patient first, limiting access to care and creating barriers to optimal and timely treatment. As was demonstrated with the ongoing COVID-19 crises, PAs in Texas are a solution to the problem, capable and ready of providing quality care to patients in need. For this reason, TAPA is seeking to expand schedule II authority to all PAs in all health care settings.

This bill is a joint collaboration with Texas Nurse Practitioners, as it also provides this same ability to all Texas APRNs. Last session, the bill passed unanimously out of the House and went to the Senate.

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