As our government transitions to a new administration, the following question has become increasingly common:
Would amendments to or repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) affect medical assistants’ scope of practice?
The answer? Almost certainly not. The scope of practice of medical assistants is determined primarily by state law. An exception is the meaningful use order entry requirements of the Medicaid Electronic Health Record Incentive Program. The Medicaid Incentive Program was not created by the ACA and would not be impacted by any amendments to or repeal of the Affordable Care Act. Consequently, it is highly unlikely that the scope of practice for medical assistants will be impacted by congressional action on the ACA.
Legal Eye 