Bill Name: House Bill 3890 (HB 3890)

Primary Sponsor: Rep. Elizabeth Campos

Status: 3/26/2025 Referred to Public Health

AmSpa’s Take: As advanced practitioners including PAs, NPs and other APRNs gain more autonomy and independence nationwide, there has been a growing movement to attempt to restrict or limit their practice. This bill would limit advanced practitioners’ ability to prescribe and be more restrictive than current rules allow. Additionally, it would make Texas one of the more restrictive states for advanced practitioners. This is the second such bill from this representative. 

Analysis: Currently, Texas advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), such as nurse practitioners (NP) and physician assistants (PA), can practice and prescribe treatment pursuant to a prescriptive authority agreement with a physician who oversees their practice. Both the physician and PA or APRN need to have training, education and experience in the area they are practicing. The newly introduced House Bill 3890 (HB 3890), if passed, would limit physicians from supervising advanced practitioners in specialties outside of the area of practice of their residency or primary practice. 

This bill is very unusual. As in most states, Texas allows physicians to expand their areas of practice through training and education. They likewise can supervise advanced practitioners in practice areas in which they are appropriately prepared. HB 3890 would only allow physicians to supervise PAs and APRNs in the same practice area as their residency training or as their primary area of practice. A physician could only supervise an advanced practitioner in a specialty practice area after the physician accrues five years of practice experience in that specialty. This would have the effect of greatly restricting the pool of available supervising physicians in specialty areas such as cosmetic or aesthetic medicine. It would also harm physicians just out of residency or wanting to transition into new specialties by making it more difficult for them to employ advanced practitioners in their offices.  

This is the second bill sponsored by Representative Campos that restricts PA and APRN prescribing options, the other being HB 3889. We will be monitoring this bill as it works its way through the session. If you would like additional information, to read the bill or to contact the sponsors, you can find what you need through this link: HB 3890.