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Read. Follow. Verify.West Virginia Bill SB 647 Authorizes Physician Assistants to Own Medical Practices and Form Professional Corporations
Last action · January 28, 2026: To Health and Human ResourcesSponsors: Tom Takubo and 5 others
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What This Bill Proposed
Senate Bill 647 authorizes physician assistants to own medical practices, become shareholders in medical corporations, and form professional limited liability companies by updating state business and health statutes. The measure also conforms the statutory definition of the profession to the American Academy of Physician Associates' terminology and prohibits practitioners from making patient referrals where they hold a without written disclosure.
The bill alters ownership rights and corporate authorization rules for health care practitioners in West Virginia, directly impacting physician assistants, medical corporations, and patients receiving health care services across the state.
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Physician assistants
Physician assistants gain authorization to own practices, become corporate shareholders, and form professional limited liability companies.
Medical corporations
Medical corporations are subject to updated certificate of authorization rules regarding shareholder eligibility and compliance.
Patients
Patients must receive written disclosures if a practitioner refers them to a clinical laboratory or pharmacy in which the practitioner holds a proprietary interest.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can physician assistants now own a medical practice in West Virginia under this bill?
Are physician assistant services recognized under the Uniform Limited Liability Company Act?
What are the penalties for violating corporate practice regulations under the bill?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in Senate committee.
Procedural history
4 actions- Jan 28, 2026SenateCommitteeTo Health and Human Resources
- Jan 28, 2026SenateIntroducedIntroduced in Senate
- Jan 28, 2026SenateCommitteeTo Health and Human Resources
- Jan 28, 2026SenateIntroducedFiled for introduction
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Expansion of Business Ownership to Physician Assistants
The legislation integrates physician assistants into corporate practice ownership frameworks previously reserved largely for physicians and podiatrists.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.wvlegislature.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 65)
- Controversy20Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz30Current news / social attention level
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