MD SB326

Adds physician assistants to the list of health care practitioners authorized to perform various medical evaluations and certifications, including determining patient capacity for treatment decisions, certifying individuals for voluntary and involuntary mental health facility admissions, and filing emergency evaluation petitions.

Allows physician assistants to provide certificates of competency for guardianship petitions of disabled persons, alongside physicians, psychologists, licensed social workers, and nurse practitioners.

Authorizes physician assistants to prescribe and dispense emergency use epinephrine under the Emergency and Allergy Treatment Program for youth camps, and extends liability protections to them for good-faith prescribing.

Adds one physician assistant member from the Maryland Academy of Physician Assistants to the Statewide Advisory Commission on Immunizations.

Requires the Maryland Department of Health to cover examination charges by physician assistants for emergency evaluees who cannot pay, and allows HMO members to select a physician assistant as their primary care provider. Effective October 1, 2026.