Practice & Staffing

Status: Signed into Law (Act No. 49) • Introduced: Feb 20, 2025 • Sponsors: Reps. Davis, Sessions, Forrest, Henderson-Myers 

This new law mandates that all hospitals with emergency departments must have at least one physician physically present on-site and responsible for the department at all times, ensuring continuous physician oversight of emergency care. 

Status: In Committee • Introduced: Jan 14, 2025 • Sponsor: Sen. Turner

This legislation proposes specific minimum resident-to-staff ratios for nursing homes, varying by shift, and allows for separate regulatory requirements for memory care and assisted living facilities to ensure appropriate care levels. 

Status: In Committee • Introduced: Feb 5, 2025 • Sponsor:  Reps. Gilliard and Cobb-Hunter  

This bill aims to deter violence against healthcare workers by creating specific felony and misdemeanor offenses for assault and battery committed within a healthcare facility, with mandatory minimum sentences. A similar bill, S.346, is also progressing in the Senate. 

Status: Passed Senate, now in House Judiciary Committee • Introduced: Jan 10, 2025 • Sponsors: Sens. Alexander, Massey, Turner, Davis, Hutto, Senn

This bill strengthens penalties for assaulting healthcare workers, making such an offense a felony with significant fines and potential imprisonment. It serves as a direct measure to protect nurses and other hospital staff from workplace violence by creating a stronger legal deterrent. 

 S.346 (the Senate bill) and H.3480 (the House bill) are companion bills aiming for the same outcome: creating stronger penalties to protect healthcare workers. Because both bills are now in the House Judiciary Committee, the committee will likely focus its efforts on S.346, since it has already been passed by the Senate and is further along in the process. Having a bill in both chambers shows this issue has strong support, which boosts its chances of becoming law. 

Status: In Committee • Introduced: Jan 14, 2025 • Sponsors: Reps. Hewitt, Davis

This bill proposes a significant restructuring of South Carolina's health agencies by creating a new Executive Office of Health and Policy. This office would oversee departments including Public Health, Health Financing, and Behavioral Health to improve coordination and efficiency.  

Status: In Committee • Introduced: May 8, 2025 • Sponsor: Sen. Verdin

This legislation formally defines and requires that Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) and Physician Assistants (PAs) practice as part of a patient care team. It outlines guidelines for collaboration and supervision to standardize team-based healthcare models. 

Status: In Committee • Introduced: Apr 2, 2025 • Sponsors: Sens. Johnson, Walker, Peeler, Devine

This act aims to reform the prior authorization process by setting clear timelines for decisions and exempting providers with a high approval history from these requirements. It also introduces restrictions on step therapy protocols to ensure more direct access to prescribed treatments. 

Status: Passed House, now in Senate Committee • Introduced: Feb 20, 2025 • Sponsors: Reps. Sessions, Magnuson, Wickensimer

To improve billing transparency, this bill requires healthcare facilities to provide patients with a clear, plain-language itemized bill upon request before any debt collection activities can be pursued.