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Texas HB3749: A Step Toward Clarity—or a Step Backward for Paramedicine?

This week, I watched with growing concern as the Texas Senate Committee on Health and Human Services held public comments on HB3749—a bill aimed at defining who can initiate IV therapy in Med Spas. While I'm not advocating for paramedics to work in Med Spas or perform aesthetic procedures, the comments made by several physicians during the hearing exposed a deeper issue: an outdated and dismissive view of the paramedic profession.

In one video, a physician questioned a paramedic’s qualifications to start IVs, expressing surprise that paramedics can even earn degrees—before quickly dismissing those degrees because they aren't in nursing. The implication was clear: if you're not a nurse or physician, your education and experience don't count.

Another physician mocked the concept of paramedics providing in-home care through established Community Paramedic programs (like MED STAR), saying, “The things we find out at these sessions,” as if it were inappropriate or even absurd that highly trained professionals are caring for patients in non-emergent settings.

In the most troubling exchange, a physician even suggested that Texas law does not permit the delegation of IV therapy to paramedics—a claim that not only misrepresents scope of practice but ignores the capabilities of licensed professionals trusted to provide advanced care in life-and-death situations.
This isn’t just about Med Spas. This is about recognizing the clinical skill, education, and potential of paramedics. We are more than just “ambulance drivers.” We are trained, licensed clinicians who fill critical gaps in the healthcare system—especially in under served and rural areas.

Texas and other states have an opportunity to modernize their understanding of out-of-hospital care. But that requires listening, not laughing. Collaboration, not condescension.

I believe this bill is sponsored by Angelia Orr, Representative for Texas House District 13