Media Inquiries

Dr. Plemmons regularly comments on healthcare regulation, occupational licensing, and workforce policy for national and regional outlets. For interviews and commentary requests, please use the media inquiry form below. Deadlines are welcome; please include yours in the form.

    Topics She Can Speak To

    • Occupational licensing and license portability
    • Nurse practitioner and other clinician scope of practice
    • Certificate-of-need laws
    • Licensure compacts and universal licensing recognition
    • Healthcare workforce shortages and access to care
    • Economic freedom and income mobility

    Bios for Media Use

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    Short bio

    Alicia Plemmons, PhD, is an Associate Professor of General Business at West Virginia University, where she directs the Knee Regulatory Research Center and the Center for Free Enterprise. Her research studies how occupational licensing, healthcare scope-of-practice rules, and certificate-of-need laws affect patients, workers, and businesses. She regularly testifies before state and federal legislatures on healthcare licensing modernization.

    Long bio

    Alicia Plemmons, PhD, is an Associate Professor of General Business at West Virginia University, where she directs the Knee Regulatory Research Center and the Center for Free Enterprise, and serves as Co-Editor of Contemporary Economic Policy. Her research uses applied spatial and econometric methods to determine how policy changes affect health and labor markets, including occupational licensing, nurse practitioner and clinician scope of practice, certificate-of-need laws, and licensure compacts. Her work has appeared in the Journal of Health Economics, Health Policy, the British Journal of Industrial Relations, and the Annals of Regional Science, and in outlets including Modern Healthcare and U.S. News & World Report. She has provided testimony on healthcare licensing modernization to legislatures across the United States and to the U.S. House of Representatives. She earned her PhD in Economics from Georgia State University.

    Selected Commentary and Media Publications

    2026

    • Rhoads, Jared, Reinier Schuur, Colleen Smith, Alicia Plemmons, and Drake Thibodaux. (August 2026). “2026 Health Freedom Index.” Knee Regulatory Research Center and Center for Modern Health.
    • Shariq, Deena, Allison Hrischenko, and Alicia Plemmons. (October 2026). “Expanding Youth Access to Telehealth for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder.” Research Translations Platform.
    • Olvera, Abi, and Alicia Plemmons. (May 2026). “How to cut suicide rates, health care costs, crime, and prices. The gatekeeping problem in 30% of US jobs.” Positive Sum (Substack).
    • Malamet, Akiva, and Alicia Plemmons. (March 2026). “Licensing Requirements Block Sexual Assault Survivors from Accessing Care.” Kentucky Lantern.

    2025

    • Plemmons, Alicia, and Liya Palagashvili. (December 2025). “Portable benefits could expand opportunity and mobility in West Virginia.” The Register Herald.

    2024

    • McCormack, Hailey, et al., and Alicia Plemmons. (November 2024). “Improving Remote Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder.” Requested by Ohio state representatives through Research Translation Platform.
    • Deyo, Darwyyn, and Alicia Plemmons. (September 2024). “Mummified Political Economy” series (three parts). Econlib.
    • Geloso, Vincent, Justin Callais, and Alicia Plemmons. (February 2024). “Pro-Market Reforms Promote Income Mobility: The Case of Alberta.” MEI (Canada).
    • Plemmons, Alicia. (February 2024). “The right prescription for further improvement in North Dakota health care.” InForum (Fargo, ND).
    • Plemmons, Alicia, Shishir Shakya, and Edward Timmons. (January 2024). “Rural Health Care Access in North Dakota: Unlocking the Potential of Health Care Providers.” Research Insights, Challey Institute, North Dakota State University.

    2023

    • Plemmons, Alicia. (December 2023). “Are Nurse Practitioners the Answer to College Students’ Medical Care During the Holidays.” Real Clear Health.
    • Plemmons, Alicia. (November 2023). “Wisconsin is Right to Reimagine Nurse Practitioners to Address Healthcare Shortages.” Wisconsin Politics.
    • Aluri, Ajay, and Alicia Plemmons. (August 2023). “Today’s Traveler: Your Guide to Current Expectations and Preferences.” HospitalityUpgrade.
    • Plemmons, Alicia. (August 2023). “Colorado is Known for Many Great Healthcare Policies.” Colorado Politics.
    • Plemmons, Alicia. (June 2023). “Have healthcare licensing fees gone too far?” DC Journal; also Maryland Daily Record and Jacksonville Journal-Courier.
    • Plemmons, Alicia. (March 2023). “Utah has a chance to empower nurse practitioners.” The Salt Lake Tribune.
    • Plemmons, Alicia. (March 2023). “Montana can become a national leader by empowering pharmacists.” Montana Standard; also featured in the Missoulian.
    • Plemmons, Alicia. (March 2023). “Opinion: Pharmacists know all about your medications, so why can’t they prescribe them?” Modern Healthcare.

    2020–2022

    • Haimiti, Aerfate, Angela Shoulders, Alicia Plemmons, and Orgul Ozturk. (May 2022). “Coping with the Toll of COVID-19: An Overview of Temporary Changes in Scope of Practice of Mental Health Providers.” Knee Center for the Study of Occupational Regulation.
    • Plemmons, Alicia. (September 2021). “Why States Should Allow Psychologists to Prescribe Medication.” U.S. News & World Report.
    • Plemmons, Alicia. (June 2021). “How to Reform Scope of Practice Laws to Improve Access and Affordability.” Reforming Occupational Licensing in Utah, Eccles Institute, University of Utah.
    • Ghosh, Sriparna, Agnitra Roy Choudhury, and Alicia Plemmons. (August 2020). “Repealing CON Laws Saves Lives of Non-COVID Patients.” The Bridge.
    • Plemmons, Alicia, Alexis Schumacher, and Edward Timmons. (August 2020). “Police Officer Licensing — Policy Brief 2020.” Knee Center for the Study of Occupational Licensing.
    • Plemmons, Alicia. (April 2020). “How One Small City is Saving their Restaurants from COVID-19.” Illinois Business Journal.
    • Plemmons, Alicia. (February 2020). “Should Big Tech be broken up?” Illinois Business Journal.
    • Plemmons, Alicia. (July 2019). “Unnecessary Regulation Headaches for Workers, Business Worst in these States.” Fox Business.