The Physician Assistant Debate

Please answer the following questions regarding the physician assistant debate:

Many have argued that primary care doctors are given too much responsibility regarding direct patient care. The argument has been made that nurse practitioners and physician assistants should be utilized more effectively. What are your thoughts on this?
Physician assistants have long argued that they have the ability to provide as much as 70 percent of the medical services provided by primary care physicians at a much lower cost. Yet government regulations limit their ability to work independently of physicians. Explain what would happen to the level of competition in the physician services market if all the statutes limiting activities of physician assistants were eliminated.