Category: IMLC

Despite helpful Senate amendment, licensure Compact still misses the mark

Update: Yesterday, the AZ Senate Committee of the Whole (COW) gave the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact bill, HB 2502, a “Do Pass as Amended” (DPA) recommendation.  We appreciate the efforts of Senators to fix problems in HB 2502 through an amendment approved during yesterday’s proceedings.

There are several good things in the amendment:

  • It prohibits board certification from being required for licensure through Arizona’s existing licensing process.
  • It directs.the Arizona Medical Board to develop its own expedited licensure process for physicians wishing to avoid Compact licensure.
  • It prevents Compact licensure from being required as a condition of employment.
  • Arizona courts would maintain some level of supervision over Compact-authorized subpoenas issues outside of the state

Despite these helpful changes, overall the Compact is still the wrong solution for improving Arizona’s licensing process:

  • Arizona laws are still subject to being superseded by Compact provisions and rule-making.
  • Board certification requirements for Compact participation remain and trump any Arizona laws to the contrary, perpetuating a broken, corrupt, and counterproductive MOC industry.
  • Physician due process rights are still weakened, potentially impacting physicians not participating in Compact licensure.
  • The Compact is still untested. No licenses have been issued through the Compact and no date has been announced for when licensing will commence.
  • There are unforeseen consequences resulting from the Compact beginning to surface. For instance we heard from a physician in a Compact state about complications related to renewing his malpractice insurance.
  • Adding the Compact Commission creates another layer of bureaucracy and costs, according to CATO scholar, Shirley Svorny Ph.D.

A full Senate vote on HB 2502 as amended may occur next week.  If passed then the House will have to reconsider the amended measure.

Please continue to educate Arizona legislators about these issues!

Email addresses for all Senators can be found here: https://goo.gl/P7O3fH and House members here: https://goo.gl/rIIC5O

Phone numbers for all legislators can be found here:http://www.azleg.gov/MemberRoster.asp

Action Alert: NO on HB 2502, Interstate Compact

The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact “may seem like a positive step to those who don’t have the time to look at it very closely,” explains CATO adjunct scholar Shirley Svorny, PhD.  She continues, “[t]he compact is being promoted, disingenuously, as addressing license portability and access to interstate telemedicine…. Adding the Compact Commission creates another layer of bureaucracy and costs.”

Last Wednesday, HB 2502, the bill to push Arizona into the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, narrowly passed through the AZ Senate HHS Committee after a contentious hearing.

Now the bill will move on to the full Senate if it can make it through the Senate Rules Committee.

Please contact Senate President, Andy Biggs and his leadership team on the Senate Rules Committee to express your opposition to HB 2502.  Email addresses you can copy and paste into your message: abiggs@azleg.gov, ggriffin@azleg.gov, syarbrough@azleg.gov, jburges@azleg.gov Continue reading “Action Alert: NO on HB 2502, Interstate Compact”

Concerns about HB 2502, Interstate Medical Licensure Compact

To: President Andy Biggs, Sen. Sylvia Allen, Sen. Gail Griffin, Sen. Steve Yarbrough, Sen. Nancy Barto:

Re: concerns about HB 2502, Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (IMLC)

The Health and Human Services Committee heard lengthy testimony on HB 2502. While it narrowly (4:3) approved a do-pass recommendation, testimony on both sides provides serious reasons to reject the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (IMLC) being aggressively promoted by theFederation of State Medical Boards (FSMB).

The hearing showed a stark division in the medical community: big multistate healthcare systems, also represented by the Arizona Medical Association (note that ArMA and Mayo have a common lobbyist), and independent physicians, represented by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS). Continue reading “Concerns about HB 2502, Interstate Medical Licensure Compact”

Expansive Disciplinary and Investigative Provisions in Interstate Medical Licensure Compact

Are certain investigative and disciplinary provisions in the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact applicable only to physicians licensed through the Compact?  The answer seems to be no. Read more in our letter to the Arizona Senate’s Health and Human Services Committee.

Madam Chair and Members of the Committee:

Thank you for allowing a lengthy discussion about HB 2502 at the March 16th hearing. I appreciate your hard work on this and other bills before the Committee.

It was stated at the hearing that provisions in the Compact only apply to physicians voluntarily licensed through the Compact. However, I’ve heard concerns from physicians about several sections that appear to apply more broadly, that may impact physicians who chose the traditional licensure pathway and are licensed in multiple Compact-participating states. Continue reading “Expansive Disciplinary and Investigative Provisions in Interstate Medical Licensure Compact”