Sen Floor Amend 2 to HB 54

25 Sen Floor Amend 2 LOST Senators Jackson of the 41st and Hatchett of the 50th offered the following amendment #2: Amend the Senate Committee on Regulated Industries substitute to HB 54 (LC 52 0844S): By inserting between lines 162 and 163 the following: SECTION 6A. Said title is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows: “43-34-34.1. (a) As used in this Code section, the term: (1) ‘Institution’ means a hospital licensed by the Department of Community Health and its affiliated clinics, a board approved medical school, or a federally qualified health center; provided that such institution has the capacity, personnel, and experience to educate, supervise, and assess international medical graduates and carries medical malpractice insurance covering international medical graduates employed by such institution for the duration of employment. (2) ‘International medical graduate’ means a physician who has received a degree of doctor of medicine or its equivalent from a medical school outside of the United States eligible for Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates certification and has been licensed or otherwise authorized to practice in a jurisdiction outside of the United States. (3)’Limited license’ means a license to practice medicine issued to an international medical graduate employed at an institution and limited to providing healthcare services in a health professional shortage area or medically underserved area or to a medically underserved population or limited to teaching at a board approved medical college or its affiliated clinic in this state. Such license shall be valid for up to two years and may be 25 Sen Floor Amend 2 renewed only once. (4) ‘Provisional license’ means a license to practice medicine provisionally issued to an international medical graduate employed at an institution. Such license shall be valid for up to two years and shall not be renewed. (b) The board may issue a provisional license to practice medicine to an international medical graduate, provided that the board receives acceptable evidence that the applicant: (1) Is an international medical graduate who has practiced medicine for three of the past five years; (2) Received a valid certificate issued by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates; (3) Completed formal postgraduate training outside of the United States; (4) Achieved a passing score on both Step 1 and Step 2 Clinical Knowledge of the United States Medical Licensing Examination; (5) Entered into an agreement for a full-time employment relationship with an institution; provided that, if such agreement is with an institution that is not accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, such institution shall submit a supervisory plan that includes at least one fully licensed physician in this state; and (6) Satisfied any other criteria that the board may require for issuance of a provisional license pursuant to this Code section. (c) A person who holds a current, valid provisional license pursuant to this Code section for two years shall be eligible to apply for a limited license to practice medicine, provided that the board receives acceptable evidence that the applicant has: (1) Maintained in good standing a provisional license issued pursuant to this Code section; (2) Achieved a passing score on Step 3 of the United States Medical Licensing Examination; (3) entered into an agreement for a full-time employment relationship with an institution to provide healthcare services in a health professional shortage area or medically underserved area or to a medically underserved population or entered into a full-time 25 Sen Floor Amend 2 employment relationship to teach or demonstrate medicine at a board approved medical college or its affiliated clinic in this state; provided that when an agreement is with an institution that is not accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, such institution shall submit a supervisory plan that includes at least one fully licensed physician in this state; and (4) Satisfied any other criteria that the board may require for issuance of a limited license pursuant to this Code section. (d) A person who holds a current, valid limited license issued pursuant to this Code section for at least two years shall be eligible to apply for a full license to practice medicine in this state, provided that the board receives acceptable evidence that the applicant met the requirements of subsections (b) and (c) of this Code section and maintained in good standing a limited license issued pursuant to this Code section. (e) A person licensed pursuant to this Code section shall be subject to the rules and regulations of the board. Any license provided for in this Code section may be granted or denied at the discretion of the board and shall be subject to revocation by the board after notice and opportunity for hearing. (f) The board shall not grant a license under this Code section unless the international medical graduate possesses a federal immigration status that allows him or her to practice medicine as a physician in the United States. (g) The board shall coordinate with the Department of Community Health and Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce to provide healthcare services by international medical graduates with limited licenses in a health professional shortage area or medically underserved area or to a medically underserved population, as such terms are designated by the United States secretary of health and human services. (h) The board is authorized to establish standards and criteria, evaluate applications, and issue licenses consistent with this Code section and shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this Code section.”