SB 142: Physicians; certain licensure for qualifying international medical graduates; provide

Georgia currently requires physicians to meet the standard licensing process to practice medicine, which can be a barrier for doctors trained and licensed in other countries. This bill adds a new section to Georgia's medical practice law (O.C.G.A. § 43-34-34.1) creating a staged licensing path for international medical graduates. An applicant who has practiced medicine for three of the past ten years, passed certain steps of the United States Medical Licensing Examination, and secured a full-time job with a qualifying hospital, medical school, teaching hospital, or clinic could get a two-year, nonrenewable provisional license. After two years in good standing, plus passing another licensing exam step and working in a shortage area or teaching role, the person could get a renewable limited license. After holding that limited license for two years, the person could apply for a full medical license. The state medical board oversees the process and can grant, deny, or revoke these licenses, and applicants must have federal immigration status allowing them to practice medicine. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it.

• Creates a new provisional license for international medical graduates who have practiced for three of the past ten years and secured full-time employment with a qualifying institution.
• Creates a renewable limited license, valid up to two years, for provisional license holders who pass Step 3 of the licensing exam and work in underserved areas or teaching roles.
• Allows holders of a limited license for at least two years to apply for a full Georgia medical license if they met all earlier requirements.
• Requires the state medical board to coordinate with the Department of Community Health and the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce to place these physicians in shortage areas.
• Bars the board from issuing any license under this program unless the applicant has federal immigration status allowing them to practice medicine in the United States.
• Gives the board authority to set additional criteria, evaluate applications, and write rules to implement the new licensing program.

Internationally trained physicians seeking to practice in Georgia, hospitals and clinics serving Medicaid, indigent, or underserved populations, board-approved medical schools and teaching hospitals, and the Georgia Composite Medical Board, which will administer the new licenses.

The bill opens a new route into practicing medicine in Georgia for doctors trained abroad, potentially adding physicians in areas with too few doctors. It ties eligibility to specific exam scores, work agreements, and immigration status, shaping who can use the pathway and where they must work.

• Section 1 adds Code section 43-34-34.1 defining 'institution,' 'international medical graduate,' 'limited license,' and 'provisional license.'
• Subsection (b) sets provisional license requirements: three years of recent practice, passing Step 1 and Step 2 Clinical Knowledge exams, and full-time employment with a qualifying institution.
• Subsection (c) sets limited license requirements after two years on a provisional license, including passing Step 3 and working in a shortage area or teaching role.
• Subsection (d) allows a full license after two years on a limited license, provided all earlier requirements were met.
• Subsection (f) requires applicants to have federal immigration status permitting them to practice medicine in the United States.
• Subsection (g) directs the board to coordinate with the Department of Community Health and the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce on placements in underserved areas.
• Section 2 makes the Act effective upon the Governor's signature or upon becoming law without signature.

1. 2025-02-12Senate Read and Referred (Senado)
2. 2025-02-11Senate Hopper (Senado)

• Kim Jackson (D, SD-041)Patrocinador principal
• Chuck Hufstetler (R, SD-052)
• Harold Jones (D, SD-022)
• Bo Hatchett (R, SD-050)

• physician licensing
• international medical graduates
• medical workforce shortages
• healthcare access
• medical board regulations