Researcher: JO Page 1 3/18/25
OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 6979
AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH'S
RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING PHYSICIAN RECRUITMENT.
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Department of Public Health (DPH), within
available appropriations, to establish a student loan repayment
program for in-state providers of primary care and behavioral health
services. For this purpose, “primary care” includes family medicine,
general pediatrics, primary care, internal medicine, and primary care
obstetrics or gynecology, regardless of board certification. The bill
allows the commissioner to adopt implementing regulations, including
to set eligibility criteria and obligations of program participants. (A
similar provision was inadvertently repealed last year.)
Starting January 1, 2026, the bill allows retired physicians to renew
their licenses, at a reduced fee of 10% of the class I professional services
fee or $95, whichever is greater. (The class I fee is $565; the annual
renewal fee for physician licenses is $575.) DPH must indicate on the
license that the physician is retired. The bill requires the DPH
commissioner, by January 1, 2026, to adopt regulations (1) defining
“retired from the profession” for this purpose; (2) providing procedures
for retired physicians to return to active employment; and (3) setting
appropriate restrictions on retired physicians’ scope of practice,
including restricting the license to providing unpaid volunteer services.
The bill also allows retired physicians whose licenses have become
void due to nonrenewal to apply for reinstatement. It requires the DPH
commissioner to adopt regulations on similar matters as noted above.
(The existing reinstatement fee is $565.)
Lastly, the bill exempts physicians from having to maintain
malpractice insurance when providing volunteer behavioral health 2025HB-06979-R000116-BA.DOCX
Researcher: JO Page 2 3/18/25
services at a nonprofit clinic that (1) provides free services and (2)
maintains its own insurance in specified amounts.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2025, except the provisions on the
student loan repayment program are effective upon passage.
§ 3 — REGULATIONS ON REINSTATED PHYSICIAN LICENSES
Under the bill, DPH’s regulations on license reinstatement for retired
physicians must (1) define “retired from the profession” for physicians
and (2) include eligibility requirements consistent with existing law and
application procedures. Existing law allows DPH to deny applications
for license reinstatement on various grounds, such as that the applicant
failed to comply with laws and regulations governing the profession.
The bill also allows the commissioner to impose any conditions or
restrictions upon a reinstated physician’s scope of practice, including
conditions or restrictions relating to volunteer services.
§ 4 — MALPRACTICE INSURANCE EXEMPTION
Existing law generally requires physicians who provide direct patient
care to carry medical malpractice insurance of at least $500,000 per
person, per occurrence with an aggregate of at least $1.5 million. But the
law provides an exemption, under certain conditions, for volunteer
physicians providing primary care services at a free clinic. The bill
extends this exemption to volunteer physicians providing behavioral
health care services at these clinics.
For the exemption to apply, the physician must be providing these
services, for no compensation, at a DPH-licensed, tax-exempt clinic that
(1) does not charge for its services; (2) maintains the $500,000/$1.5
million malpractice coverage required by law for each 40 hours (or
fractional amount) of service these physicians provide; (3) carries
additional malpractice coverage in these amounts on behalf of itself and
its employees; and (4) maintains total malpractice coverage of at least $1
million per occurrence and $3 million in total. A physician covered by
the exemption must still maintain legally required malpractice coverage
when providing services in any other situation. 2025HB-06979-R000116-BA.DOCX
Researcher: JO Page 3 3/18/25
Under existing law, a physician who permanently retires from
practice having maintained the malpractice coverage required by law
and then solely provides free services at a tax-exempt clinic does not
lose the right to unlimited additional extended reporting period
coverage (that is, coverage for claims made after the policy’s expiration,
sometimes referred to as “tail coverage”).
COMMITTEE ACTION
Public Health Committee
Joint Favorable
Yea 26 Nay 6 (03/05/2025)