Session of 2025
HOUSE BILL No. 2251
By Committee on Health and Human Services
Requested by Representative Buehler
2-4
AN ACT concerning health and healthcare; relating to health professions
and practices; requiring the state board of healing arts to grant
provisional licensure to certain international physicians with offers of
employment at healthcare providers that operate in Kansas.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
Section 1. (a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the
expanding physician access act of 2025.
(b) As used in this section:
(1) "Board" means the state board of healing arts.
(2) "Healthcare provider" means a for-profit or nonprofit entity or
individual that provides, bills or is paid for healthcare procedures or
service delivery in the normal course of business and includes, but is not
limited to: A medical care facility licensed pursuant to K.S.A. 65-425, and
amendments thereto, a center or facility licensed pursuant to K.S.A. 39-
2001 et seq., and amendments thereto, an adult care home as defined in
K.S.A. 39-923, and amendments thereto, and the university of Kansas
school of medicine or an affiliate of the university of Kansas school of
medicine.
(3) "International medical program" means any medical school,
residency program, medical internship program or entity that provides
physicians with a medical education or training that is eligible for
certification of graduates by the educational commission on foreign
medical graduates or is otherwise substantially similar to the medical
education or training required by the board for licensure in Kansas.
(4) "International physician" means an individual who has:
(A) Been granted a medical doctorate or substantially similar degree
by a domestic or international medical program of good standing;
(B) been in good standing with the medical licensing or regulatory
institution of the individual's licensing country within the last five years
and does not have any pending disciplinary action before the licensing
body;
(C) completed a residency or substantially similar postgraduate
medical training program or has practiced as a medical professional
performing the duties of a physician in the individual's licensing country
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for at least seven years after the completion of a medical doctorate;
(D) practiced medicine as a fully licensed or otherwise authorized
physician in the individual's licensing country for at least five years after
the completion of residency training or residency equivalent as described
in subparagraph (C);
(E) obtained certification by the educational council for foreign
medical graduates, a successor organization or another evaluation entity
approved by the board;
(F) passed steps 1, 2 and 3 of the United States medical licensing
examination; and
(G) obtained a basic fluency in the English language.
(c) (1) The board shall grant a provisional license to practice
medicine in Kansas to any
international physician with an offer for employment as a physician at
any healthcare provider that operates in Kansas.
(2) The board shall not grant a provisional license to practice
medicine and surgery in Kansas to any international physician unless such
individual:
(A) Is eligible to obtain federal immigration status that allows such
individual to practice as a physician in the United States; and
(B) possesses a passing score on the United States medical licensing
examination.
(d) (1) The board may revoke a provisional license granted under
subsection (c) if the international physician is not employed by a
healthcare provider that operates in Kansas during the provisional license
period. An international physician granted licensure under subsection (c)
may change employment from one sponsoring healthcare provider to
another sponsoring healthcare provider, but such international physician
shall not be without employment at a sponsoring healthcare provider for
more than 30 days total during the provisional license period.
(2) The board may revoke, suspend, limit, censure or place under
probationary conditions a provisional license granted under subsection (c)
if the board finds the existence of any of the grounds in K.S.A. 65-2836,
and amendments thereto. Disciplinary action shall be taken in accordance
with the provisions of the Kansas administrative procedure act and shall be
reviewable in accordance with the judicial review act.
(e) Provisional licenses shall automatically be converted into full
licenses to practice medicine and surgery in Kansas after three years of
active practice in Kansas.
(f) The board, prior to the grant of a license under subsection (c) on a
provisional or full basis, may require an international physician to submit
to the board:
(1) Evidence of satisfactory similar training;
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(2) evidence of satisfactory passage of exams;
(3) satisfactory results of a background investigation;
(4) a completed license application; and
(5) payment of all required fees.
(g) International physicians who are required to obtain federal work
authorization before commencing any work for the sponsoring healthcare
provider may apply for a provisional license prior to receiving federal
work authorization but shall not commence work without the required
work authorization.
(h) At the end of the provisional licensing period, international
physicians who were granted a license under subsection (c) shall not be
required to maintain employment with a sponsoring healthcare provider.
(i) The provisions of this section are severable. If any provision of the
act is declared unconstitutional or invalid, or the application of any portion
of the act to any person or circumstance is held unconstitutional or invalid,
the invalidity shall not affect other portions of the act that can be given
effect without the invalid portion or application, and the applicability of
such other portions of the act to any person or circumstance shall remain
valid and enforceable.
(j) This section shall be a part of and supplemental to the Kansas
healing arts act.
Sec. 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
publication in the statute book.
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