Kansas 2025-2026 Regular Session

Kansas House Bill HB2251 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	Session of 2025
2	2	HOUSE BILL No. 2251
3	3	By Committee on Health and Human Services
4	4	Requested by Representative Buehler
5	5	2-4
6	6	AN ACT concerning health and healthcare; relating to health professions
7	7	and practices; requiring the state board of healing arts to grant
8	8	provisional licensure to certain international physicians with offers of
9	9	employment at healthcare providers that operate in Kansas.
10	10	Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
11	11	Section 1. (a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the
12	12	expanding physician access act of 2025.
13	13	(b) As used in this section:
14	14	(1) "Board" means the state board of healing arts.
15	15	(2) "Healthcare provider" means a for-profit or nonprofit entity or
16	16	individual that provides, bills or is paid for healthcare procedures or
17	17	service delivery in the normal course of business and includes, but is not
18	18	limited to: A medical care facility licensed pursuant to K.S.A. 65-425, and
19	19	amendments thereto, a center or facility licensed pursuant to K.S.A. 39-
20	20	2001 et seq., and amendments thereto, an adult care home as defined in
21	21	K.S.A. 39-923, and amendments thereto, and the university of Kansas
22	22	school of medicine or an affiliate of the university of Kansas school of
23	23	medicine.
24	24	(3) "International medical program" means any medical school,
25	25	residency program, medical internship program or entity that provides
26	26	physicians with a medical education or training that is eligible for
27	27	certification of graduates by the educational commission on foreign
28	28	medical graduates or is otherwise substantially similar to the medical
29	29	education or training required by the board for licensure in Kansas.
30	30	(4) "International physician" means an individual who has:
31	31	(A) Been granted a medical doctorate or substantially similar degree
32	32	by a domestic or international medical program of good standing;
33	33	(B) been in good standing with the medical licensing or regulatory
34	34	institution of the individual's licensing country within the last five years
35	35	and does not have any pending disciplinary action before the licensing
36	36	body;
37	37	(C) completed a residency or substantially similar postgraduate
38	38	medical training program or has practiced as a medical professional
39	39	performing the duties of a physician in the individual's licensing country
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75	75	for at least seven years after the completion of a medical doctorate;
76	76	(D) practiced medicine as a fully licensed or otherwise authorized
77	77	physician in the individual's licensing country for at least five years after
78	78	the completion of residency training or residency equivalent as described
79	79	in subparagraph (C);
80	80	(E) obtained certification by the educational council for foreign
81	81	medical graduates, a successor organization or another evaluation entity
82	82	approved by the board;
83	83	(F) passed steps 1, 2 and 3 of the United States medical licensing
84	84	examination; and
85	85	(G) obtained a basic fluency in the English language.
86	86	(c) (1) The board shall grant a provisional license to practice
87	87	medicine in Kansas to any
88	88	international physician with an offer for employment as a physician at
89	89	any healthcare provider that operates in Kansas.
90	90	(2) The board shall not grant a provisional license to practice
91	91	medicine and surgery in Kansas to any international physician unless such
92	92	individual:
93	93	(A) Is eligible to obtain federal immigration status that allows such
94	94	individual to practice as a physician in the United States; and
95	95	(B) possesses a passing score on the United States medical licensing
96	96	examination.
97	97	(d) (1) The board may revoke a provisional license granted under
98	98	subsection (c) if the international physician is not employed by a
99	99	healthcare provider that operates in Kansas during the provisional license
100	100	period. An international physician granted licensure under subsection (c)
101	101	may change employment from one sponsoring healthcare provider to
102	102	another sponsoring healthcare provider, but such international physician
103	103	shall not be without employment at a sponsoring healthcare provider for
104	104	more than 30 days total during the provisional license period.
105	105	(2) The board may revoke, suspend, limit, censure or place under
106	106	probationary conditions a provisional license granted under subsection (c)
107	107	if the board finds the existence of any of the grounds in K.S.A. 65-2836,
108	108	and amendments thereto. Disciplinary action shall be taken in accordance
109	109	with the provisions of the Kansas administrative procedure act and shall be
110	110	reviewable in accordance with the judicial review act.
111	111	(e) Provisional licenses shall automatically be converted into full
112	112	licenses to practice medicine and surgery in Kansas after three years of
113	113	active practice in Kansas.
114	114	(f) The board, prior to the grant of a license under subsection (c) on a
115	115	provisional or full basis, may require an international physician to submit
116	116	to the board:
117	117	(1) Evidence of satisfactory similar training;
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161	161	(2) evidence of satisfactory passage of exams;
162	162	(3) satisfactory results of a background investigation;
163	163	(4) a completed license application; and
164	164	(5) payment of all required fees.
165	165	(g) International physicians who are required to obtain federal work
166	166	authorization before commencing any work for the sponsoring healthcare
167	167	provider may apply for a provisional license prior to receiving federal
168	168	work authorization but shall not commence work without the required
169	169	work authorization.
170	170	(h) At the end of the provisional licensing period, international
171	171	physicians who were granted a license under subsection (c) shall not be
172	172	required to maintain employment with a sponsoring healthcare provider.
173	173	(i) The provisions of this section are severable. If any provision of the
174	174	act is declared unconstitutional or invalid, or the application of any portion
175	175	of the act to any person or circumstance is held unconstitutional or invalid,
176	176	the invalidity shall not affect other portions of the act that can be given
177	177	effect without the invalid portion or application, and the applicability of
178	178	such other portions of the act to any person or circumstance shall remain
179	179	valid and enforceable.
180	180	(j) This section shall be a part of and supplemental to the Kansas
181	181	healing arts act.
182	182	Sec. 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
183	183	publication in the statute book.
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