Massachusetts 2023-2024 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H2224 Compare Versions

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

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2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3112 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2224
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Jack Patrick Lewis and Mindy Domb
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act improving healthcare delivery for underserved residents of the Commonwealth.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Jack Patrick Lewis7th Middlesex1/18/2023Mindy Domb3rd Hampshire1/25/2023Carmine Lawrence Gentile13th Middlesex1/25/2023Lindsay N. Sabadosa1st Hampshire1/26/2023Steven Ultrino33rd Middlesex1/26/2023Frank A. Moran17th Essex1/26/2023Joanne M. ComerfordHampshire, Franklin and Worcester1/26/2023Brian W. Murray10th Worcester1/27/2023James K. Hawkins2nd Bristol1/27/2023Sean Garballey23rd Middlesex1/28/2023David Paul Linsky5th Middlesex2/1/2023Jon Santiago9th Suffolk2/6/2023Jason M. LewisFifth Middlesex2/9/2023Paul McMurtry11th Norfolk2/9/2023Tricia Farley-Bouvier2nd Berkshire2/9/2023Erika Uyterhoeven27th Middlesex2/13/2023Adrian C. Madaro1st Suffolk2/13/2023Vanna Howard17th Middlesex2/14/2023 2 of 2
16	16	James B. EldridgeMiddlesex and Worcester2/17/2023Kate Lipper-Garabedian32nd Middlesex2/22/2023Samantha Montaño15th Suffolk3/2/2023Thomas M. Stanley9th Middlesex3/9/2023 1 of 4
17	17	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3112 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
18	18	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2224
19	19	By Representatives Lewis of Framingham and Domb of Amherst, a petition (accompanied by
20	20	bill, House, No. 2224) of Jack Patrick Lewis, Mindy Domb and others relative to improving
21	21	healthcare delivery for underserved residents. Public Health.
22	22	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
23	23	_______________
24	24	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
25	25	(2023-2024)
26	26	_______________
27	27	An Act improving healthcare delivery for underserved residents of the Commonwealth.
28	28	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
29	29	of the same, as follows:
30	30	1 SECTION 1. Section 9 of Chapter 112 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020
31	31	2Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting a parenthetical lowercase arabic numeral “a”,
32	32	3before the words “an applicant” in the first sentence.
33	33	4 SECTION 2. Said section 9 of chapter 112 of the General Laws is -hereby further
34	34	5amended by inserting at the end thereof, the following subsection:-
35	35	6 (b) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section, an internationally-trained
36	36	7physician who has been licensed or otherwise authorized to practice medicine in a country other
37	37	8than the United States shall be eligible to apply for a limited license to practice medicine for a
38	38	9renewable one-year term after satisfying the criteria in below paragraph 2, provided, however,
39	39	10that such limited registration shall provide a pathway for the issuance of a full unrestricted
40	40	11license to practice medicine in accordance with, and upon satisfaction of, the criteria in below
41	41	12paragraph 4. 2 of 4
42	42	13 (1) Definitions. For the purposes of this subsection, the following terms shall have the
43	43	14following meanings —
44	44	15 (i) “ECFMG” shall mean the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates.
45	45	16 (ii) “Internationally-trained physician” shall mean a physician who has received a degree
46	46	17of doctor of medicine or its equivalent from a legally chartered medical school outside the
47	47	18United States recognized by the World Health Organization, who has been licensed or otherwise
48	48	19authorized to practice medicine in a country other than the United States, and who has practiced
49	49	20medicine for at least one year.
50	50	21 (iii) “Massachusetts physician shortage area” shall mean a geographic region or
51	51	22population in the commonwealth experiencing a shortage of physicians, especially primary care
52	52	23physicians or psychiatrists, relative to population and need, as determined by the board.
53	53	24 (iii) “Participating healthcare facility” shall mean a federally-qualified health center,
54	54	25community health center, hospital, or other healthcare facility approved by the board that
55	55	26provides an assessment and evaluation program designed to develop, assess, and evaluate an
56	56	27internationally-trained physician’s non-clinical skills, according to criteria developed or
57	57	28approved by the board; provided, however, that the participating healthcare facility provides
58	58	29medical care in a Massachusetts physician shortage area.
59	59	30 (iv) “USMLE” shall mean United States Medical Licensure Exam.
60	60	31 (2) The board shall issue a limited license to an applicant if the participating facility and
61	61	32the applicant submit evidence acceptable to the board that the applicant:
62	62	33 (i) is an internationally-trained physician; 3 of 4
63	63	34 (ii) has a valid certificate issued by the ECFMG or other credential evaluation service
64	64	35approved by the board, provided, however, that the board may waive such certification at its
65	65	36discretion where the applicant is unable to obtain the required documentation from a non-
66	66	37cooperating country;
67	67	38 (iii) has achieved a passing score on each of Steps 1 and 2 CK of the USMLE;
68	68	39 (iv) has entered into an agreement with the participating facility providing that the facility
69	69	40shall develop, assess and evaluate the applicant’s familiarity with non-clinical skills and
70	70	41standards appropriate for medical practice in the commonwealth, according to assessment and
71	71	42evaluation criteria developed or approved by the board;
72	72	43 (v) will enter a full-time full employment relationship with the participating facility after
73	73	44the board issues a limited license to practice medicine to the applicant; and
74	74	45 (vi) has satisfied other criteria that may be developed by the board in fulfillment of this
75	75	46subsection.
76	76	47 (3) The 1-year limited license may be renewed once, for a total 2-year term of limited
77	77	48registration.
78	78	49 (4) An internationally-trained physician who provides the board with proof of (i)
79	79	50successful completion of the participating facility’s assessment and evaluation program, and (ii)
80	80	51a passing score on Step 3 of the USMLE, shall be eligible to apply for a renewable 2-year
81	81	52restricted license to practice medicine only in a Massachusetts physician shortage area
82	82	53designated by the board; provided, however, that such license shall authorize the holder to
83	83	54practice independently in a primary care specialty, psychiatry, or other specialty approved by the 4 of 4
84	84	55board. After 2 to 4 years of such restricted practice, the internationally-trained physician shall be
85	85	56eligible to apply for a full, unrestricted license to practice medicine.