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STATE OF WYOMING
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SENATE FILE NO. SF0155
International physician licensing.
Sponsored by: Senator(s) Driskill, Anderson, Brennan,
Dockstader and Schuler
A BILL
for
1 AN ACT relating to physicians and surgeons; authorizing the
2 state board of medicine to provide provisional medical
3 licenses to international physicians as specified;
4 providing definitions; making conforming amendments;
5 requiring rulemaking; and providing for effective dates.
6
7
8
9. W.S. 33-26-801 through 33-26-803 are
10 created to read:
11
12 ARTICLE 8
13 EXPANDING PHYSICIAN ACCESS ACT
14
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1
2 This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Expanding
3 Physician Access Act."
4
5
6
7 (a) As used in this article:
8
9 (i) "Board" means the Wyoming state board of
10 medicine;
11
12 (ii) "Health care provider" means a person that
13 furnishes, bills or is paid for health care procedures or
14 service delivery in the normal course of business and
15 includes, without limitation, health systems, hospitals,
16 hospital-based facilities, freestanding emergency
17 facilities and urgent care clinics;
18
19 (iii) "International physician" means any person
20 who:
21 2025STATE OF WYOMING25LSO-0647
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3SF01551 (A) Has been granted a medical doctorate or
2 substantially similar degree by a domestic or international
3 medical program of good standing;
4
5 (B) Has been licensed in good standing with
6 a medical licensing or regulatory institution of the
7 person's licensing country at all times in the last five
8 (5) years and does not have any pending discipline before
9 the licensing body;
10
11 (C) Has completed a residency or
12 substantially similar post-graduate medical training
13 program or has practiced as a medical professional
14 performing the duties of a physician in the person's
15 licensing country for not less than seven (7) years after
16 the completion of a medical doctorate;
17
18 (D) Has practiced medicine as a fully
19 licensed or otherwise authorized physician in the person's
20 licensing country for not less than five (5) years after
21 the completion of residency training or a residency
22 equivalent pursuant to subparagraph (C) of this paragraph;
23 and 2025STATE OF WYOMING25LSO-0647
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1
2 (E) Possesses basic fluency in the English
3 language.
4
5 (iv) "Physician" means any person who has
6 obtained a medical doctorate or substantially similar
7 degree and is licensed inside or outside the United States.
8
9
10
11
12 (a) The board shall grant a provisional license to
13 practice medicine in this state to any international
14 physician with an offer for employment as a physician at
15 any health care provider that operates in this state. The
16 board shall require an international physician to complete
17 an application form provided or approved by the board, pass
18 a criminal background investigation, if practicably
19 available, and pay all fees required by the board to obtain
20 a provisional license. The board:
21
22 (i) Shall not grant a provisional license to
23 practice medicine in this state to any international 2025STATE OF WYOMING25LSO-0647
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1 physician unless they are eligible to obtain federal
2 immigration status that allows them to practice as a
3 physician in the United States;
4
5 (ii) May suspend a provisional license granted
6 under this subsection if the international physician is not
7 employed by a health care provider that operates in this
8 state during the provisional license period. If the
9 international physician loses employment with the health
10 care provider, the license shall be suspended until the
11 international physician obtains employment with another
12 Wyoming health care provider. If the international
13 physician cannot obtain required employment within six (6)
14 months, the license shall be revoked.
15
16 (b) The board may suspend or revoke a provisional
17 license granted under subsection (a) of this section
18 pursuant to W.S. 33-26-401 through 33-26-410. Licensees may
19 appeal the revocation of their provisional license in
20 accordance with the requirements of W.S. 33-26-401 through
21 33-26-410.
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6SF01551 (c) Provisional licenses shall be eligible to apply
2 to convert into full licenses to practice medicine in this
3 state after three (3) years of active practice under a
4 provisional license in this state if the licensee has not
5 been disciplined under W.S. 33-26-401 through 33-26-410 and
6 subject to all of the board's rules and regulations under
7 the Medical Practice Act under W.S. 33-26-101 through
8 33-26-601.
9
10 (d) Provisional license holders shall comply with the
11 continuing medical education requirements as set forth by
12 the board's continuing medical education rules and
13 regulations.
14
15 (e) Nothing in this section shall require the board
16 to license, on a provisional or full basis, an
17 international physician without evidence of full compliance
18 with the requirements under W.S. 33-26-803(a).
19
20 (f) International physicians who are required to
21 obtain federal work authorization before commencing any
22 work for the sponsoring health care provider are eligible
23 to apply for a provisional license prior to receiving 2025STATE OF WYOMING25LSO-0647
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1 federal work authorization but shall not commence work
2 under the provisional license without the required work
3 authorization.
4
5 (g) International physicians who become licensed
6 under subsection (a) of this section shall not need to
7 maintain employment with the original sponsoring health
8 care provider.
9
10W.S. 33-26-102(a)(x), 33-26-202(b) by
11 creating a new paragraph (xx), 33-26-301(b) by creating a
12 new paragraph (ix), 33-26-303(a)(intro), 33-26-305(a) and
13 33-26-401(e) are amended to read:
14
15
16
17 (a) As used in this chapter:
18
19 (x) "Licensee" means any person licensed by the
20 board under this chapter
21;
22
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2 (b) The board is empowered and directed to:
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 (b) Upon appropriate application, fulfillment of
11 eligibility criteria and successful completion of all other
12 requirements, the board may grant:
13
14
15
16
17
18
19 (a) The board may grant a license to practice
20 medicine in this state as provided in the Interstate
21 Medical Licensure Compact, as provided by W.S. 33-26-801
22 or, under this article, to any applicant
23 who demonstrates, to the board, that he: 2025STATE OF WYOMING25LSO-0647
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2
3
4
5
6 (a) All licenses other than temporary licenses,
7
8 and medical training licenses shall lapse
9 annually on a date or dates to be established by rules
10 adopted by the board. A licensee may renew his license
11 each year by submitting a renewal application containing
12 information required by the board, accompanied by proof of
13 compliance with and fulfillment of continuing medical
14 education requirements of the board in the manner set forth
15 in the continuing medical education rules
16 and regulations and a renewal fee to the board in an amount
17 set by the board pursuant to W.S. 33-26-307. The licensee,
18 additionally shall report
19 any disciplinary action pending or taken by a state
20 examining board, a health care entity or the grievance
21 committee of a medical society during the preceding year.
22
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2 (e) The board retains jurisdiction over only those
3 licensees to whom
4 temporary or full licenses were granted
5 and who are subject to ongoing investigation by the board,
6 regardless of whether the license expired, lapsed or was
7 relinquished during or after the alleged occurrence of
8 conduct proscribed by W.S. 33-26-402 by the licensee.
9
10
11 promulgate all rules necessary to implement this act.
12
13.
14
15 (a) Except as provided by subsection (b) of this
16 section, this act is effective July 1, 2025.
17
18 (b) Sections 3 and 4 of this act are effective
19 immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for a
20 bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of
21 the Wyoming Constitution.
22
23 (END)