The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact “may seem like a positive step to those who don’t have the time to look at it very closely,” explains CATO adjunct scholar Shirley Svorny, PhD. She continues, “[t]he compact is being promoted, disingenuously, as addressing license portability and access to interstate telemedicine…. Adding the Compact Commission creates another layer of bureaucracy and costs.”
Last Wednesday, HB 2502, the bill to push Arizona into the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, narrowly passed through the AZ Senate HHS Committee after a contentious hearing.
Now the bill will move on to the full Senate if it can make it through the Senate Rules Committee.
Please contact Senate President, Andy Biggs and his leadership team on the Senate Rules Committee to express your opposition to HB 2502. Email addresses you can copy and paste into your message: abiggs@azleg.gov, ggriffin@azleg.gov, syarbrough@azleg.gov, jburges@azleg.gov
Phone Contact Info:
Senate President Andy Biggs: (602) 926-4371
Majority Leader Steve Yarbrough: (602) 926-5863
Majority Whip Gail Griffin: (602) 926-5895
Senator Judy Burges: (602) 926-5861
Contact info for all Senators can be found at:
http://www.azleg.gov/MemberRoster.asp?Body=S
Other concerns of note:
- Supporters have been glossing over expansive disciplinary and investigative provisions in the Compact by claiming they only apply to physicians seeking licensure through the Compact. However, the Compact language does not clearly restrict all of these broadened powers to Compact licensees. See: http://www.azaaps.org/expansive-disciplinary-and-investigative-provisions-in-interstate-medical-licensure-compact/.
- There are significant concerns related to conflicts of interest of entities promoting the Compact. See http://www.jpands.org/vol21no1/kempen.pdf and http://www.jpands.org/vol20no2/kempen.pdf
- The Compact supersedes state law and rules made by the largely unaccountable Interstate Commission have the force and effect of law. See http://www.jpands.org/vol21no1/snavely.pdf
- Current Board Certification recognized by the ABMS or AOABOS is required for Compact participation. Some in the medical regulation community are already suggesting that the Compact’s requirements are a “prototype” for extending board certification requirements for ALL licenses.
- The list of states affirmatively rejecting or at least delaying Compact participation is growing and includes CA, NM, TX, DE, MI, WA, MO, OH, VA, OK, and LA.
- ZERO licenses have been issued so far through the Compact. There is no hurry to tie Arizona to this new bureaucratic entity.
Additional Resources: