Provisional licenses for foreign doctors bill on the move
Sen. Stephen Meredith, R-Leitchfield, testifies Senate Bill 137 would create a pathway for foreign-trained doctors to practice medicine in Kentucky during Thursday’s House Health Services Committee meeting. A high-resolution photo can be found here.
FRANKFORT — A bill that would create a pathway for foreign-trained doctors to practice medicine in Kentucky advanced from the House Health Services Committee on Thursday.
Sen. Stephen Meredith, R-Leitchfield, is the primary sponsor of Senate Bill 173. He told the committee he hopes the legislation will be part of the solution to Kentucky’s physician shortage.
“It’s projected that we’re going to have a shortage of 3,000 physicians by 2030, and close to 650 of those are going to be primary care physicians,” Meredith said. “We already have eight counties that have no physicians in rural Kentucky, which is 41% of our population.”
Under SB 137, the state Board of Medical Licensure would be permitted to issue a provisional license to a physician who was educated and completed residency in a foreign country and can meet other requirements.
Specifically, the applicant for the provisional license would also need to provide an offer of employment from a licensed health care entity that is located in a medically underserved area, according to the bill.
Meredith said he worked with foreign-trained doctors during his career in health care.
“I had several foreign medical graduates who did an excellent job, not just in terms of medicine, but became a part of our community and our very fabric of life there,” he said.
Meredith told the committee foreign medical graduates graduate from accredited schools and complete accredited residency programs. To practice in the U.S., the physicians will have to be fluent in English, he added.
“They’re quite comparable to American physicians, and sometimes may even be superior,” Meredith said.
SB 137 is not the only piece of legislation this year that’s geared toward improving the physician shortage, but those efforts will require more time before Kentucky can begin to see results, Meredith said. He hopes SB 137 will be provide some more immediate relief.
Mack Howell, the chief operating officer for Owensboro Health Medical Group, testified alongside Meredith. He said Kentucky hospitals have a good vetting process when it comes to hiring physicians.
“I think it could be really a game changer for the state of Kentucky,” Howell added.
Adam Meyer, the health policy director for Cicero Action, said SB 137 would also ensure spots remain open for Kentucky medical school graduates who still need to complete a residency.
“We’re here to support Senate Bill 137 … and to stress the importance of not taking up valuable residency slots, finite residency slots for people that have already done a residency, so that clears that deck for others who may also need these residency slots,” he said.
Committee Chair Rep. Kimberly Poore Moser, R-Taylor Mill, said she appreciates Meredith’s work on SB 137.
“I think this creates a consistent, predictable path for individuals who are hoping to come to Kentucky, and we want to recruit those quality candidates,” she said.
The House Health Services Committee unanimously approved SB 137.
In explaining his “yes” vote, Rep. Robert Duvall, R-Bowling Green, said the legislation was one of the recommendations from the 2024 Workforce Attraction and Retention Task Force.
Rep. Josh Bray, R-Mount Vernon, and Rep. Mary Lou Marzian, D-Louisville, praised the bill for its potential to bring more doctors to rural areas.
“Back home, we were very fortunate that we were able to get a surgeon from a war-torn area who has been persecuted for his Christian beliefs,” Bray said. “The fact that we’ve got a general surgeon now practicing back in Rockcastle County is a game changer.”
Marzian said she hopes the bill is successful.
“I surely hope it really adds physicians and other practitioners to our rural areas, which is a desperate need,” she said.
SB 137 is now before the full House for consideration.
