CANADIAN HEALTH PROFESSIONALS - H.B. 4994 (S-1): FLOOR ANALYSIS
House Bill 4994 (Substitute S-1 as reported)
Sponsor: Representative Artina Tinsley Hardman
House Committee: Health Policy
Senate Committee: Health Policy
CONTENT
The bill would amend the Public Health Code to provide that, until January 1, 2004, a health professional licensed to practice in Canada could be granted a license in Michigan, after meeting certain requirements.
Under the Code, to obtain an appropriate license, registration, or specialty certification in Michigan, a health professional from another state must apply to the relevant health professional board or task force in Michigan, and must satisfy certain requirements. An applicant must be licensed, registered, or certified in another state that maintains standards substantially equivalent to those of Michigan.
Under the bill, until January 1, 2004, an applicant who was licensed to practice in Canada would have to be licensed in a province that maintained standards substantially equivalent to those of Michigan. The applicant also would have to have completed the educational requirements for licensure in Canada or the United States. An applicant who met this requirement, and who passed a national examination in the United States or in Canada that was approved by the appropriate licensing board, would be considered to have met the requirement that an applicant be licensed in a province that maintained standards substantially equivalent to those of Michigan. This provision would not apply if the Department of Consumer and Industry Services, in consultation with the appropriate licensing board, promulgated rules to disallow use of the provision for an applicant licensed in a province in Canada.
The bill also would require the applicant to perform the professional services for which he or she billed in Michigan. Any resulting request for third party reimbursement would have to originate from the applicant's place of employment in Michigan.
MCL 333.16186 - Legislative Analyst: George Towne
FISCAL IMPACT
If the bill were to encourage increased applications for Michigan licenses by Canadian health professionals, license application revenue received by the Department of Consumer and Industry Services could increase; however, the amount of impact is unknown. The bill would have no impact on local government.
Date Completed: 3-18-02 - Fiscal Analyst: Elizabeth PrattFloor\hb4994 - Bill Analysis @ http://www.senate.state.mi.us/sfa
This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.