Internationally Trained Physician Licensure Bill Heads to the Governor

This week IMS celebrates success of efforts this session to address unnecessary barriers and licensure delays affecting the recruitment of internationally-trained physicians to practice in Iowa in the passage of SF 477. SF 477 establishes that the Iowa Board of Medicine shall provide a provisional license to international physicians who meet the following requirements:

• Has a medical doctorate or substantially similar degree issued by an international medial program in good standing;
• Has been in good standing with the medical licensing or regulatory institution of the individual’s resident country for five years (with no pending discipline);
• Has completed a residency or substantially similar postgraduate medical training in the individual’s resident country;
• Has practiced medicine as a licensed physician for five years following the completion of residency or similar postgraduate medical training;
• Possesses basic fluency in the English language;
• Has an offer of employment as a physician at a health care facility in Iowa;
• Has a federal immigration status allowing the international medical practice to practice as a physician in the United States

The provisional license will be good for a term of three years, upon which time the provisional license may convert to a full license, so long as the international physician maintains an employment arrangement with an Iowa health care facility and barring any need by the Board of Medicine to revoke the provisional license.

With the passage of the bill in the Senate this week, SF 477 now heads to the governor’s desk for signature.

Amended Prior Authorization Bill Passes the Senate

As previously shared, the Prior Authorization reform bill, HF 2488, first introduced by IMS, has been entwined in the perils of the political process, having been amended by the chair of the Senate HHS committee, Senator Edler. The amendment attached a piece of legislation that previously died in the House, SF 2381, which seeks to increase price competition and incentivize patients “shopping” for best price care.

Unfortunately, the SF 2381 amendment as written fails to acknowledge the health care environment beyond good intentions and rather disincentivizes providers from offering and accepting negotiated cash payments and would add serious administrative burden to practices already working to comply with existing federal statutes, such as the No Surprises Act, which provides patients with greater clarity and transparency to support patient decision-making than SF 2381 would do.

While IMS and our healthcare partners remain supportive of the original, unamended language of HF 2488, we recognize the significant burden and low return on investment – for both practices and patients – encompassed in the SF 2381 amendment. For these reasons, IMS is not in support of the passage of the amended bill and is working closely with House leadership to ensure this poor policy does not advance.