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Supporters tell committee reinstating interstate medical licensure compact will protect telehealth access
Summary
Michigan health leaders urged the House Health Policy Committee to pass Senate Bill 303 to rejoin the interstate medical licensure compact and avoid disruption to physicians and telehealth services.
Witnesses from the Michigan Health & Hospital Association told the House Health Policy Committee that Senate Bill 303 would restore Michigan’s participation in the interstate medical licensure compact and preserve physicians’ ability to obtain compact licensure.
Adam Carlson and Taylor Elpert said the compact currently includes 40 states and that about 3,500 Michigan physicians hold licensure through the compact; without action by the Legislature, those physicians’ ability to practice in compact states could be disrupted.
Elpert said the compact facilitates telehealth care across state lines and enables better disciplinary information sharing among states; she told the committee that losing compact status ‘‘potentially impacts [physicians’] ability to provide important necessary care, for patients through telehealth in rural communities and in communities serving residents of multiple states.’’
Representative Carter asked whether the compact’s lapse had already affected physicians; the witnesses said the compact creates a year-long administrative window after a state lapses and that no immediate disruption had yet been observed so long as the Legislature acts in a timely way.
Witnesses and committee members said they support the bill and urged its quick passage so that physicians whose licensure depends on the compact will not face delays or burdens that could reduce access to care in rural areas.
