Senate committee hears bill to allow some medical residents to obtain full Montana license after one year

Sen. Sue Vinton, R-Billings, introduced Senate Bill 347 on behalf of a proposal to let medical residents obtain a full Montana medical license after completing one year of residency and while remaining enrolled and in good standing in their program. "Today, I am bringing for your consideration Senate Bill 347," Vinton told the Senate Business Labor and Economics Committee at a hearing where hospital systems, residency directors and the state licensing bureau testified.

Proponents told the committee the change would allow residents to bill insurers when they provide care outside their formal training schedule — commonly called "moonlighting" — and could help fill gaps in rural coverage. JJ Carmody, representing Billings Clinic Logan Health, said his system has more than 50 residents and regularly uses residents to staff rural sites. "The ability of residents to moonlight would go a long way in addressing the shortage of…