Committee hears bill to require legal names on medical licenses

The Michigan House Rules Committee heard testimony on a bill requiring medical license applicants to provide their legal name, a change proponents say would make it easier to hold practitioners accountable.

Representative Mueller, who presented the proposal, told the committee that the measure came from a law report and is intended to reduce confusion caused by licensees using nicknames. “By requiring applicants to licensees to provide their legal name, it will provide for more transparency,” Representative Mueller said.

The bill is aimed specifically at medical licensure, Representative Mueller said, noting the goal is to make it easier for patients to verify providers and reviews. Chair Schuette said the change came from a red-tape review and thanked Mueller for working with the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA). “Obviously, we've been working with LARA, and this was a recommendation that came from their red tape report,” Chair Schuette said.

Representative Martin asked whether the bill would apply only to medical licenses or across all regulatory licensing. “This my bill is specifically for the medical licenses,” Representative Mueller replied.

Under the committee substitute described in testimony, LARA would be given 90 days after passage to implement the required practices.

No formal committee vote on the substantive bill was recorded in the portions of the transcript that contained testimony.

The committee moved on to other bills after questioning and did not adopt final action on this measure in the recorded testimony.