Nevada committee hears bill to prioritize licensing for providers serving underserved communities

Assemblymember Yu Ying Wing, sponsor of Assembly Bill 483, told the Assembly Committee on Health and Human Services that the measure would let state licensing boards prioritize review of health care license applications for providers who demonstrate they will primarily work in historically underserved communities. "This bill comes from the Joint Interim Standing Committee on Health and Human Services and seek to prioritize the review of applications for healthcare professionals to ensure we are getting enough providers to our underserved areas," she said.

The bill sponsor and witnesses said provider shortages in Nevada are concentrated in underserved and rural areas and that current licensing delays worsen the problem. Oscar Delgado, CEO of Community Health Alliance, described the financial and operational burden when newly recruited clinicians cannot begin seeing patients while awaiting Nevada licensure: "Every week a provider cannot see patients is a week we lose critical revenue and patients go without care." He told the committee Community Health Alliance often spends tens of thousands of dollars on relocation and onboarding for recruits who then sit idle for months while waiting for a license.

Dr. Travis Walker, chief medical officer at Community Health Alliance, said Nevada has among the worst provider-to-patient ratios and that attracting out-of-state clinicians is an important part of workforce development. He described an example of a locally raised trainee whose license took 10 months to process in Nevada while another state approved her in one month, delaying months of patient care.

Under the bill as presented, section 1 defines "historically underserved community," referencing qualified census tracts as designated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; section 5 extends definitions for other health professionals and includes public schools with high rates of free or reduced-price lunch. The bill would require health professional licensing boards and agencies to adopt regulations that establish a process for prioritizing review of an application when the applicant demonstrates they will primarily serve in a qualifying community.

Committee members asked how the prioritization would translate into faster approvals. Assemblymember Golding asked whether prioritization alone would shorten timelines and whether the state should instead pursue a broader licensing process reform. Delgado and the bill sponsor said the language is enabling: if the bill passes, the boards would adopt regulations to place qualifying applications on a priority processing track and staff and stakeholders would work to identify operational touch points to move those applications ahead, while acknowledging broader process improvements are also underway.

Supporters who testified included Nancy Bowen, CEO of the Nevada Primary Care Association, which represents federally qualified health centers. Bowen said health centers hire a diverse mix of clinicians and that expedited licensing for providers who will work in low-margin community clinics makes operational sense. Other supporters included representatives of the Asian Community Development Council and Touro University Nevada.

The committee did not take a vote on AB 483 during the hearing. Lawmakers asked staff and witnesses clarifying questions about the proposed regulatory approach and about ensuring rural areas were not excluded by federal census-based definitions. Legal counsel explained that HUD-designated "qualified census tracts" are identified under federal tax code guidance (referencing 26 U.S.C. §42(d)(5)(B)) and the sponsor said staff would work with members to ensure rural communities that need services are covered.

The hearing record shows broad support from community health centers and advocacy groups for prioritizing licensure of clinicians who commit to underserved areas, while members pressed for clarity on how prioritization will affect processing times and for continued work to streamline licensing more broadly.