Wyoming committee advances bill to license internationally trained physicians

At a Labor, Health & Social Services Committee meeting Monday, the panel advanced Senate File 155, a bill to create provisional state licenses for internationally trained physicians who have an offer of employment from a Wyoming health care provider.

Sponsor Senator Dan Driscoll presented the bill as a response to statewide physician shortages and described it as model legislation already passed in other states. "I'm going to walk through this fairly quickly. This is a piece of model legislation that's come, it's been passed in 14 other states," Driscoll said.

The bill would authorize the State Board of Medicine to issue a provisional license to an international physician who: submits a board application, passes a criminal background check ("if practically available" as amended), pays fees, demonstrates eligibility for a federal immigration status that allows medical practice in the United States, and achieves the required passing score on the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination as referenced in Wyoming statutes. Provisional licensees would be required to obtain federal work authorization before commencing clinical work; they may apply for the provisional license before obtaining that…