THE ELEVENTH HOUR
Frank Burns, MD
Wow! That was my reaction to the last day, last hour and last minute passage of Senate Bill 18, the“ Fair Contracting” Bill on Friday, April 15. It was the icing on the cake to one of the most successful Legislative Sessions for physicians in our state in recent memory. There were many victories during the session but the passage of Senate Bill 18 was the culmination of years of intense effort on the part of GLMS and KMA physicians. There were many moving parts to the passage of this bill, which I will summarize along with a description of several other bills, all of which will have a significant impact on patient care and the practice of medicine in Kentucky.
Before discussing the dramatic passage of Senate Bill 18, let’ s take a look at other bills that were passed during the 2016 Legislative Session.
SENATE BILL 17: MAINTENANCE OF CERTIFICATION / LICENSURE
Senate Bill 17 was sponsored by Senators Ralph Alvarado, MD, and Damon Thayer. This bill prohibits the state from requiring initial board certification or recertification in order for physicians to obtain or retain a medical license in Kentucky. It originated from a resolution submitted to the KMA House of Delegates by GLMS. Senator Alvarado originally introduced the bill in the 2015 Legislative Session. The Senate leadership had questions regarding the purpose of the bill and so it failed to make it out of committee. There was a recommitment on the part of the KMA, GLMS and Senator Alvarado during the interim to do a better job of educating legislators about the purpose of the bill. We concentrated on pointing out that board certification in a specialty is, and always has been, voluntary in Kentucky. Thanks to hard work by KMA lobbyist Cory Meadows, and key testimony by GLMS member, Dr. Julie Lee, the bill passed out of the Senate License Occupation and Administrative Regulation Committee. The Senate subsequently passed the bill unanimously. The House Health and Welfare Committee passed the bill, which then unanimously passed the entire House on March 24. The Governor signed this bill into law on April 8.
SENATE BILL 19: STATE LICENSURE BOARD APPOINTMENTS
Senate Bill 19, also sponsored by Sen. Alvarado, stipulates that appointments for the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure shall come from names submitted by the KMA. The passage of this bill in essence restores a right which the KMA had previously. This
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