Dear Missouri AAPS Members and Friends,
Please take a quick moment to speak out and ask your legislators to oppose provisions in HB 348 that push Missouri into the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact.
The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact “may seem like a positive step to those who don’t have the time to look at it very closely,” explains Professor Shirley Svorny. She continues, “the compact is being promoted disingenuously, as addressing license portability and access to interstate telemedicine…. Adding the Compact Commission creates another layer of bureaucracy and costs.”
One particularly harmful provision: eligibility to obtain a license through the Compact requires current board certification from an American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) approved board. This is particularly concerning when physicians are being stripped of their board certification for making statements critical of harmful COVID policies and mandates. In addition, for most physicians, current ABMS board certification requires participation in expensive and counterproductive Maintenance of Certification (MOC) programs, that may be more about making money for the boards than improving patient care.
Moreover, “all laws in a member state in conflict with the Compact are superseded to the extent of the conflict,” and “all lawful actions of the Interstate Commission, including all rules and bylaws promulgated by the Commission, are binding upon the member states.” In other words, the Compact would take autonomy away from the State of Missouri and hand it to an out-of-state commission unaccountable to citizens of Missouri.
Adding more red tape is exactly the wrong approach during these difficult times facing both physicians and patients. In fact, Florida rejected the Compact because it would increase the time (and expense) it takes for a physician to be licensed while decreasing licensees’ due process rights.
So it is disturbing that a bill to bind the State of Missouri to this Compact has been introduced yet again. Originally introduced in the Missouri legislature in 2015, the proposal has failed every time it has been introduced in this state. But the proponents of this bad idea keep bringing it back.
This year the bad idea unfortunately appears to have gained momentum. In fact, next week the House Professional Registration and Licensing Committee appears poised to vote in favor of HB 348.
Please take a moment and tell members of the committee to oppose HB 348 unless the provisions related to the compact are removed. Instead of joining the Compact, Missouri should adopt solutions, like other potentially good provisions in HB 348, that fit the specific needs of Missourians.
You can get your message on the way in a few short clicks here: https://p2a.co/M90HLlt
Thank you for speaking out. Your voice makes a difference. ~AAPS
