Legislature(2017 - 2018)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
04/17/2018 01:30 PM Senate LABOR & COMMERCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB346 | |
| SB160 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | HB 346 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | SB 160 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 346-DENTIST: TEMPORARY PERMIT
1:33:26 PM
CHAIR COSTELLO announced the consideration of HB 346 and noted
that the committee previously heard the companion bill. She
stated her intention to move the bill after taking public
testimony.
1:33:44 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SAM KITO III, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau,
Alaska, sponsor of HB 346 introduced the legislation
paraphrasing the following sponsor statement:
House Bill 346 would allow the Alaska Board of Dental
Examiners to grant temporary licenses when a dental
specialist is suddenly incapacitated or when a small
community does not have access to specialized care.
Alaska has a limited number of dental specialists,
many of whom serve multiple small communities. There
are nine dental specialties as defined by the American
Dental Association: oral surgery, orthodontics,
periodontics (gums), endodontics (root canals),
pedodontics (kids), prosthodontics (replacing teeth),
public health, , oral pathology (oral diseases), and
oral radiology (x-rays); however, Alaska does not have
a single specialist in oral radiology. Of the 647
licensed dentists in Alaska, 136 dentists are
specialists.
Dental specialists in Alaska are limited in number and
have full schedules. If a specialist is suddenly
incapacitated, there is no reserve to draw from, and
multiple small communities could be without specialist
care for an extended period of time. Small communities
have historically had a hard time recruiting
healthcare practioners and the trend seems to be
worsening.
Temporary dental licenses would allow the Alaska Board
of Dental Examiners to maintain dental care in these
communities until a full-time dentist can be found.
The board is ideally qualified to evaluate the need to
circumvent transitional licensing procedures for
dentists in exceptional circumstances.
HB 346 will allow temporary licenses to be granted in
times of need at the discretion of the Alaska Board of
Dental Examiners.
REPRESENTATIVE KITO III advised that the bill was changed in the
other body to give the board the authority to bring a licensed
dentist from another jurisdiction to Alaska to fill in for a
short period of time. One extension is allowed but the temporary
dentist would need to get an Alaska license if they spend more
time working in Alaska.
1:36:29 PM
SENATOR GARDNER asked if he anticipates that a lot of dentists
will be interested in taking advantage of this opportunity.
REPRESENTATIVE KITO III deferred the question to the
representative from the dental society. He shared his experience
when the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Center was having
difficulty recruiting a dentist to come to Juneau, and opined
that this provision might have allowed SEARHC to bring somebody
in temporarily to fill the gap.
SENATOR GARDNER asked if he envisions the pool of dentists would
be those who are already licensed - but perhaps not practicing -
and interested in coming to Alaska for a limited period.
REPRESENTATIVE KITO replied the target pool was dentists who are
not licensed in Alaska.
SENATOR GARDNER directed attention to the provision on page 2,
lines 3-5. It says the temporary permit is valid only to treat
patients of the incapacitated dentist at the address listed on
the business license of the incapacitated dentist. Noting that
the companion bill had the same problematic language, she asked
what would happen if the incapacitated dentist did business in
more than one location.
REPRESENTATIVE KITO III said he suspects the bill would
accommodate the emergency replacement of a dentist who had
offices in more than one location. However, if each office
offered different specialty services, the replacement dentist
may not have both specialties. He deferred further comment to
the board.
CHAIR COSTELLO said she assumes each location has a business
license, and her reading is that the bill does contemplate
multiple locations.
SENATOR GARDNER observed that the license is for the facility,
not the individual.
CHAIR COSTELLO added that the bill is written to accommodate a
dentist who has multiple licenses.
SENATOR MEYER asked if other states grant temporary dental
licenses.
REPRESENTATIVE KITO III said he didn't know.
CHAIR COSTELLO asked Sarah Chambers to respond to any questions
she'd heard.
1:41:34 PM
SARAH CHAMBERS, Deputy Director, Division of Corporations,
Business and Professional Licensing, Department of Commerce,
Community and Economic Development (DCCED), Juneau, Alaska,
confirmed that businesses must maintain a business license for
each location. Thus, someone with a temporary permit could cover
the dental office of the incapacitated dentist.
CHAIR COSTELLO asked if the administration had a position on the
bill.
MS. CHAMBERS replied the administration has not taken a position
on the bill but the dental board supports it.
SENATOR MEYER asked what it costs for a temporary permit.
MS. CHAMBERS explained that a typical temporary permit for a
health care profession ranges from $50 to $100. It would not be
cost prohibitive.
SENATOR MEYER noted that the fiscal note reflects $2,600 in
receipt services.
MS. CHAMBERS explained that those services would generally be
covered by the licensing fees.
CHAIR COSTELLO asked if the board could call an emergency
meeting to approve an emergency license.
MS. CHAMBERS replied the Administrative Procedures Act allows
all boards to call a teleconference meeting within five days.
1:44:32 PM
CHAIR COSTELLO opened public testimony on HB 346.
1:44:57 PM
DR. PAUL SILVEIRA, Board of Dental Examiners, Valdez, Alaska,
stated that the board supports HB 346 to expedite a temporary
permit to help an incapacitated dentist.
1:45:23 PM
DR. DAVID LOGAN, Executive Director, Alaska Dental Society,
Juneau Alaska, stated that the Alaska Dental Society is in
strong support of HB 346. He cited examples of the need for
temporary permits to fill in for dental specialists who were
unexpectedly incapacitated. One had a stroke and another had a
major traffic accident. This isn't a common occurrence, he said,
but a temporary permit is a necessary tool for the board to
maintain continuous dental health care in Alaska. Unlike other
states, Alaskans can't easily move to another community for
treatment. It is more effective to bring one dentist to a
community than flying members of a community to another location
for treatment. He reiterated that this would be a valuable tool
for the board.
1:47:08 PM
SENATOR MEYER asked how this would work.
DR. LOGAN said the expectation is that the incapacitated
specialist or their designee would put somebody's name forward.
He posited that they would pull from former classmates,
colleagues, and friends in the field.
SENATOR MEYER asked if someone would need to obtain a temporary
permit before they could be considered as a replacement.
DR LOGAN said the expectation is the name would be submitted to
the board for temporary license approval. If the board approved
the name, the individual would take over the practice
temporarily.
SENATOR MEYER asked if it would be a fairly quick process.
DR LOGAN said it could be fairly quick. The board is able to
meet on an emergency basis and it can also circulate an
application amongst the members for approval. This might take
just a week, which isn't an unrealistic gap.
1:49:55 PM
CHAIR COSTELLO closed public testimony on HB 346.
1:50:07 PM
SENATOR MEYER moved to report the CS for HB 346, version D, from
committee with individual recommendations and attached fiscal
note(s).
CHAIR COSTELLO found no objection and CSHB 346(L&C) moved from
the Senate Labor and Commerce Standing Committee.
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