HOUSE BILL NO. 346 "An Act relating to the licensure of dentists." 2:17:17 PM REPRESENTATIVE SAM KITO, SPONSOR, shared that he was the chair of the House Labor and Commerce Committee, which had introduced the bill. He asked his staff to provide a bill introduction. CAITLYN ELLIS, STAFF, REPRESENTATIVE SAM KITO, provided detail on the bill. The bill would allow the Board of Dental Examiners to grant temporary licenses for an emergency replacement of a dental specialist or dentist serving in a community without additional dentists. There were only 136 dental specialists covering eight different specialties in Alaska. The numbers were slim in small communities making it difficult to get care. The bill would open up dental licenses to be determined by the board. The licenses would be granted for 90 days with the option for a couple of extensions. The bill would open additional opportunities for care by addressing the gap in coverage in small communities where dental specialists were difficult to reach. Representative Kito added the bill aimed to cover temporary emergency situations where a dentist was unable to perform a service and was unable to find someone to perform the service. The bill would allow the dentist to draw from a pool of dentists licensed from other states to help on an emergency and temporary basis. If the dentists were not licensed and were interested in providing more regular service in Alaska, they would be responsible for becoming licensed. The bill only provided for temporary and emergency situations. Representative Wilson asked if the Alaska Mission of Mercy that brought dentists in to work in Fairbanks, Anchorage, and other locations fell under different licensing than the licensing in the bill. Representative Kito deferred the question to the Alaska Dental Society. DAVID LOGAN, DDS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ALASKA DENTAL SOCIETY, answered there were two separate licenses. The Mission of Mercy used a courtesy license that allowed people to work for pro bono events. The temporary license [used in the bill] would allow someone to come in and work in a private office or salaried position for compensation. 2:20:59 PM Representative Guttenberg shared that a number of years ago a friend had married a dentist from New Zealand. The dentist had not been able to get licensed in Alaska by the board despite his work as a licensed dentist in New Zealand. He wondered if the temporary license allowed by the bill would apply to an international person. He asked if a person had to be already licensed in Alaska or could be licensed somewhere else within the United States. Mr. Logan responded that the bill would not change the particular situation highlighted by Representative Guttenberg. There was now an avenue for someone licensed in another country to gain a license. The bill would require a dentist to be licensed in the U.S. in order to obtain a temporary permit. Representative Guttenberg asked if there was currently a national shortage of specialists. He wondered if there would be specialists available from other states to come to Alaska in the event of a shortage. Mr. Logan responded that Alaska did not have a shortage of specialists, but it had just enough. If one specialist was suddenly incapacitated there was no room in the system to pick up the slack, especially if they were practicing outside of Anchorage. He speculated that Anchorage could perhaps pick up the slack, but the workforce was unavailable anywhere else in Alaska. There was not a large pool of specialists to pull from in Alaska. Representative Guttenberg asked whether the national specialist pool was tight or loose. He wondered what it would take to entice a specialist to work under a temporary permit in Alaska. Mr. Logan replied that bill attempted to tap into the national pool. The bill would allow someone licensed and practicing in another state to come to Alaska to help in a temporary situation. There was an abundance of specialists in the larger urban areas of the U.S. There was not a lack of dentists in the U.S.; however, they were over centered in urban areas and under centered in rural areas - Alaska was no exception. 2:23:39 PM Representative Guttenberg stated that years back a friend had started Mushing Magazine and the hospital had thanked him because it had been their best recruitment tool. He elaborated that many doctors had come up from Minnesota and northern areas. He asked what it would take to entice people to come up to Alaska. Mr. Logan replied that if a dentist was incapacitated they would likely reach out to classmates they had gone to specialty school with or people they know through professional organizations. He provided a hypothetical scenario where a dentist broke a hand and could not work for several months. More than likely they would find someone to come up and help by working evenings and weekends. He explained it would be a sacrifice on the part of the specialist, but communities that would otherwise not receive care would have an avenue towards care. Representative Guttenberg asked if there was a chart showing the pay differential between specialists in Alaska and specialists in other states. He added he was supportive of the bill. Mr. Logan replied not to his knowledge. He had seen a pay differential chart for general dentists, but not specialists. Vice-Chair Gara stated that he had initially misunderstood the bill. He asked for verification that the bill would enable individuals licensed in another state to work temporarily in Alaska. Mr. Logan answered in the affirmative. He clarified that someone trained in one specialty would not have the ability to work in another specialty, given an absence of training in the other specialty. The bill would be an avenue to allow out-of-state dentists to work in Alaska under a temporary permit. He explained that if a dentist was already licensed in Alaska, they had no need for the legislation and could move around the state at will. 2:26:49 PM Co-Chair Foster OPENED and CLOSED public testimony. He provided the House Finance Committee email address for written comments. Vice-Chair Gara addressed the one fiscal impact note from the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development. The note showed $2,600 in receipt services to be paid for by licensees for the cost of potentially amending regulations. Co-Chair Seaton MOVED to REPORT CSHB 346(L&C) out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal note. There being NO OBJECTION, CSHB 346(L&C) was REPORTED out of committee with a "do pass" recommendation and with one previously published fiscal impact note: FN1 (CED). 2:28:53 PM AT EASE 2:29:23 PM RECONVENED