HB 102 AM-MEDICAL LICENSE: APPLICATION/FOREIGN GRAD  CHAIR CON BUNDE announced that the first order of business to come before the committee was HB 102 AM. REPRESENTATIVE BILL STOLTZ, sponsor of HB 102 AM, said there is a chronic shortage of physicians in Alaska. An option to ease the shortage is to provide the State Medical Board discretion in defining the training and qualifications required for licensure of foreign medical school graduates. 1:40:21 PM SENATOR ELLIS arrived. RICK URION, Director, Division of Occupational Licensing, supported HB 102 AM. Licensing laws have absolutely no discretion. The bill would not open up the medical community to people who are not qualified. 1:43:50 PM CHAIR BUNDE asked him to brief the committee on the application process for a foreign medical student. MR. URION replied: Therein lies the problem. There's a requirement in there for a two-year specialty residency that, I think, they have a hard time ever, ever coming to meet. You'll hear testimony from those of some very qualified people that we have not been able to bring to Alaska because they couldn't meet this criteria - but they are well-qualified to practice medicine and would be a credit to the community. 1:44:40 PM JIM JORDAN, Executive Director, Alaska State Medical Association, strongly supported this bill. It allows the board to adopt by regulation alternative measures of competency. "We feel it is absolutely required." The United States and the State of Alaska are facing an acute shortage of doctors. By the year 2020, there is expected to be a shortage of 90,000 to 200,000 physicians in this country. A positive unintended consequence is that there are about eighty languages spoken in Anchorage and there is a great concern in medical circles of providing culturally competent care. By the ability to attract and have licensed very qualified graduates of foreign medical schools could provide an element of culturally competent care in Alaska. It would also provide an educational opportunity for those physicians to share their knowledge with the other practicing physicians in the state. DR. GEORGE STEWART, Anchorage physician specializing in lung disease and critical care medicine, said he has practiced since 1971. He reiterated that there are severe shortages in the specialty medicine, like diabetes, neurology and rheumatology. It will get worse as the population grows and gets older. He related a personal story of how a foreign medical person couldn't get licensed in Alaska and other examples of foreign doctors not getting licensure. He said the intent is not to lower the standard for physician licensure, but to bring physicians who speak different languages to the profession as an asset. He emphasized that they are well-qualified people. CHAIR BUNDE thanked everyone for their comments and set HB 102 AM aside until next week.