SB 38-EXTEND STATE MEDICAL BOARD  1:58:22 PM CHAIR DUNLEAVY announced the consideration of SB 38. 1:58:47 PM DAVID SCOTT, staff to Senator Donny Olson, sponsor of SB 38, said this bill extends the termination date of the State Medical Board until June 30, 2020. This is an eight-member board appointed by the governor and approved by the legislature. Five members are physicians, one is a physician assistant, and two are public members. This regulatory board licenses and regulates osteopaths, paramedics, physicians, physician assistants, and podiatrists. He noted that, board president Ed Hall, a representative from Legislative Budget and Audit, and Mr. Habeger from the commerce department were available to answer questions. 2:00:04 PM SENATOR MICCICHE noted that the fiscal note referenced both an eight-member board and a five-member board. He asked which number was correct. MR. SCOTT answered that the statute says the board has eight members. He deferred further explanation to Mr. Habeger who prepared the fiscal note. SENATOR OLSON clarified that the State Medical Board has eight members. SENATOR MICCICHE said the fiscal note should be corrected; the analysis describes travel expenses and per diem for a five- member board and staff. 2:01:40 PM At ease 2:02:08 PM SENATOR OLSON suggested that Mr. Harbinger could address Senator Micciche's question. SENATOR MICCICHE asked if State Medical Board members were paid. MR. SCOTT answered no; they receive a travel and per diem allowance. 2:03:18 PM DON HABEGER, Director, Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing, Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development (DCCED), agreed to correct the error in the fiscal note. SENATOR MICCICHE asked if member costs in the $40,000 range were typical, because it seemed high. MR. HABEGER said the State Medical Board is unique from the standpoint that it doesn't choose to centralize in one of the major communities. The Medical Board twice a year meets in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau and twice a year meets in rural communities like Nome. He relayed that the only time he asked the board to rethink their travel plans was when they asked to go to Dutch Harbor. 2:05:25 PM KRIS CURTIS, legislative auditor, Division of Legislative Audit, informed the committee that the agency conducted a sunset audit of the State Medical Board during 2012. The audit concluded that the board was serving the public's interest by effectively licensing and regulating osteopaths, paramedics, physicians, physician assistants, and podiatrists, and recommended extending the board's termination date to June 30, 2020. This is one year less than the statutory maximum in recognition of a new finding that the Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing (DCPBL) staff failed to review continuing medical education requirements in accordance with regulation, which require review of five percent of licensees during each biannual licensing cycle. DCPBL reviewed only four percent of licensees and the audit therefore recommended the division meet the minimum required by regulation. The audit also made two continuing recommendations to the board. The first was associated with deficiencies in DCPBL's investigative case management system. Key information was missing such as priority codes, case open dates, and resolution codes. She noted that DCPBL had taken steps to address the issue by forming a task force to identify necessary corrective action. The final ongoing recommendation was to implement procedures to ensure reporting of board disciplinary actions to national data banks within 30 days, in accordance with state and federal law. The 2012 audit found improvement in overall reporting of disciplinary actions, but timeliness continued to be an issue. The Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development (DCCED) and State Medical Board concurred with all the recommendations. 2:08:40 PM SENATOR OLSON asked how Alaska's license renewal requirements for physicians compared to other states. MS. CURTIS said there were no findings on continuing education but it had not been a problem in the past for the Medical Board. She noted that some other boards had problems with their continuing education not meeting national standards. SENATOR OLSON commented that it was an issue that only four percent of licensees were reviewed when regulation required five percent. MS. CURTIS clarified that it was a DCBPL staff issue, not a Medical Board issue. SENATOR OLSON asked if the audit found that the case management deficiencies compromised patient care. MS. CURTIS answered that the audit did not find any instance of that. SENATOR OLSON asked if the disciplinary actions were reported after the 30-day deadline or if the national data banks failed to post the reports in a timely manner. MS. CURTIS replied that the audit found that DCBPL staff did not submit the reports within the timeframe. 2:11:19 PM ED HALL, President/Chair and physician assistant, State Medical Board, Anchorage, AK, testified in support of SB 38 to extend the sunset date of the State Medical Board to 2020. SENATOR OLSON asked if he agreed with the seven-year extension as opposed to the eight years allowed under statute. MR. HALL responded that he agreed with the seven-year extension in light of the findings in the sunset audit. He noted that the executive administrator had primary oversight of reporting so the board would be in compliance. SENATOR OLSON thanked Mr. Hall and the other members of the board for their service. 2:13:49 PM CHAIR DUNLEAVY announced he would hold SB 38 and keep public testimony open.