In the
course of their absolute obsession with running everybody who wants
to work through a bureaucratic gauntlet, Arizona lawmakers passed
SB1380,
requiring physicians to submit fingerprints as part of the process
of undergoing criminal background checks. As annoying as that is,
it also worsened the burden on the Arizona Medical Board, which already had
a backlog of license applications it couldn’t handle. So, the board
responded by
freezing license applications two weeks ago:
Recently, circumstances beyond the control of the Arizona
Medical Board have caused a delay in the implementation of the
federal background check requirement.As a result, there will be a temporary delay in the Board’s
ability to issue licenses to new applicants.Existing licensees will continue to practice without
interruption, provided that the renewal application was filed
timely and any requests for additional information are met. Please
note that a delay in the actual issuance of the license renewal
will occur.
This means a temporary (we assume) freeze on additions to the
already thin ranks of physicians serving a state that’s been
fretting about a doctors’ shortage for years. The crunch is
anticipated to
get worse, largely because of Medicaid expansion increasing
demand without providing much of an incentive (at the program’s
level of compensation) for supply to match. Freezing the issuance
of medical licenses makes expanding the supply of medical
providers…a tad more challenging.
“Unfortunately,” notes the Arizona Medical Association in its
weekly email update, “for physicians wanting to apply for a license
in AZ, the immediate future is unknown at best and at a standstill
at worst. This has serious repercussions for any practices and
hospitals involved in hiring these applicants, and also for the
ability to attract more physician talent into Arizona.”
Undoubtedly, state officials will eventually untangle the
problem that they created. Maybe they need to put a few more rules
in place.
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