More than 8,000 physicians could lose the ability to practice medicine at the end of March unless lawmakers renew Michigan’s participation in a multi-state physician licensing agreement.
Health care leaders warned during a virtual media roundtable hosted by the Michigan Osteopathic Association last week that failure to extend the state’s participation in the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact could disrupt care for thousands of patients across the state.
“If this sunsetting law is not renewed immediately, at the end of March, we’re going to lose positions,” said John Haapaniemi, president of the medical staff at the Detroit Medical Center. “We have internists, radiologists. Specifically, psychiatry is going to be significantly impacted here, and we’re going to have a critical loss of coverage in mental health.”
Michigan joined the compact in 2019. The agreement allows physicians to obtain licenses in multiple states through a streamlined process instead of navigating separate applications in each state.
Since joining, more than 8,000 physicians have obtained Michigan licenses through the system, said to Dr. Emily Hurst, a critical care physician with Henry Ford Health and the immediate past president of the Michigan Osteopathic Association.
“That means qualified physicians have been able to get licensed in weeks instead of waiting months or even years through traditional processes,” Hurst said. “Health care doesn’t pause for paperwork.”
If Michigan’s participation expires at the end of March, physicians licensed through the compact could lose the ability to practice in the state, potentially disrupting more than 100,000 patient appointments each day, Hurst said.
“That is not a small bureaucratic inconvenience,” she said. “That’s a serious access-to-care issue.”
Marshall Smith, executive director of the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Commission, said the agreement allows states to cooperate to expand physician access and reduce licensing delays.
“There are currently 43 states, the territory of Guam and the District of Columbia that are part of the interstate medical licensure compact,” Smith said. “Quality physicians are able to use our process to effectively get licensed in other states.”
Nationwide, about 58,000 physicians have used the compact to obtain more than 200,000 licenses, he said.
Smith warned that about 30% of physicians practicing in Michigan could be affected if the agreement expires.
“There will be 5,000 fewer physicians because they’re licensed to practice in Michigan,” Smith said. “There will be about 3,000 physicians who are currently licensed in Michigan who practice in other states – their ability to practice in those other states will go away.”
Rachel Ruddock, director of workforce and career training at the Michigan Primary Care Association, emphasized the compact is especially important for rural health centers and underserved communities.
Michigan’s community health centers operate more than 400 locations across the state and serve about one in every 15 residents.
“In many parts of Michigan, the nearest specialist is often several counties or hours away, and recruiting physicians to underserved areas is already a massive challenge,” Ruddock said.
The compact helps address that challenge by allowing out-of-state physicians to obtain licenses quickly and provide care, including through telehealth, she said.
“Telehealth has become a lifeline for rural patients, whether for specialty consultations, mental health services or follow-up care,” Ruddock said. “But telehealth only works when physicians can practice across state lines without facing months of redundant licensing barriers.”
Smith added that Michigan’s Upper Peninsula could be particularly affected if the agreement is not extended.
“The majority of physicians that practice in the Upper Peninsula are primarily licensed in Wisconsin or Minnesota,” Smith said. “They use the compact to get licensed so they can open offices and practice in the Upper Peninsula.”
Without the agreement, he said, “between 40% and 60% of the physicians currently practicing in the Upper Peninsula will be impacted.”
Legislation to extend Michigan’s participation – Senate Bill 303 and House Bill 5455 – has passed with little opposition in their respective chambers but is currently stalled in committee in the opposite chamber.
Smith said the delay is puzzling because the bills have broad bipartisan support.
“There is no opposition to the bill,” he said. “It passed almost unanimously.”
The legislation previously stalled during last year’s lame-duck legislative session, leaving lawmakers only weeks left to act before the March 28 deadline. The House bill last saw movement in February, while the Senate bill has not been touched since last June.
Smith compared the situation to a football team just short of scoring.
“There’s five seconds left. We’re on the one-yard line,” he said. “This requires a legislative hero – either the House or the Senate – to pick up the ball and push it over the goal line.”
