Legislation addressing health care worker shortages to be signed into law

Legislation addressing the worker shortages in health care and facilitating Pennsylvania’s entry into interstate compacts has been sent to Gov. Josh Shapiro to be signed into law.

Sponsored by Rep. Frank Burns, D-Cambria, H.B. 2200 enables interstate licensing compacts to become operational. The legislation requires applicants in healthcare professions to submit fingerprints as part of their criminal history records check and lays out the process that Pennsylvania State Police and state licensing boards must follow in considering them.

The change in law allows licensees to practice in other participating states with just one license.?Without the fingerprinting process in place, previous efforts to implement the compacts passed into law proved unsuccessful.

“Anyone who has waited hours or even days in an emergency room or had trouble finding a professional that is taking new patients will welcome this legislation,” Burns, chairperson of the House Professional Licensure Committee, said in a statement. “This represents months of negotiation between the state and federal government.

“As a result, it will make Pennsylvania’s interstate compacts operational, which helps health systems to have more flexibility in hiring and for health practitioners from out-of-state to find jobs in Pennsylvania,” added Burns.

Under H.B. 2200, applicants for an initial license, certificate, registration or permit, or an interstate compact license, in a healthcare field must submit a full set of fingerprints to the Pennsylvania State Police for a background check. State police would then send the fingerprints to the FBI for identity verification and a national criminal history check.

This procedure would apply to those in the following fields who are overseen by their respective state boards - chiropractors, dentists, speech language pathologists and audiologists, acupuncturists, naturopathics, nurses, occupational therapy, optometrists, osteopathic doctors, pharmacists, physical therapists, podiatrists, psychologists, social workers, marriage and family therapists and counselors.

Licensees who have a Pennsylvania license would not need to submit fingerprints for a criminal history check for renewal of their Pennsylvania license.

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