International physicians; authorize MS license for certain who are sponsored by an in-state health care provider.

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To: Public Health and Human
Services
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Creekmore IV

HOUSE BILL NO. 313

AN ACT TO CREATE NEW SECTION 73-25-24, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1
1972, TO AUTHORIZE THE STATE BOARD OF MEDICAL LICENSURE TO GRANT A 2
PROVISIONAL LICENSE TO PRACTICE MEDICINE TO CERTAIN INTERNATIONAL 3
PHYSICIANS WHO ARE SPONSORED BY A HEALTH CARE PROVIDER IN THE 4
STATE, AND TO INTERNATIONAL PHYSICIANS WHO ARE LICENSED TO 5
PRACTICE IN CERTAIN COUNTRIES; TO PROVIDE THAT THESE PROVISIONAL 6
LICENSES WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE CONVERTED INTO FULL LICENSES TO 7
PRACTICE MEDICINE AFTER THREE YEARS OF ACTIVE PRACTICE; AND FOR 8
RELATED PURPOSES. 9
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 10
SECTION 1. The following shall be codified as Section 11
73-25-24, Mississippi Code of 1972: 12
73-25-24. (1) This section shall be known and may be cited 13
as the "Expanding Physician Access Act of 2026." 14
(2) Purpose. This section removes barriers that prevent 15
high-quality, internationally-licensed physicians from filling 16
vacancies in Mississippi, including in rural and primary care 17
settings, by eliminating unnecessary training duplication. All 18
other care standards and requirements remain unchanged and the 19
board shall continue to perform its role to ensure that all 20
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internationally-licensed applicants have the requisite knowledge 21
and experience to practice medicine in Mississippi. 22
(3) Definitions. As used in this section, the following 23
terms shall have the meaning as defined in this subsection: 24
(a) "Physician" means any individual who has obtained a 25
medical doctorate or substantially similar degree and is licensed 26
inside or outside the United States. 27
(b) "International medical program" means any medical 28
school, residency program, medical internship program, or entity 29
that provides physicians with a medical education or training 30
outside of the United States that is substantially similar to that 31
required to practice as a physician in Mississippi and/or 32
evaluated by the Educational Commission on Foreign Medical 33
Graduates. 34
(c) "International physician" means any individual who: 35
(i) Has been granted a medical doctorate or 36
substantially similar degree by an international medical program 37
of good standing; 38
(ii) Has been in good standing with the medical 39
licensing or regulatory institution of his or her licensing 40
country within the last five (5) years and does not have any 41
pending discipline before the licensing body; 42
(iii) Has completed a residency or substantially 43
similar post-graduate medical training, or has practiced as a 44
medical professional performing the duties of a physician in his 45
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or her licensing country for at least seven (7) years after the 46
completion of a medical doctorate; 47
(iv) Has practiced medicine as a fully licensed 48
physician in his or her licensing country for at least five (5) 49
years after the completion of residency training or residency 50
equivalent as provided in subparagraph (iii) of this paragraph 51
(c); and 52
(v) Possesses basic fluency in the English 53
language. 54
(d) "Health care provider" means an individual, entity, 55
corporation, person or organization, whether for profit or 56
nonprofit, that furnishes, bills or is paid for health care 57
procedures or service delivery in the normal course of business, 58
and includes, without limitation, health systems, hospitals, 59
hospital-based facilities, freestanding emergency facilities, and 60
urgent care clinics. 61
(4) Provisional state license for health care provider 62
sponsored international physicians. (a) The board shall grant a 63
provisional license to practice medicine in Mississippi to any 64
international physician with an offer for employment as a 65
physician at any health care provider that operates in the state. 66
(i) The board shall not grant a provisional 67
license to practice medicine in Mississippi to any international 68
physician unless he or she is eligible to obtain federal 69
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immigration status that allows him or her to practice as a 70
physician in the United States. 71
(ii) The board shall not grant a provisional 72
license to practice medicine in Mississippi to any international 73
physician unless he or she possesses a passing score on the United 74
States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE). 75
(iii) The board may revoke a provisional license 76
granted under this paragraph (a) if the international physician is 77
not employed by a health care provider that operates in the state 78
during the provisional license period. 79
(b) The board may revoke a provisional license granted 80
under paragraph (a) of this subsection based on clear and 81
convincing evidence that medical services provided by the licensee 82
have violated state medical safety, competency or conduct 83
standards. 84
(i) Licensees may appeal the revocation of their 85
provisional license to the Chancery Court of the First Judicial 86
District of Hinds County within one-hundred twenty (120) days of 87
the revocation of a provisional license. 88
(ii) The court shall reinstate the provisional 89
license if it finds that the board's actions did not meet the 90
standards in this paragraph (b). 91
(c) Provisional licenses will automatically be 92
converted into full licenses to practice medicine in Mississippi 93
after three (3) years of active practice in Mississippi. 94
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(d) Nothing in this subsection (4) requires the board 95
to license, on a provisional or full basis, an international 96
physician without evidence of equivalent training, without 97
evidence of satisfactory passage of exams, without satisfactory 98
results of a background investigation, without the completion of 99
the license application, and without payment of all required fees. 100
(e) International physicians must obtain federal work 101
authorization before beginning any work for the sponsoring health 102
care provider. 103
(f) International physicians who become licensed under 104
paragraph (c) of this subsection do not need to maintain 105
employment with the original sponsoring health care provider at 106
the conclusion of the provisional licensing period. 107
(5) Provisional state license for certain international 108
physicians. (a) The board shall grant a provisional license to 109
practice medicine in Mississippi to any applicant international 110
physician who is a resident of and licensed to practice in any of 111
the following countries: 112
(i) Australia; 113
(ii) Ireland; 114
(iii) Israel; 115
(iv) New Zealand; 116
(v) Singapore; 117
(vi) South Africa; 118
(vii) Switzerland; 119
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(viii) The United Kingdom; 120
(ix) Canada. 121
(b) Additional countries may be added to paragraph (a) 122
of this subsection by the board. 123
(c) The board may only grant a provisional license 124
under paragraph (a) of this subsection to an international 125
physician who is eligible to obtain federal immigration status 126
that allows him or her to practice as a physician in the United 127
States. 128
(d) The board may revoke a provisional license granted 129
under paragraph (a) of this subsection based on clear and 130
convincing evidence that medical services provided by the licensee 131
have violated state medical safety, competency or conduct 132
standards. 133
(i) Licensees may appeal the revocation of their 134
provisional license to the Chancery Court of the First Judicial 135
District of Hinds County within one-hundred twenty (120) days of 136
the revocation of their provisional license. 137
(ii) The court shall reinstate the provisional 138
license if it finds that the board's actions did not meet the 139
standards in this paragraph (d). 140
(e) Provisional licenses will automatically be 141
converted into full licenses to practice medicine in Mississippi 142
after three (3) years of active practice in Mississippi. 143
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ST: International physicians; authorize MS
license for certain who are sponsored by an in-
state health care provider.
(f) Nothing in this subsection (5) requires the board 144
to license, on a provisional or full basis, an international 145
physician without evidence of equivalent training, without 146
evidence of satisfactory passage of exams, without satisfactory 147
results of a background investigation, without the completion of 148
the license application, and without payment of all required fees. 149
(6) Nothing in this section shall affect the authority of 150
the board under Section 73-25-23 to grant limited institutional 151
licenses for the practice of medicine in state institutions to 152
graduates of approved foreign medical colleges. 153
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 154
and after July 1, 2026. 155