House Bill 313

AN ACT TO CREATE NEW SECTION 73-25-24, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE THE STATE BOARD OF MEDICAL LICENSURE TO GRANT A PROVISIONAL LICENSE TO PRACTICE MEDICINE TO CERTAIN INTERNATIONAL PHYSICIANS WHO ARE SPONSORED BY A HEALTH CARE PROVIDER IN THE STATE, AND TO INTERNATIONAL PHYSICIANS WHO ARE LICENSED TO PRACTICE IN CERTAIN COUNTRIES; TO PROVIDE THAT THESE PROVISIONAL LICENSES WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE CONVERTED INTO FULL LICENSES TO PRACTICE MEDICINE AFTER THREE YEARS OF ACTIVE PRACTICE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. The following shall be codified as Section 73-25-24, Mississippi Code of 1972:

73-25-24. (1) This section shall be known and may be cited as the "Expanding Physician Access Act of 2026."

(2) Purpose. This section removes barriers that prevent high-quality, internationally-licensed physicians from filling vacancies in Mississippi, including in rural and primary care settings, by eliminating unnecessary training duplication. All other care standards and requirements remain unchanged and the board shall continue to perform its role to ensure that all internationally-licensed applicants have the requisite knowledge and experience to practice medicine in Mississippi.

(3) Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall have the meaning as defined in this subsection:

(a) "Physician" means any individual who has obtained a medical doctorate or substantially similar degree and is licensed inside or outside the United States.

(b) "International medical program" means any medical school, residency program, medical internship program, or entity that provides physicians with a medical education or training outside of the United States that is substantially similar to that required to practice as a physician in Mississippi and/or evaluated by the Educational Commission on Foreign Medical Graduates.

(i) Has been granted a medical doctorate or substantially similar degree by an international medical program of good standing;

(ii) Has been in good standing with the medical licensing or regulatory institution of his or her licensing country within the last five (5) years and does not have any pending discipline before the licensing body;

(iii) Has completed a residency or substantially similar post-graduate medical training, or has practiced as a medical professional performing the duties of a physician in his or her licensing country for at least seven (7) years after the completion of a medical doctorate;

(iv) Has practiced medicine as a fully licensed physician in his or her licensing country for at least five (5) years after the completion of residency training or residency equivalent as provided in subparagraph (iii) of this paragraph (c); and

(v) Possesses basic fluency in the English language.

(d) "Health care provider" means an individual, entity, corporation, person or organization, whether for profit or nonprofit, that furnishes, bills or is paid for health care procedures or service delivery in the normal course of business, and includes, without limitation, health systems, hospitals, hospital-based facilities, freestanding emergency facilities, and urgent care clinics.

(4) Provisional state license for health care provider sponsored international physicians. (a) The board shall grant a provisional license to practice medicine in Mississippi to any international physician with an offer for employment as a physician at any health care provider that operates in the state.

(i) The board shall not grant a provisional license to practice medicine in Mississippi to any international physician unless he or she is eligible to obtain federal immigration status that allows him or her to practice as a physician in the United States.

(ii) The board shall not grant a provisional license to practice medicine in Mississippi to any international physician unless he or she possesses a passing score on the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE).

(iii) The board may revoke a provisional license granted under this paragraph (a) if the international physician is not employed by a health care provider that operates in the state during the provisional license period.

(b) The board may revoke a provisional license granted under paragraph (a) of this subsection based on clear and convincing evidence that medical services provided by the licensee have violated state medical safety, competency or conduct standards.

(i) Licensees may appeal the revocation of their provisional license to the Chancery Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County within one-hundred twenty (120) days of the revocation of a provisional license.

(ii) The court shall reinstate the provisional license if it finds that the board's actions did not meet the standards in this paragraph (b).

(c) Provisional licenses will automatically be converted into full licenses to practice medicine in Mississippi after three (3) years of active practice in Mississippi.

(d) Nothing in this subsection (4) requires the board to license, on a provisional or full basis, an international physician without evidence of equivalent training, without evidence of satisfactory passage of exams, without satisfactory results of a background investigation, without the completion of the license application, and without payment of all required fees.

(e) International physicians must obtain federal work authorization before beginning any work for the sponsoring health care provider.

(f) International physicians who become licensed under paragraph (c) of this subsection do not need to maintain employment with the original sponsoring health care provider at the conclusion of the provisional licensing period.

(5) Provisional state license for certain international physicians. (a) The board shall grant a provisional license to practice medicine in Mississippi to any applicant international physician who is a resident of and licensed to practice in any of the following countries:

(i) Australia;

(ii) Ireland;

(iii) Israel;

(iv) New Zealand;

(v) Singapore;

(vi) South Africa;

(vii) Switzerland;

(viii) The United Kingdom;

(ix) Canada.

(b) Additional countries may be added to paragraph (a) of this subsection by the board.

(c) The board may only grant a provisional license under paragraph (a) of this subsection to an international physician who is eligible to obtain federal immigration status that allows him or her to practice as a physician in the United States.

(d) The board may revoke a provisional license granted under paragraph (a) of this subsection based on clear and convincing evidence that medical services provided by the licensee have violated state medical safety, competency or conduct standards.

(ii) The court shall reinstate the provisional license if it finds that the board's actions did not meet the standards in this paragraph (d).

(e) Provisional licenses will automatically be converted into full licenses to practice medicine in Mississippi after three (3) years of active practice in Mississippi.

(f) Nothing in this subsection (5) requires the board to license, on a provisional or full basis, an international physician without evidence of equivalent training, without evidence of satisfactory passage of exams, without satisfactory results of a background investigation, without the completion of the license application, and without payment of all required fees.

(6) Nothing in this section shall affect the authority of the board under Section 73-25-23 to grant limited institutional licenses for the practice of medicine in state institutions to graduates of approved foreign medical colleges.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2026.