Frontier Institute Statement in Support of HB 414

Lawmakers can bolster Montana’s healthcare workforce with permanent red tape relief

HELENA – Today the Frontier Institute offered support for HB 414, a bill that follows Frontier Institute’s recommendations to make permanent the successful COVID-era emergency measures to streamline occupational licensure.

HB 414 will allow workers with a good standing professional license in another state to work in Montana for up to 21 days each year, without requiring any additional licensure red tape other than registration. Workers authorized under this bill will be able to provide education, continuity of treatment, treatment to underserved populations, or highly specialized treatment care to clients or patients.

“The COVID pandemic showed us that red tape relief to streamline occupational licensing can help rapidly expand Montana’s healthcare workforce. This successful model should be made permanent ,” said Kendall Cotton, President and CEO of the Frontier Institute. “HB 414 will help expand healthcare access and grow Montana’s workforce by permanently adopting the pandemic model of Universal Licensure Recognition.”

Frontier Institute has promoted extensive research showing:

• Complex and expensive state licensure requirements are a major barrier to telehealth access across state lines. 
• Vendors that assist physicians with licensure in Montana estimate that the entire process realistically takes 3-4 months to complete.
• Emergency regulatory flexibilities during COVID allowed a streamlined process for medical professionals to become licensed to practice in Montana as long as they had a license in good standing in another state that was recognized.
• Streamlined licensure rapidly expanded our healthcare workforce during the pandemic, with nearly 2,500 medical professionals receiving a temporary license under the new system.