GME Expansion

On March 23, S 1147 was signed into law, the funding mechanism to continue the 10-year Graduate Medical Education expansion plan. As a reminder, $824,000 has been appropriated this year for the GME plan. This includes $600,000 for 10 new residents and a $2,000 per resident funding increase for existing seats.

Virtual Health Care (HB 162)

On March 21, Governor Little held a signing ceremony and signed HB 162, "Virtual Health Care," into law. Introduced by Rep. Jordan Redman (R-Coeur d'Alene) and co-sponsored by Chairman John Vander Woude (R-Nampa) and Rep. Chenele Dixon (R-Kimberly), HB 162 is the result of a large stakeholder process.

HB 162 allows prescriber-patient relationships to be formed using asynchronous technology. Still, it increases patient protection by requiring the appropriate DOPL licensure boards to uphold the standard of care and requiring Idaho licensure in nearly all circumstances.

Bridge Year Physicians (HB 153)

Also, on March 21, Governor Little signed HB 153 into law. As a refresher, HB 153 was introduced by Rep. Josh Wheeler (R-Ammon) and Rep. Chenele Dixon and would create a one-year, nonrenewable license for unmatched medical school graduates. These "bridge year physicians" will be required to practice under the supervision of a licensed Idaho physician and will be placed with the help of the Board of Medicine.

The Lobby Team thanks Governor Little, the bill sponsors, and all the legislators that supported these three efforts!

Women's Health

For the 2023 legislative session and the months leading up to it, the number one focus for the IMA Lobby Team has been women's health. On March 20, that hard work paid off with the introduction of HB 342, which would provide badly needed changes to Idaho's abortion laws along with some clarification and relief for physicians treating pregnancy complications with the following provisions:

*Eliminates affirmative defense clauses and instead provides real exceptions

*Allows physicians to use reasonable medical judgment to:

Prevent the death of a pregnant woman or
Treat a physical condition of the woman that, if left untreated, would be life-threatening.

*Provides exceptions for treatment of:

Ectopic or molar pregnancy
A woman who is no longer pregnant
Removal of a dead unborn child

While it is not the comprehensive solution originally sought by IMA, the bill is a positive step forward. By removing what physicians said was the most egregious part of the law, the affirmative defense (guilty until proven innocent) standard, and replacing it with true exceptions, the bill will provide needed relief for physicians treating pregnancy complications. In addition, HB 342 expands language in the life of the woman exception and allows physicians to avoid emergencies instead of waiting for them.

HB 342 was scheduled to have a hearing in the House State Affairs Committee on two separate occasions. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen problems, those hearings were postponed. Some opponents of the bill view the "life threatening" language as entirely too broad and could allow abortion on demand. Likely, HB 342 will not go forward as written.

There may be a path forward with alternative language, but it is unclear what it may look like. According to our HOD policies, IMA will keep pushing for as much relief as possible. The House State Affairs Committee will print two bills on March 27 and conduct a hearing on March 28.

In the meantime, IMA members are urged to continue reaching out to their legislators to let them know it is critically important for legislation to fix Idaho's abortion laws before they adjourn the session.

Please ask your legislators to support legislation to allow care for pregnancy complications by using the link below.

Email Your Legislators about Women's Health

Gender Affirming Care

On March 17, the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee held a two-hour hearing on HB 71, the bill to make it a felony to provide gender affirming care (GAC) to transgender minors. In the end, the committee passed the bill but sent it to the amending order for changes.

On March 22, amendments to HB 71 were debated on the Senate floor. Among the three amendments debated, the only one adopted was introduced by the bill sponsor, Sen. Lori Den Hartog (R-Meridian). However, her amendment just shifted the bill language to a different section of code and did little to alter the bill's main provisions. Two other amendments failed: Sen. Melissa Wintrow (D-Boise) to ban surgery only and Sen. James Ruchti (D-Pocatello) to allow exceptions for suicidal individuals.

You can view the amended legislation at this link:

https://legislature.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/sessioninfo/2023/legislation/H0071A2.pdf

The next steps will take place on March 27, as the Senate is expected to debate the bill, followed by a pass or fail vote. If the bill passes the Senate, it will go back to the House for them to vote to concur on amendments. If the House concurs, it will then go to the Governor.

We will continue to keep you posted as the legislative session nears its conclusion.

Please click on the link below to urge your senator to Vote No on HB 71.

Email Your Senator VOTE No on HB 71

Throughout the Legislative Session, IMA monitors legislation and provides status updates every Friday. Click here to view the IMA Bill Tracker.

If you ever have any questions or need any advice, don't hesitate to touch base with us.

Mike Cunnington, Director of Government Affairs

(208) 344-7888

cunnington@idmed.org