HB 2121 — An Act amending the act of December 20, 1985 (P.L.457, No.112), known as the Medical Practice Act of 1985, further providing for temporary license.

PRINTER'S NO.   2741

                      THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



                          HOUSE BILL
                          No. 2121
                                                 Session of
                                                   2026

     INTRODUCED BY BURGOS, KAZEEM, HILL-EVANS, KINKEAD, HOHENSTEIN,
        CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, BELLMON, SANCHEZ AND McNEILL, JANUARY 7, 2026

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON PROFESSIONAL LICENSURE, JANUARY 8, 2026


                                      AN ACT
 1   Amending the act of December 20, 1985 (P.L.457, No.112),
 2      entitled "An act relating to the right to practice medicine
 3      and surgery and the right to practice medically related acts;
 4      reestablishing the State Board of Medical Education and
 5      Licensure as the State Board of Medicine and providing for
 6      its composition, powers and duties; providing for the
 7      issuance of licenses and certificates and the suspension and
 8      revocation of licenses and certificates; provided penalties;
 9      and making repeals," further providing for temporary license.
10      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
11   hereby enacts as follows:
12      Section 1.      Section 33(a) introductory paragraph of the act
13   of December 20, 1985 (P.L.457, No.112), known as the Medical
14   Practice Act of 1985, is amended and the section is amended by
15   adding subsections to read:
16   Section 33.      Temporary license.
17      (a)   General rule.--[A] Except as provided under subsection
18   (d), a temporary license empowers the licensee to:
19            * * *
20      (d)   Provisional licensure for international medical
21   graduates.--
 1        (1)   The board shall issue a provisional license to an
 2    international medical graduate who is not subject to
 3    subsection (a) and who provides all of the following to the
 4    board:
 5              (i)    Evidence of the performance of duties as a
 6        physician for at least three years outside of the United
 7        States.
 8              (ii)    A demonstration of English language
 9        proficiency.
10              (iii)    An Educational Commission for Foreign Medical
11        Graduates Certificate.
12              (iv)    Evidence of a passing score on the United
13        States Medical Licensing Examination regarding:
14                     (A)   Step 1, which tests foundational basic
15              science concepts.
16                     (B)   Step 2, which assesses clinical science
17              knowledge for supervised patient care, including
18              diagnosis and management.
19              (v)    Verification of foreign medical training or
20        practice.
21              (vi)    Authorization to work in the United States for
22        a specified period of time.
23              (vii)    Confirmation of a full-time job offer from a
24        Commonwealth-licensed health care facility.
25        (2)   An international medical graduate who receives a
26    provisional license in accordance with this subsection shall,
27    as determined by the board, be subject to practicing under
28    supervision, within designated underserved areas or within
29    approved specialties.
30        (3)   A provisional license issued in accordance with this

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 1      subsection shall be valid for up to four years.
 2            (4)   An international medical graduate who has maintained
 3      a provisional license in good standing for the entire
 4      provisional period, without any violation or pending
 5      investigation, shall be eligible to receive a full and
 6      unrestricted license to practice medicine in this
 7      Commonwealth. If the international medical graduate has
 8      complied with the supervised practice agreement and all
 9      relevant regulations, the board may not unreasonably withhold
10      the approval of the full and unrestricted license.
11            (5)   No later than one year after the effective date of
12      this paragraph, and annually thereafter, the board shall
13      issue a report to the General Assembly that contains the
14      following information regarding provisional licenses issued
15      in accordance with this subsection:
16                  (i)    The number of provisional licenses issued
17            annually.
18                  (ii)    The location in which each international
19            medical graduate with a provisional license is currently
20            practicing.
21                  (iii)    The nature of the practice of each
22            international medical graduate with a provisional
23            license.
24                  (iv)    Any other information that the board deems
25            appropriate.
26      (e)   Definitions.--As used in this section, the following
27   words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this
28   subsection unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
29      "International medical graduate."       An individual who has
30   graduated from an international medical school.

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1      "Provisional license."   A temporary license to practice
2   medicine, which is issued to an international medical graduate
3   in accordance with subsection (d).
4      Section 2.   This act shall take effect in 60 days.




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