Outside Section 16

Redistribution of the Physician Licensing Cycle

SECTION 16.   Section 2 of chapter 112 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the sixth paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-

          The board shall require that all physicians registered in the commonwealth renew their certificates of registration with the board at 2-year intervals. Effective in 2008, physicians born in an even-numbered year and registered in the commonwealth shall renew their certificates of registration with the board on their birthday in each succeeding even-numbered year, and physicians born in odd-numbered years shall renew their certificates of registration with the board on their birthday in each succeeding odd-numbered year. Physicians who renew their certificates of registration with the board in the year 2008 and who were born in an odd-numbered year shall renew their certificates of registration with the board on their birthday in the year 2011 if they pay a fee equal to one and a half times the fee determined for a 2-year renewal. Physicians who renew their certificates of registration with the board in the year 2007 and who were born in an even-numbered year shall renew their certificates of registration with the board on their birthday in the year 2010 if they pay a fee equal to one and a half times the fee determined for a 2-year renewal. Nothing in this section shall prevent the board from specifying the duration of limited licenses at its discretion, but if the birthday of any physician who shall be registered under this section shall occur within 3 months after original registration, that person need not renew the registration until the person's birthday in the second year following that birthday. For the purposes of this section, the birthday of a person born on February 29 shall be considered to be February 28. The renewal application shall be accompanied by a fee determined under the previously mentioned section and shall include the physician's name, license number, home address, office address, specialties, the principal setting of the physician's practice, and whether the person is an active or inactive practitioner.
 
 

Summary:
This section redistributes the two-year license renewal cycle for physicians' medical licenses. Currently, more licenses are renewed in odd years. By redistributing the renewal cycle, this section will allow renewal revenue to be more balanced from year to year.