News and Commentary
An article in the Fort Lee Traveller discusses new legislation signed by Gov. Ralph Northam (D-VA) that eases the licensure process for military spouses. The bill allows greater authority to determine equivalent licenses to the state’s licensing boards.
A blog post from the American Medical Association discusses a recent letter sent to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma urging her to not extend temporary emergency waivers on scope of practice and licensure for non-physician healthcare workers. The letter states that, “NPs and PAs are integral members of the care team, but the skills and acumen obtained by physicians throughout their extensive education and training make them uniquely qualified to oversee and supervise patients’ care.”
Kelsey Bolar writes in the Independent Women’s Forum about recent occupational licensing reforms passed by the Rhode Island General Assembly that seek to help former inmates return to work after incarceration. The bill would prevent individuals with criminal histories from being denied licensure due to their criminal conviction, so long as the conviction was unrelated to the profession they’re seeking licensure in.
Conor Norris writes in Catalyst about how many states have pursued deregulation in response to COVID-19. He highlights how occupational licensing laws are supposed to protect quality but so often only seek to entrench established professionals in an industry, stifling competition and raising prices. Norris argues that states should make these licensing reforms as well as other reforms permanent arguing that the pandemic proved how various regulations were unnecessary in the first place.
An article on the Health Affairs Blog examines the role that pharmacists play in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically with regards to testing and vaccinating.
Stephanie Francis Ward writes in the ABA Journal about how some states are pushing ahead with holding in-person bar exams, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Ward writes how this is occurring despite other states’ efforts to offer online exams or temporary diploma privilege to recent law school graduates.
A press release from Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro (D-DE) discusses Delaware’s efforts to liberalize access to telehealth services in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lindsay McKenzie writes for Inside Higher Ed about the recent implementation of a new federal regulation requiring institutions of higher education to disclose whether degree programs prepare students for professional licensure in the state that the institution is located. McKenzie discusses how some colleges and universities have struggled to comply with the new rule due to miscommunication and coronavirus-related delays.
New Research
Morris M. Kleiner and Ming Xu have a new working paper in the National Bureau of Economic Research that finds that occupational licensing regulations have significant negative impacts on labor market fluidity.
A new conference draft from Joshua D. Gottlieb, Maria Polyakova, Kevin Rinz, Hugh Shiplett, and Victoria Udalova discusses the role that government plays in determining the value of physicians’ human capital.
An article from Michael G. Jodoin and Jonathan D. Rubright published in Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice examines the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on certification and licensing assessment organizations. The authors conclude that, “the decisions made by testing organizations today will not only dictate their continued relevance to stakeholders and therefore their own survival, yet also dictate future examinee expectations, which will drive the ways in which examinations will be delivered moving forward.”
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