RALEIGH – Legislation to address persistent concerns in health care cleared the North Carolina Senate Health Care Committee today (Thursday). Sen. Benton Sawrey (R-Johnston) introduced the new version of House Bill 125 to remove unnecessary red tape that prevents qualified providers from practicing in North Carolina and address violence facing our frontline health care workers.
The new version of the bill removes licensing barriers for service members and their spouses to practice medicine in North Carolina and for foreign-trained primary care doctors to practice in rural communities under the supervision of a licensed North Carolina physician.
A recent report from the National Association of Community Health Centers places North Carolina among the five states with the most “medically disenfranchised” residents and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services noted in a recent report that Johnston County is a healthcare desert that lacks adequate access to certain primary care practice areas.
“North Carolina cannot have two health care systems – one for those in urban areas and another for those in rural communities. These are commonsense licensing changes that will allow excellent primary care doctors to enter the workforce and provide services to communities in need,” Sen. Sawrey said. “The licensing provision for service members and their spouses is another step in making North Carolina the most military-friendly state in the nation.”
The new version of House Bill 125 also seeks to curb violence in hospital emergency rooms by requiring implementation of a safety plan and increasing penalties for people that assault healthcare workers or commit a crime on the premises of a hospital.
The rate of violence-related injuries reported in hospitals was nearly forty-times higher than the rate in all private industries in 2019. The hospital violence provisions in the amended bill are substantially similar to a House Bill 809, which was co-sponsored by Rep. Donna White (R-Johnston) and passed the House earlier this session with near-unanimous support.
“I talk to frontline health care workers and hospital executives on a regular basis. They say that violence in our emergency departments is a barrier to filling jobs and adequately staffing our hospitals. People should feel safe when they go to work,” Sen. Sawrey said. “This is merely a first step. We have more work to do with involuntary commitments and behavioral health and I look forward to working with stakeholders to continue improving conditions in our hospitals.”
House Bill 125 will be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee next.
