This bill, titled the Expanding Physician Access Act, creates a new pathway for internationally trained physicians to obtain provisional medical licenses in Montana. It directly affects healthcare providers seeking to fill staffing gaps, particularly in rural and primary care areas, by allowing them to sponsor qualified international physicians for employment. The bill requires these physicians to have completed medical training, passed relevant licensing exams, and demonstrated English fluency, while maintaining existing safety and competency standards. After three years of continuous practice, provisional licenses automatically convert to full licenses, and the law ensures physicians cannot begin work without proper federal immigration authorization.
This bill allows schools in Montana to permit students to carry and use epinephrine nasal spray as an emergency treatment for severe allergies, anaphylaxis, or asthma, expanding beyond the current allowance for autoinjectable forms. It requires students to provide written parental authorization, a physician's prescription with dosage and administration instructions, proof of training on proper use, and a written treatment plan before carrying the medication on campus or during school activities. Schools must keep these documents on file and are protected from liability unless injury results from gross negligence or intentional misconduct, while students must report to a school nurse immediately after using epinephrine for follow-up care.
This bill adopts the Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) Compact into Montana law, allowing APRNs to obtain a single multistate license that permits practice across all participating states. The legislation establishes a coordinated system for sharing licensure and disciplinary information between states to improve public safety and reduce the burden of obtaining separate licenses in each state. Key provisions include defining uniform education and examination requirements, creating a mechanism for states to take action against APRNs who practice outside their authorized scope, and setting up a nonprofit organization to manage a shared database of APRN licensure data. The bill directly affects nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, certified nurse anesthetists, and certified nurse midwives who wish to practice in multiple states under one license.
This bill creates the Montana Nurse Corps program to provide home health care visits to eligible individuals, including Medicare and Medicaid patients, those on state medical assistance, and uninsured people with family income at or below 400% of the federal poverty level. Licensed nurses in good standing can join the program by submitting information about their clinical services and locations, offering outpatient care at affordable rates of $10 per visit that can be billed to Medicare or Medicaid. The legislation limits nurse liability to cases of gross negligence or willful misconduct, requires patients to be notified of this protection, and allows the state board to purchase optional malpractice insurance funded by a fee on all licensed nurses.
This bill establishes mandatory minimum nurse-to-patient ratios for various hospital units in Montana, directly affecting licensed hospitals and the nurses who work there. It requires hospitals to create staffing committees with at least 50% direct-care nurses to develop and approve annual staffing plans that specify minimum staffing levels for each unit. The bill sets specific maximum patient loads for nurses across different departments, such as limiting ICU nurses to two patients and ER nurses to four non-critical patients, while also mandating that staffing plans be publicly posted and that hospitals maintain detailed records of actual staffing levels.
This bill expands the scope of practice for optometrists in Montana by allowing them to perform specific in-office surgical procedures and laser treatments on the front part of the eye and surrounding tissues. The changes require optometrists to obtain board certification after completing specialized training in laser surgery before they can perform these procedures. The bill explicitly excludes more invasive surgeries like penetrating intraocular surgery and intravitreal injections, which remain outside the scope of optometric practice. These updates amend existing state laws to formalize the qualifications and limitations for optometrists performing these expanded services, effective July 1, 2025.
HB 600 authorizes public and nonpublic schools to maintain a supply of "stock albuterol," a quick-relief asthma medication, for emergency use. This medication can be administered by a school nurse or other authorized school personnel to any individual, student or non-student, experiencing respiratory distress on school grounds or at school-related activities. Schools choosing to keep stock albuterol must develop a protocol for staff training, medication maintenance, and post-administration follow-up, including determining when to make a 9-1-1 emergency call. The bill requires a prescription for the stock albuterol, with the school designated as the patient.
HB 797, also known as the "Expanding Physician Access Act," aims to revise occupational licensing laws to facilitate the licensure of international physicians. The bill establishes a process for the board to grant provisional licenses to international physicians who meet specific educational, examination, and experience requirements, and have an employment offer from a healthcare provider in the state. These provisional licenses automatically convert to full licenses after three years of continuous active practice in the state. This initiative seeks to remove barriers for internationally licensed physicians to fill vacancies, particularly in rural and primary care settings, while maintaining existing standards of care and licensing requirements.
LC 3815 aimed to update nurse-to-patient staffing ratios and mandate specific break requirements for healthcare facilities. The bill sought to establish clearer standards for nurse workloads and scheduled rest periods to improve patient safety and staff well-being. However, the bill died in the drafting process on May 23, 2025, and never advanced to a committee vote or floor consideration. As a result, no policy changes were enacted through this legislation.
LC 2872 proposed allowing physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and CRNAs (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists) to serve as medical directors at any medical facility. If enacted, this would directly affect these healthcare providers by expanding their scope of practice to include a leadership role currently restricted to physicians. The bill aimed to change existing regulations that limited medical director positions to physicians. However, the bill died in the legislative process on May 27, 2025, and was never enacted into law.
