New healthcare law a practical and philosophical win for Hawaii

Grassroot Institute sponsored two events at which experts explained how a licensure compact is likely to benefit Hawaii residents

from Grassroot Institute

The decision this year by Hawaii legislators and the governor to join the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact was not only “a practical win for people who are in pain and suffering and who need medical care, but … also a philosophical win for those who want to celebrate the fact that economic freedom can help people in our society to thrive,” according to Keli‘i Akina, president and CEO of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii.

The Institute sponsored events on Oahu and Maui in late July that outlined how the compact will work and what benefits Hawaii residents can expect to receive from it. Akina, moderator of the Oahu event, said its main advantage will be to help relieve the state’s longstanding doctor shortage.

Put simply, a state’s participation in the IMLC allows licensed doctors who meet the compact’s strict requirements to apply for additional licenses to practice medicine in any other member state without having to go through each state’s individual, often lengthy licensing process.

The featured speakers at both events were Marschall Smith, executive director of the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Commission, and Hawaii interventional radiologist Dr. Elizabeth Ann Ignacio, current chair for public policy and president-elect of the Hawaii Medical Association. Joe Kent, Institute executive vice president, moderated the Maui event.

According to Smith, states that have joined the compact see, on average, a 10% to 15% increase in the number of new licenses issued in their states, and about 45% of the physicians that get licenses through the compact do so to provide services in rural and underserved areas.

If you would like to see the Oahu event, go here. A complete transcript follows. To see the Maui event and its accompanying transcript, go here.