An Act To Ensure an Adequate Supply of a Skilled Health Care Workforce
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 0892
Committee: Health and Human Services
Sponsors: WESTON, CURLEY, DOW, ROSEN, PERRY, PINGREE, RECTOR
Amends: 22 MRSA §256

Legislative Document 
No. 892 
S.P.300 
In Senate, February 22,2005 
An Act To Ensure an Adequate Supply of a Skilled Health Care 
Workforce 
Reference to the Committee on Health and Human Services suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Senator WESTON of Waldo. 
Cosponsored by Representative CURLEY of Scarborough and 
JOY J. O'BRIEN 
Secretary of the Senate 
Senators: DOW of Lincoln, ROSEN of Hancock, Representatives: PERRY of Calais, 
PINGREE of North Haven, RECTOR of Thomaston. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §256, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 579, §3, is 
repealed. 
Sec. 2. 22 MRSA §§256-A and 256-B are enacted to read: 
§256-A. Health care occupations report 
Beginning in 2006, the Department of Labor, in conj unction 
with the Office of Health Data and Program Management's Office of 
Data, Research and Vital Statistics, shall compile and annually 
update 
a 
health care occupations report to be 
completed and 
presented to the health workforce forum established in section 
by September 15th. 
The report must be posted on a publicly 
accessible site on the Internet maintained by the Department of 
Labor and provide the following information: 
1. 
Listing. 
A listing of all health care occupations 
licensed, 
registered or certified under the authority of the 
boards listed in section 256-B, including: 
A. 
A brief description of each occupation; 
B. 
Minimum education reguirements; 
C. 
Schools in the State offering education in those health 
care occupations, including current enrollment and annual 
number of graduates; and 
D. 
Average starting salary for each health care occupation 
listed; 
2. 
Future outlook. An analysis of trends and the current 
outlook in employment supply and demand, including implications 
for the state and health care industry; and 
3. 
Financial aid. 
Financial aid available for education. 
§256-B. 
Collection of professional data 
1. 
Voluntary 
surveys. 
All 
licensed, 
registered 
or 
certified persons, including all dependent practitioners, under 
the authority of the following boards must receive a voluntary 
survey 
with 
their 
licensure, 
registration 
or 
certification 
renewal beginning January 1, 2006: 
A. 
Emergency Medical Services Board; 
B. 
Radiologic Technology Board of Examiners; 
... 
C. 
Board of Occupation Therapy Practice; 
D. 
Board of Examiners on Speech Pathology and Audiology; 
E. 
Maine Board of Pharmacy; 
F. 
State Board of Nursing; 
G. 
Board of Licensure in Medicine; 
H. 
Board of Osteopathic Licensure; 
I. 
Board of Examiners in Physical Therapy: 
J • 
Board of Respiratory Care Practitioners; 
K. 
Board of Licensing of Dietetic Practice; 
L. 
State Board of Social Worker Licensure; 
M. 
Board of Dental Examiners; 
N. 
State Board of Alcohol and Drug Counselors; and 
O. 
State Board of Examiners of PsychologiQts. 
2. 
Information requested on survey. 
The voluntary Qurveys 
issued pursuant 
to 
subsection 
must 
request 
the 
following 
information 
from 
persons 
seeking 
renewal 
of 
their 
licenses, 
registrations and certifications: 
A. 
Home zip code; 
B. 
BuQiness zip code; 
C. 
Birth year; 
D. 
Gender; 
E. 
Race; 
F. 
Current employment status: employed in a health care 
field, 
employed 
in 
another 
field, 
seeking 
health 
care 
employment, 
temporarily not working and not seeking work, 
retired 
or 
not 
intending 
to 
return 
to 
work, 
or 
some 
specified other status; 
G. 
Practice 
setting: 
a 
hospital, 
private 
practice, 
community clinic or nursing home; an academic, governmental 
or other institution; or some specified other setting; 
H. 
Field of licensur~~~~tration or certification; 
~pecialty credential, if any; 
J~heth~r th~rson plan~ to be. working in health care 5 
years from now; 
K. 
Basic and advanced education, degree earned and state 
where educated; 
L. 
Number of hours hired to work in the person's primary 
position per week, average hours worked per week, preferred 
number of hours per week 
and 
number of hours providing 
direct care per week; 
M. 
In addition to the person's primary position, number of 
hours worked per week for other health care employers, if 
any; and 
N. 
If not working in a health care occupation, the reasons: 
issues of wages or benefits, 
ina~ility to find position 
desired, 
pursuit of 
education opportunities. 
pursuit of 
other career opportunity, retirement or some other specified 
reason. 
3. 
Submission of 
surv~ys. 
All surveys conducted pursuant 
to subsection 1 must be submitted to the Office of Health Data 
and 
Program Management's Office of 
Data, 
Research 
and Vital 
Statistics for analysis, and survey data from which personally 
identifiable information has been eliminated must be publicly 
available. 
4. 
Rulemaiing. 
Rules adopted to implement this section are 
routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, 
chapter 
375, 
subchapter 2-A. 
Sec. 3. 22 MRS A §257. as enacted by PL 1995, c. 653, Pt. C, 
§2 and affected by §3, is amended to read: 
§257. Health workforce forum 
The department shall convene at least once annually a health 
workforce forum to ~eview the 
re~ort developed ~nder section 256 
and discuss health car~ workforce issues. 
The forum must include 
representatives of health professionals, 
licensing boards anaL 
employers, 
health 
education 
programs 
and 
the 
Department 
of 
Labor. 
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The 
department 
shall 
use 
the 
information 
gathered 
through the 
forum to develop its health policy and planning 
decisions authorized under this Title and to make appropriate 
policy recommendations based on its analysis of the health care 
workforce. 
The 
d~artme~hall--p~_st its annual 
report 
and 
recommendations on a publicly accessible site on the Internet 
maintained by the department by December 
31st of each year, 
beginning in 2006. 
SUMMARY 
This bill accomplishes the following. 
1. 
It directs the Department of Labor to compile and post 
on-line a report on health care occupations. 
2. 
It 
requires 
that 
certain 
licensed, 
registered 
and 
certified health care workers receive a voluntary survey to allow 
the collection of data on health care occupations. 
3. 
It adds a representative of the 
the health workforce 
forum established 
Statutes, Title 22, section 257. 
Department of Labor to 
in the 
Maine 
Revised 
4. 
It directs the Department of Health and Human Services 
to post on its website its recommendations based on its review of 
the health workforce forum's report.