An Act To Reduce Health Care Worker Shortages
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1194
Committee: Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services
Sponsors: LIBBY, EVANS, GEIGER, PERRY, WHITE, CLAXTON
Amends: 24-A MRSA §4316, 32 MRSA §2213, 32 MRSA §2571-B, 32 MRSA §3278-A

Legislative Document
No. 1194
H.P. 872
House of Representatives, March 22, 2021
An Act To Reduce Health Care Worker Shortages
Received by the Clerk of the House on March 18, 2021.  Referred to the Committee on 
Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered 
printed pursuant to Joint Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative LIBBY of Auburn.
Cosponsored by Representatives: EVANS of Dover-Foxcroft, GEIGER of Rockland, PERRY 
of Calais, WHITE of Waterville, Senator: CLAXTON of Androscoggin.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  24-A MRSA §4316, sub-§1, ¶C, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 289, §2, is 
amended to read:
C.  "Telehealth," as it pertains to the delivery of health care services, means the use of 
interactive real-time visual and audio or other electronic media for the purpose of 
consultation and education concerning and diagnosis, treatment, care management and 
self-management of an enrollee's physical and mental health and includes real-time 
interaction between the enrollee and the telehealth provider, synchronous encounters, 
asynchronous encounters, store and forward transfers, the use of audio-only telephone 
and telemonitoring.  "Telehealth" does not include the use of audio-only telephone, 
facsimile machine, e-mail or texting.
Sec. 2.  24-A MRSA §4316, sub-§1, ¶E, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 289, §2, is 
repealed.
Sec. 3.  24-A MRSA §4316, sub-§5, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 289, §2, is repealed.
Sec. 4.  32 MRSA §2213 is enacted to read:
§2213.  Licensing of nurse licensed in another state; authorized actions
Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, the following provisions 
apply. 
1.  Issuance of license; provision of health care services in person or through 
telehealth.  The board shall issue a license to any nurse who seeks immediate licensure 
who is licensed in good standing in another state and has not been subject to a disciplinary 
or adverse action in the past 10 years involving loss of license, probation or practice 
restriction or limitation.  A nurse licensed under this subsection may provide health care 
services within the scope of practice of the nurse's license through an in-person encounter 
in this State or across state lines into this State using telehealth, as defined in Title 24-A, 
section 4316, subsection 1, paragraph C.  License application fees and renewal fees for 
licenses issued pursuant to this subsection must be established by the board.
2.  Issuance of license for retired nurse.  Upon request, the board shall immediately 
issue a license to a nurse who retired in good standing in this State within 2 years of the 
effective date of this section and who has not been subject to a disciplinary or adverse 
action in the past 10 years involving loss of license, probation or practice restriction or 
limitation and has no outstanding complaints or open investigations.  The board may 
impose a fee for a license issued or renewed pursuant to this subsection.
3.  Permitted activity without license.  A nurse who is licensed in good standing in 
another state and who has patients residing in this State who travel to another state to 
receive ongoing health care from that nurse may provide those health care services to those 
patients through telehealth, as defined in Title 24-A, section 4316, subsection 1, paragraph 
C, without obtaining a license under this section or another provision of this chapter. 
4.  Supervision or collaborative practice agreements suspended.  Any requirement 
related to mandatory supervision or collaborative practice agreements for an otherwise 
qualified advanced practice registered nurse licensed in good standing in another state and 
granted a license under this section is suspended. 
5.  Telehealth services.  A nurse licensed in this State or authorized to perform services 
pursuant to this section may perform health care services through the use of all modes of 
telehealth, as defined in Title 24-A, section 4316, subsection 1, paragraph C, including 
video and audio, audio-only or other electronic media, to treat the residents of this State for 
all medically necessary services.
Sec. 5.  32 MRSA §2571-B is enacted to read:
§2571-B.  Licensing of osteopathic physician or physician assistant licensed in another 
state; authorized actions
Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, the following provisions 
apply. 
1.  Issuance of license; provision of health care services in person or through 
telehealth.  The board shall issue a license to any osteopathic physician or physician 
assistant who seeks immediate licensure who is licensed in good standing in another state 
and has not been subject to a disciplinary or adverse action in the past 10 years involving 
loss of license, probation or practice restriction or limitation.  A physician or physician 
assistant licensed under this subsection may provide health care services within the scope 
of practice of the physician's or physician assistant's license through an in-person encounter 
in this State or across state lines into this State using telehealth, as defined in Title 24-A, 
section 4316, subsection 1, paragraph C.  License application fees and renewal fees for 
licenses issued pursuant to this subsection must be established by the board.
2.  Issuance of license for retired physician or physician assistant.  Upon request, 
the board shall immediately issue a license to an osteopathic physician or physician 
assistant who retired in good standing in this State within 2 years of the effective date of 
this section and who has not been subject to a disciplinary or adverse action in the past 10 
years involving loss of license, probation or practice restriction or limitation and has no 
outstanding complaints or open investigations.  The board may impose a fee for a license 
issued or renewed pursuant to this subsection.
3.  Permitted activity without license.  An osteopathic physician or physician 
assistant who is licensed in good standing in another state and who has patients residing in 
this State who travel to another state to receive ongoing health care from that physician or 
physician assistant may provide those health care services to those patients through 
telehealth, as defined in Title 24-A, section 4316, subsection 1, paragraph C, without 
obtaining a license under this section or another provision of this chapter. 
4.  Supervision or collaborative practice agreements suspended.  Any requirement 
related to mandatory supervision or collaborative practice agreements for an otherwise 
qualified physician assistant licensed in good standing in another state and granted a license 
under this section is suspended. 
5.  Telehealth services.  An osteopathic physician or physician assistant licensed in 
this State or authorized to perform services pursuant to this section may perform health 
care services through the use of all modes of telehealth, as defined in Title 24-A, section 
4316, subsection 1, paragraph C, including video and audio, audio-only or other electronic 
media, to treat the residents of this State for all medically necessary services.
Sec. 6.  32 MRSA §3278-A is enacted to read:
§3278-A.  Licensing of physician or physician assistant licensed in another state; 
authorized actions
Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, the following provisions 
apply. 
1.  Issuance of license; provision of health care services in person or through 
telehealth.  The board shall issue a license to any physician or physician assistant who 
seeks immediate licensure who is licensed in good standing in another state and has not 
been subject to a disciplinary or adverse action in the past 10 years involving loss of license, 
probation or practice restriction or limitation.  A physician or physician assistant licensed 
under this subsection may provide health care services within the scope of practice of the 
physician's or physician assistant's license through an in-person encounter in this State or 
across state lines into this State using telehealth, as defined in Title 24-A, section 4316, 
subsection 1, paragraph C.  License application fees or renewal fees for licenses issued 
pursuant to this subsection are waived must be established by the board.
2.  Issuance of license for retired physician or physician assistant.  Upon request, 
the board shall immediately issue a license to a physician or physician assistant who retired 
in good standing in this State within 2 years of the effective date of this section and who 
has not been subject to a disciplinary or adverse action in the past 10 years involving loss 
of license, probation or practice restriction or limitation and has no outstanding complaints 
or open investigations.  The board may impose a fee for a license issued or renewed 
pursuant to this subsection.
3.  Permitted activity without license.  A physician or physician assistant who is 
licensed in good standing in another state and who has patients residing in this State that 
travel to another state to receive ongoing health care from that physician or physician 
assistant may provide those health care services to those patients through telehealth, as 
defined in Title 24-A, section 4316, subsection 1, paragraph C, without obtaining a license 
under this section or another provision of this chapter. 
4.  Supervision or collaborative practice agreements suspended.  Any requirement 
related to mandatory supervision or collaborative practice agreements for an otherwise 
qualified physician assistant licensed in good standing in another state and granted a license 
under this section is suspended.
5.  Telehealth services.  A physician or physician assistant licensed in this State or 
authorized to perform services pursuant to this section may perform health care services 
through the use of all modes of telehealth, as defined in Title 24-A, section 4316, subsection 
1, paragraph C, including video and audio, audio-only or other electronic media, to treat 
the residents of this State for all medically necessary services.
SUMMARY
This bill makes permanent the authorization for licensing out-of-state and recently 
retired doctors, physician assistants and nurses that was provided through executive order 
during the declared state of civil emergency related to COVID-19.  The bill also expands 
the scope of health care services that can be provided though telehealth to include the use 
of audio-only telephone.