HOUSE BILL ANALYSIS

                  SB 5448

Brief Description:  Merging the health professions account and the medical disciplinary account.

Background:  The Department of Health is responsible for licensing new physicians and physician=s assistants.  The department is also responsible for investigating complaints against members of these two professions.  Both activities are funded through fees paid by physicians and physician=s assistants.

Both the licensing function and the disciplinary function are administered by the Medical Quality Assurance Commission within the Department of Health.  Separate fees are paid into the medical disciplinary and the health professions accounts to support the disciplinary and licensing functions, respectively. The commission utilizes available funding from both accounts to carry out its mission.

Summary:  The medical disciplinary account is eliminated.  All funds in the medical disciplinary account are transferred to the health professions account and all fees from the licensing and disciplinary activities must be placed in the health professions account.  The separate licensing and disciplinary fees must be merged into one fee, equal to the sum of the two separate fees.

Fiscal Note:  Available.