Senate Bill No. 711
(By Senators Bowman, Jackson and McKenzie)
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[Introduced February 23, 1998; referred to the
Committee on Health and Human Resources.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact sections four, six, seven, nine-a,
nine-b, ten and twelve, article fourteen, chapter thirty of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty- one, as amended, all relating to board of osteopathy; and
permitting license fees to be set by board rules.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections four, six, seven, nine-a, nine-b, ten and
twelve, article fourteen, chapter thirty of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 14. OSTEOPATHIC PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS.
§30-14-4. Application for examination.
Each applicant for examination by the board, with the
exception of assistants to osteopathic physicians and surgeons, as hereinafter provided, shall submit an application therefor on
forms prepared and furnished by the board, accompanied by
evidence verified by oath and satisfactory to the board,
establishing that the applicant has satisfied the following
requirements: (a) That the applicant is eighteen years of age or
over; (b) that the applicant is of good moral character; (c) that
the applicant has graduated from an approved osteopathic college;
(d) that the applicant has submitted a letter of verification
from an AOA approved hospital stating that he has been approved
for an AOA approved internship or that the applicant is currently
in an AOA approved internship, if internship has not already been
completed; and (e) that the applicant has paid to the board a
fee
to be determined by the board that is seventy-five dollars
greater than the board's cost of processing the application
reasonable fee, the amount of such reasonable fee to be set by
the board rules.
§30-14-6. Issuance of license without examination; fee.
The board may at its discretion issue a license without
examination to an applicant who has been licensed by the national
board of examiners for osteopathic physicians and surgeons, and
to an applicant who has been licensed by examination in any
country, state, territory, province or the District of Columbia,
provided the requirements for licensure in the country, state, territory, province or the District of Columbia in which the
applicant is licensed, are deemed by the board to have been
equivalent to requirements for licensure in this state at the
date such license was issued. The board may also at its
discretion issue a license without examination to an osteopathic
physician and surgeon who is a graduate of an approved
osteopathic college and who has passed the examination for
admission into the medical corps of any of the armed services of
the United States or the United States public health service.
But no license shall be issued under the provisions of this
section until the person applying therefor shall have paid to the
board a
fee of one hundred fifty dollars reasonable fee, the
amount of such reasonable fee to be set by the board rules, and
any other fees applicable to investigation.
§30-14-7. Reciprocal endorsement fee.
For the issuance of any reciprocal endorsement, the board
shall collect a
fee of ten dollars reasonable fee, the amount of
such reasonable fee to be set by the board rules.
§30-14-9a. Osteopathic medical corporations -- Application for
registration; fee; notice to secretary of state of
issuance of certificate; action by secretary of
state.
When one or more osteopathic physicians or surgeons duly licensed to practice osteopathic medicine in the state of West
Virginia wish to form an osteopathic medical corporation, such
osteopathic physician or surgeon, or osteopathic physicians or
surgeons, shall file a written application with the board on a
form prescribed by the board, and shall furnish proof
satisfactory to the board that the signer or all of the signers
of such application is or are a duly licensed osteopathic
physician or surgeon or osteopathic physicians or surgeons. A
fee of one hundred dollars reasonable fee, the amount of such
reasonable fee to be set by the board rules, shall accompany each
such application, no part of which shall be returnable.
If the board finds that the signer or all of the signers of
such application are duly licensed, the board shall notify the
secretary of state that a certificate of authorization has been
issued to the individual or individuals signing such application.
When the secretary of state receives notification from the
board that a certain individual or individuals has or have been
issued a certificate of authorization, he
or she shall attach
such authorization to the corporation application and upon
compliance by the corporation with chapter thirty-one of this
code shall notify the incorporators that such corporation,
through a duly licensed osteopathic physician or surgeon or duly
licensed osteopathic physicians and surgeons, may engage in the practice of osteopathic medicine and surgery.
§30-14-9b. Same -- Rights and limitations generally; biennial
registration; fee; when practice to cease;
admissibility and effect of certificate signed by
board; penalty.
(a) An osteopathic medical corporation may practice
osteopathic medicine and surgery only through individual
osteopathic physicians and surgeons duly licensed to practice
osteopathic medicine or surgery in the state of West Virginia,
but such osteopathic physicians and surgeons may be employees
rather than shareholders of such corporation, and nothing herein
contained shall be construed to require a license for or other
legal authorization of any individual employed by such
corporation to perform services for which no license or other
legal authorization is otherwise required. Nothing contained in
sections five and nine-a and this section of this article is
meant or intended to change in any way the rights, duties,
privileges, responsibilities and liabilities incident to the
osteopathic physician-patient relationship nor is it meant or
intended to change in any way the personal character of the
osteopathic physician-patient relationship. A corporation
holding such certificate of authorization shall register
biennially, on or before the thirtieth day of June, on a form prescribed by the board, and shall pay an annual
registration fee
of fifty dollars reasonable registration fee, the amount of such
reasonable fee to be set by the board rules.
(b) An osteopathic medical corporation holding a certificate
of authorization shall cease to engage in the practice of
osteopathic medicine and surgery upon being notified by the board
that any of its shareholders is no longer a duly licensed
osteopathic physician or surgeon, or when any shares of such
corporation have been sold or disposed of to a person who is not
a duly licensed osteopathic physician or surgeon:
Provided, That
the personal representative of a deceased shareholder shall have
a period, not to exceed twelve months from the date of such
shareholder's death, to dispose of such shares; but nothing
contained herein shall be construed as affecting the existence of
such corporation or its right to continue to operate for all
lawful purposes other than the practice of osteopathic medicine
and surgery.
(c) No corporation shall practice osteopathic medicine or
surgery, or any of its branches, or hold itself out as being
capable of doing so, without a certificate from the board; nor
shall any corporation practice osteopathic medicine or surgery or
any of its branches, or hold itself out as being capable of doing
so, after its certificate has been revoked, or if suspended, during the term of such suspension. A certificate signed by the
secretary of the board to which is affixed the official seal of
the board to the effect that it appears from the records of the
board that no such certificate to practice osteopathic medicine
or surgery or any of its branches in the state has been issued to
any such corporation specified therein or that such certificate
has been revoked or suspended shall be admissible in evidence in
all courts of this state and shall be prima facie evidence of the
facts stated therein.
(d) Any officer, shareholder or employee of such corporation
who participates in a violation of any provision of this section
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be
fined not exceeding one thousand dollars.
§30-14-10. Annual renewal of license; fee; refresher training a
prerequisite; effect of failure to renew;
reinstatement.
All holders of certificates of license to practice as
osteopathic physicians and surgeons in this state shall renew
them biennially on or before July first, by the payment of a
renewal fee of fifty-five dollars reasonable renewal fee, the
amount of such reasonable fee to be set by the board rules to the
secretary of the board. The secretary of the board shall notify
each certificate holder by mail of the necessity of renewing his
or her certificate at least thirty days prior to July first of
each year.
As a prerequisite to renewal of a certificate of license
issued by the board, each holder of such a certificate shall
furnish biennially to the secretary of the board satisfactory
evidence of having completed thirty-two hours of educational
refresher course training, of which the total amount of hours
must be AOA approved, and fifty percent of the required thirty- two hours shall be category (1).
The failure to renew a certificate of license shall operate
as an automatic suspension of the rights and privileges granted
by its issuance.
A certificate of license suspended by a failure to make a
biennial renewal thereof may be reinstated by the board upon
compliance of the certificate holder with the following
requirements: (a) Presentation to the board of satisfactory
evidence of educational refresher training of quantity and
standard approved by the board for the previous two years; (b)
payment of all fees for the previous two years that would have
been paid had the certificate holder maintained his
or her
certificate in good standing; and (c) payment to the board of a
reinstatement fee of not to exceed twenty-five dollars as
determined by the board reasonable reinstatement fee, the amount of such reasonable fee to be set by the board rules.
§30-14-12. Offenses; penalties.
Each of the following acts shall constitute a misdemeanor,
punishable upon conviction by a fine of
not less than fifty nor
more than five hundred dollars not less than one thousand nor
more than ten thousand dollars:
(a) The practice or attempting to practice as an osteopathic
physician and surgeon without a license or permit;
(b) The obtaining of or an attempt to obtain a license or
permit to practice in the profession for money or any other thing
of value, by fraudulent misrepresentation;
(c) The making of any willfully false oath or affirmation
whenever an oath or affirmation is required by this article;
or
(d) Advertising, practicing or attempting to practice under
a name other than one's own.
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(NOTE: This bill permits license fees for osteopaths to be
set by rules of the board of osteopathy rather than by the board.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that
would be added.)