September 11, 2026

The President’s Message is published in the MHA Weekly News Report, a member-only publication of the Montana Hospital Association. To subscribe, click here.

In January 2026, Gov. Greg Gianforte issued Executive Order 1-2026 creating the Montana Licensing Review Task Force.

The Task Force was charged with identifying and removing licensing burdens, duplication, delay, or other obstructions that hinder workers entering Montana’s workforce or providing services in our rural and frontier communities.

I was honored, as the President and CEO the MHA, to be selected by the Governor as one of the 27 members to participate on the Task Force. Four subcommittees of the Task Force were created: Barriers, Healthcare, Sunset, and Construction. I was selected to participate in the Barriers, Healthcare, and Sunset subcommittees.

Over the past 8 months, I have participated in 32 meetings of the Task Force and subcommittees. On September 1, the Task Force gathered at the Capitol and presented a list of 37 recommendations to Gov. Gianforte. The Governor accepted our recommendations and has now directed state agencies to implement the recommendations or draft legislation (where required) in preparation of the 2027 Legislative Session.

The Montana Licensing Reform Task Force Report to the Governor can be found here. While I highlight a number of recommendations from the Task Force report below, I highly recommend taking the time to read the full report, as the reforms are substantial and will provide great benefit to our Montana healthcare facilities and workers.

Barriers Subcommittee highlights include:

• Removal of duplicative background checks in licensure
• Acceptance of education, training, examination, certification, accreditation, or other core qualification from national entities in lieu of additional state requirements for licensure
• Creation of compact legislation for Cosmetology, EMS, Social Work, APRN, Dental, Dental Hygienist, and Podiatry licensure
• Use of provisional licensure for otherwise qualified applicants awaiting background check or other administrative verification
• Review of licensing boards education and training requirements and removal of requirements that unnecessarily limit entry and licensure supporting high-need occupations
• Targeted, function-specific review of practice authority, delegation, supervision, and clinical-oversight eligibility of licensees in rural, frontier, and other limited-access settings

Healthcare Subcommittee highlights include:

• Creation of licensure and reimbursement for Apprenticeships
• Certified Nursing Assistant Licensure
• Establishment of the Healing Arts Licensure Program for small, specialized, or emerging health-related credentials that do not require standalone board governance
• Improvement of licensure lookup and verification process to reduce administrative burden on hospitals, credentialling departments, medical staff offices, provider organizations, and other entities that verify provider licensure on a recurring basis
• Alignment of EMS license renewal periods with national certification expiration dates for EMRs, EMTs, AEMTs and Paramedics
• Repealing or revision of Board of Nursing rules that require an out-of-state nursing education program to obtain verification from directors of relevant Montana nursing programs that a proposed Montana clinical placement will not displace a Montana nursing student
• Implementation of Board of Nursing time-limited career-ladder pilots for CNA to LPN licensure, and LPN to RN licensure
• Review of reciprocity and education requirements for addiction counselors licensed or trained in other states
• Review of current behavioral health licensure examination requirements to determine whether the requirements create unnecessary barriers to licensure, and to identify complementary-based alternatives or supplemental pathways to licensure
• Development of a streamlined, competency-based pathway for Montana licensed clinical professional counselors (LCPCs) and licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs) to qualify as licensed addiction counselors (LACs)
• Implementing a pathway to licensure for internationally trained physician

Sunset Subcommittee highlights include:

• Implementation of a 10-year review cycle, 4-year initial cycle for any newly created license type by the legislative Economic Affairs Interim Committee (EAIC)

While the initial work of the Task Force was completed earlier this month, the Task Force remains in place until May 2027, so it can reconvene at the pleasure of the Governor if needed at the conclusion of the 2027 Legislative session. We will keep you updated on this important work.