8 new coronavirus policy recommendations for South Carolina to consider

Governor McMaster, along with South Carolina agencies, have been waiving healthcare regulations and red tape during this crisis, but there is more to be done.

View our list of South Carolina’s deregulatory moves so far.

Here is the short list of new ideas for additional flexibility that could make a real difference. This situation is evolving rapidly, with new executive and agency orders being issued on a nearly daily basis. Palmetto Promise will work to keep this list fresh with additional actions and entrepreneurial policy solutions as they happen.

8 NEW Action Items to Consider

1. Childcare Licenses. Tennessee Governor Lee waived some requirements for child care licenses, loosening restrictions to allow more temporary childcare facilities so parents can continue to work whenever possible.
2. Medical Student Licenses. Iowa Governor Reynolds issued an Executive Order to reduce number of hours of experience needed for medical students to be licensed. This would allow for more students to begin working right away, increasing capacity for medical providers.
3. Inactive Practitioners. Maryland Governor Hogan issued an Executive Order allowing for previously licensed healthcare practitioners to work without needing to re-instate their expired licenses.
4. Allow for beer and wine delivery to save South Carolina’s breweries. According to a survey done by the South Carolina Brewers Guild, 65% of South Carolina breweries say they’ll only be able to last between one and three months without extra relief. Many SC breweries have said that waiving restrictions on beer delivery would be help them survive. States such as California and Alaska have already implemented similar measures.
5. Hunting & Fishing Licenses. Indiana Department of Natural Resources has extended the expiration date on all basic hunting and fishing licenses from the end of March to May 22, 2020. Fishing and hunting can mean food for families in South Carolina.
6. CME Credit for Battling COVID-19. Michigan Governor Whitmersigned an Executive Order allowing their Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) to recognize hours worked responding to the COVID-19 crisis as applicable toward their Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits.
7. State hiring freeze and limiting unnecessary spending. Ohio Governor DeWine ordered a hiring freeze for State Agencies, Boards, and Commissions along with orders that state agencies work to cut unnecessary spending up to 20 percent for the remainder of this fiscal year and next fiscal year.
8. Join UEVHPA Compact. South Carolina is not among the eighteen states that have joined the Uniform Emergency Volunteer Health Practitioner Act (UEVHPA) for physicians. This compact is a long-term solution to emergency management that will allow physicians and practitioners to enter states with declared emergencies and perform services without getting licensed in that state. The legislature should take a good look at the possibilities joining that compact would open in the Palmetto State.