Burns bill plays key role in addressing health care worker shortage
New compacts will make it easier for health professionals to practice in PA
Rep. Frank Burns July 2, 2025 | 4:11 PM
HARRISBURG, July 2 — Pennsylvania will take a big step forward next week in its efforts to put more health care workers on the job, and a bill sponsored by Rep. Frank Burns, D-Cambria, paved the way for it.
Starting July 7, the state will become a full participant in three health care compacts that will make it easier for qualified doctors, nurses, and physical therapists to treat Pennsylvania patients. Health care compacts are multi-state agreements that streamline the licensing process so that professionals can practice in multiple states.
Pennsylvania can join those compacts thanks to Burns’ bill to meet a fingerprinting requirement in compacts for criminal background checks. House Bill 2200 of 2023-24 required applicants in health care professions to submit fingerprints as part of their criminal history check and lays out the process that state police and licensing boards must follow in considering them.
Previous efforts to join interstate compacts without the use of fingerprinting were not successful.
“My bill was the final piece of the puzzle,” Burns said. “My staff and I worked tirelessly to pass this legislation because Pennsylvanians need better access to more health care professionals. Patients deserve to be seen without having to wait days, weeks, or even months to get an appointment.”
Burns also said the House Professional Licensure Committee, which he chairs, worked diligently to make sure Pennsylvania could join the new compacts. The committee met regularly with the Pennsylvania Department of State, which oversees licensing, to ensure the compact process stayed on track and kept the lines of communication open with all stakeholders along the way.
“Compacts are important tools that help us staff health care facilities,” Burns said. “They give health care professionals the flexibility to move where they want and where they are needed, and patients need them.”