West Virginia House Bill HB4951

West Virginia 2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/29/26
• Engrossed: 2/3/26
• Refer: 2/4/26
• Report Pass: 3/6/26
• Enrolled: 3/14/26
• Passed: 3/30/26

Caption

Requiring MDs and DOs to complete continuing education

Summary

HB4951 amends the West Virginia Medical Practice Act and the osteopathic licensing statute to require that continuing medical education for physicians, podiatrists, and osteopathic physicians include training in nutrition. For allopathic physicians and podiatrists, the bill keeps the existing biennial renewal framework and 50-hour continuing education requirement, but adds nutrition education as a required component of the continuing medical education that must be completed to renew a license. For osteopathic physicians and surgeons, the bill similarly preserves the existing 32-hour biennial refresher training requirement and adds nutrition education to that continuing education requirement. The bill also retains and clarifies several existing licensing rules, including automatic expiration or suspension for failure to renew, reinstatement procedures, inactive license provisions, and the board’s authority to require documentation of completed education. It further states that retired or retiring physicians and podiatrists voluntarily surrendering their licenses do not have to return their license certificates, and it preserves the board’s authority to deny or refuse reissuance of a license to a person convicted of a felony. The measure takes effect 90 days from passage.

Impact

HB4951 directly changes the continuing education standards administered by the West Virginia Board of Medicine and the osteopathic licensing board by making nutrition education a mandatory part of license renewal for MDs, DOs, and podiatrists. It does not change the total number of required continuing education hours, but it adds a subject-matter requirement that boards must incorporate into their renewal rules and enforcement practices. The bill also reinforces existing renewal, reinstatement, inactive-license, and documentation provisions in the affected sections of the code.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have been broadly favorable overall, with strong support in both chambers and no recorded committee opposition in the materials provided. The House vote showed some division, but the Senate passed the measure unanimously on the final vote, suggesting the nutrition-education requirement was generally accepted as a modest professional licensing update. The final enrolled bill and passage history indicate a consensus that the change was appropriate for medical continuing education.

Contention

The main point of potential contention is the added mandate that continuing medical education include nutrition, which changes the content of required professional training without increasing the total hours. Any concern would likely come from licensed physicians, podiatrists, or osteopathic physicians who may view the nutrition requirement as an added regulatory burden or question how the boards will define acceptable coursework. The bill also preserves board discretion over approved categories and documentation, so implementation details could be a secondary area of concern, but the available voting record shows little sustained opposition.