Are you facing disciplinary action in California and grappling with a decision to surrender your license? Have you moved to another state and are you thinking about surrendering your license because you won’t return to California? Unfortunately, surrendering your RN license has implications which can affect your ability to practice in other states. For example, surrendering your license can place you on Medi-Care and Medi-Cal exclusion lists, which would prohibit you from being a “provider” of medical services at any location that accepts Medi-Care and Medi-Cal. Your name can be placed on an exclusion list if you “surrendered such a license while a formal disciplinary proceeding was pending before such an authority,” and the proceeding concerned your “professional competence, professional performance, or financial integrity.” (See Social Security Act 42 USC 1320a-7, Sec. 1128(b)(4).

Being placed on these lists will prohibit any employer of healthcare related services from retaining you as a “provider.” Thus, surrendering your RN license in California should be your last resort if you intend to keep practicing as an RN due to the potential for your name to be placed on an exclusion list.

Your ability to remove your name from these lists will be contingent on you reinstating any surrendered license. See 42 USC 1320a-7, Sec. 1128 (c)(3)(E). So, if you are faced with an Accusation in California and live out of state, think twice about surrendering your RN license in California. The best course of action would be to contact a nursing license defense attorney who can advise you how to proceed.