Florida Veteran Health Heroes

The Division of Medical Quality Assurance (MQA) seeks to create a veteran-friendly regulatory environment to encourage military service members to choose Florida for their health care practice after active duty. A fee waiver program began in fiscal year 2013-2014 to ease the financial burden of applying for licensure. Participation has steadily grown over the years. With the beginning of fiscal year 2016-2017, Florida lawmakers expanded the eligibility criteria of the Veterans Application for Licensure Online Response (VALOR) process to include spouses of active duty service members seeking licensure in most health care professions. During the 2016-2017 fiscal year, 299 military veterans and spouses were licensed through VALOR. VALOR expedites the licensure process and is designed to issue licenses for all qualified initial applicants within one day. MQA is committed to helping ease the transition of military health professionals into civilian life, and seeks to encourage them to practice in Florida by making the licensure process one that reflects our gratitude for their service. our commitment 2015-2016 2016-2017 2014-2015 137 150 299 VALOR Applications Approved for Military Spouses and Honorably Discharged Veterans Fiscal Years 2016 to 2017 Page 11