Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean,
M.D., who is seeking the Democratic nomination for president
in 2004, says he is moving to renew his state medical license
after learning it had expired more than two months ago.
In a voice mail message left with
Modern
Physician Wednesday morning, Dean confirmed that, as
Vermont Board of Medical Practice records show, his license
lapsed Nov. 30, 2002.
Medical licenses in Vermont come
up for renewal every two years.
Dean formed his
presidential exploratory committee in May 2002 but did not
leave the governor's office until January. He decided not to
run for re-election after nearly 12 years as Vermont's chief
executive.
Dean's presidential campaign is based in
Burlington, Vt. He has been campaigning and attending
fundraisers around the country for several months. He says he
was not around Montpelier, the state capital, to receive the
license renewal application.
"(Medical board
officials) sent it to the governor's office, but I wasn't
there much in November and December, so I never saw it," says
Dean, an internist. "It will be taken care of, but I do have
to pay a $25 late fee."
Dean's wife, Judith Steinberg,
M.D., a practicing internist in Shelburne, Vt., does hold a
current license, according to the Vermont medical board's Web
site.
Board spokesperson Karen O'Hagan says records on
the Web site are up-to-date. She also says Dean has not
practiced medicine in 11 years.
