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Rip wrote in message om...
Greg, please indicate where that comes from.

The FAA.

To my knowledge (and I've
been wrong before, believe it or not) an AME can practice anywhere, and
anytime, his/her medical license is valid. The FAA does not regulate
doctors, per se. FWIW, I paid $90 this year for a 2nd class in Connecticut.

There is a regulatory process to become an AME, and the FAA decides
how many AMEs they designate in an area. (An area may be defined by
counties or FSDOs etc). Supposedly the number designated depends on
the number of airmen with addresses in that area. I've found that
some designated AMEs don't actively do medical exams (because they are
too busy with their regular practice) or may do so infrequently. By
the way, military AMEs who issue FAA medicals for military personnel
are not restricted by the number of AMEs that FAA issues per area.

"New AMEs are designated based upon the local demand for aeromedical
certification services. Demand is determined by considering the total
number of airmen in a particular location in relation to the number of
available AMEs."
http://www.cami.jccbi.gov/aam-400/faq1.htm