PHYSICAL THERAPIST ASSISTANT LICENSURE S.B. 151 (S-2):
FLOOR SUMMARY
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Senate Bill 151 (Substitute S-2 as reported)
Sponsor: Senator Bruce Patterson
Committee: Health Policy
CONTENT
The bill would amend the Public Health Code to provide for the licensure of physical therapist assistants (PTAs), and make other changes regarding physical therapists and PTAs. The bill would do the following:
-- Require the Department of Community Health (DCH), by rule, to establish professional development requirements for physical therapists and PTAs.
-- Require the Board of Physical Therapy, between the bill's effective date and the effective date of rules governing the issuance of PTA licenses, to grant a limited physical therapist assistant license to an applicant who graduated from an accredited PTA education program; and provide that a limited license would be effective until the Board formally issued or denied a license to the applicant.
-- Increase the annual license fee for physical therapists from $50 to $90, and extend the fee to PTAs.
-- Add a PTA to the Board and increase the physical therapist members by one.
-- Require a physical therapist to refer a patient back to the prescribing health care professional if the patient required services beyond the scope of practice of physical therapy.
-- Require a physical therapist to consult with the prescribing health care professional if a patient did not show reasonable response to treatment in a time period consistent with established standards of practice.
The bill would define "practice as physical therapist assistant" as the practice of physical therapy performed under the supervision of a licensed physical therapist.
MCL 333.16315 et al. Legislative Analyst: Julie Cassidy
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would require the State to incur costs and an increased administrative burden due to expanded licensure regulations. These costs, however, would likely be offset by the increase in annual license fees for physical therapists and physical therapist assistants. The bill proposes raising the annual licensure fee from $50 to $90. According to the DCH, the Michigan Board of Physical Therapy currently oversees approximately 9,000 physical therapists and an indeterminate number of physical therapy assistants. This suggests that the State could increase revenue by at least $360,000 per year if the annual license fee were increased as proposed.
Date Completed: 3-9-09 Fiscal Analyst: Matthew GrabowskiAnalysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent. sb151/0910