ATHLETIC TRAINER LICENSURE S.B. 751: COMMITTEE SUMMARY






Senate Bill 751 (as introduced 10-2-03)
Sponsor: Senator Bev Hammerstrom
Committee: Health Policy


Date Completed: 9-28-04

CONTENT The bill would add Part 179 to the Public Health Code to provide for the licensure of athletic trainers. The bill would do all of the following:

-- Require the Department of Community Health (DCH) to issue an athletic trainer license to an applicant who met the criteria for licensure contained in rules promulgated under Part 179, and paid the required fees.
-- Establish a $20 application processing fee and a $60 annual license fee.
-- Require a licensed athletic trainer, when renewing a license, to submit proof that he or she successfully completed training in first aid, CPR, and foreign body obstruction of the airway, and proof that he or she met certain continuing education requirements.
-- Require DCH to promulgate rules establishing minimum licensure standards.
-- Prohibit a person from calling himself or herself an athletic trainer, or using certain other titles, without being licensed.
-- Create the Michigan Athletic Trainer Board within DCH.
-- Specify that Part 179 would not require new or additional third-party reimbursement for services rendered by a licensed athletic trainer.

"Athletic trainer" would mean an individual engaged in the practice of athletic training. "Practice of athletic training" would mean the prevention, assessment, treatment, and rehabilitation of athletic injuries under the direction and supervision of a licensed allopathic physician or a licensed osteopathic physician. "Athletic injury" would mean an injury sustained by an individual as a result of his or her participation in activities requiring physical strength, agility, flexibility, range of motion, speed, and stamina.


Beginning on the effective date of rules promulgated by DCH, a person could not engage in the practice of athletic training unless licensed under Part 179 or not otherwise prohibited from engaging in the practice of athletic training. The bill would not prohibit an individual licensed under any other part of the Code, or any other act, from performing activities under the scope of practice of athletic training so long as he or she did not use the title "athletic trainer", "certified athletic trainer", "licensed athletic trainer", "athletic trainer certified", "a.t.", "a.t.l.", "c.a.t.", "a.t.c.", or similar words indicating that the person was an athletic trainer. A person could not use those titles unless he or she were licensed as an athletic trainer under the bill.


The bill would create the Michigan Athletic Trainer Board within DCH. The Board would consist of seven members meeting the requirements of Part 161 of the Code. Three members would have to be public members.



(Under Part 161, a member of any licensing board must be at least 18 years old, be of good moral character, be a Michigan resident for at least the six months immediately preceding the appointment, and be currently licensed in that health profession in Michigan. Additionally, the member must actively have practiced that profession or taught in an approved educational institution that prepares applicants for licensure in that profession in any state for at least the two years immediately preceding the appointment.)


The Department would have to promulgate rules establishing the minimum standards for licensure as an athletic trainer. In promulgating those rules, the Department could consult the professional standards issued by the National Athletic Trainer's Association (NATA), the NATA Board of Certification, or another nationally recognized professional association. The Department could incorporate by reference, in whole or in part, existing standards in the rules. The Department could amend or supplement any standards by promulgation of a rule, if necessary.


The Department would have to issue an athletic trainer license to a person who applied on a form provided by DCH, met the requirements for licensure contained in rules promulgated under Part 179, and paid the fees prescribed by the bill.


An athletic trainer license would be valid for a three-year license cycle. A license could be renewed upon payment of the license renewal fee. Beginning in the third year after the effective date of DCH's rules, a licensee also would have to submit to DCH proof of satisfactory completion of at least eight clock hours of continuing education within the three-year license cycle in subjects related to athletic training and approved by DCH. The Department would have to promulgate rules to provide for the eight clock hours of continuing education.


In addition to meeting the continuing education requirements, a licensed athletic trainer would have to submit, along with his or her application for license renewal, proof of both of the following to DCH's satisfaction:

-- That he or she successfully had completed a course of training in first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and foreign body obstruction in the airway approved by DCH and offered or approved by the American Red Cross, the American Heart Association, or a comparable organization, as determined by DCH.
-- That he or she held, at the time of application for renewal and at all times during the previous license period, a valid certification in first aid and CPR issued by the organization offering training.


MCL 333.16263 et al. Legislative Analyst: Julie Koval

FISCAL IMPACT
The license would cost $60 and last three years; thus the ongoing revenue would be $20 per license per year. It is unclear how many individuals would be covered by this requirement, so the fiscal impact is indeterminate.

Fiscal Analyst: Steve Angelotti

Analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent. sb751/0304