PHYSICAL THERAPY ASSISTANT LICENSE S.B. 1167 (S-2):
FLOOR SUMMARY
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Senate Bill 1167 (Substitute S-2 as reported)
Sponsor: Senator Bruce Patterson
Committee: Health Policy
CONTENT
The bill would amend the Public Health Code to do the following:
-- Specify that practice as a physical therapist assistant would be a health profession subfield of the practice of physical therapy.
-- Require a person to be licensed in order to practice as a physical therapist assistant.
-- Require the Board of Physical Therapy to establish standards regarding the qualifications of physical therapist assistants.
-- Establish examination requirements for physical therapist assistants.
-- Establish the responsibilities of a physical therapist supervising a physical therapist assistant, and allow the delegation of services.
-- Require the Department of Community Health (DCH), by rule, to establish professional development requirements for physical therapists and physical therapist assistants.
-- Require the DCH, by rule, to establish standards of ethics, practice, and supervision for the practice of physical therapy.
-- Increase the annual license fee for physical therapists from $50 to $90, and extend the fee to physical therapist assistants.
-- Create the "Physical Therapist Professional Fund" and dedicate 10% of annual license fee revenue to it.
-- Require the Board of Physical Therapy to determine whether an applicant met the requirements for licensure under Part 178 (Physical Therapy).
-- Add a physical therapist assistant to the Board and reduce the public members by one.
MCL 333.16315 et al. Legislative Analyst: Suzanne Lowe
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would require the State to incur costs associated with the establishment of the Physical Therapy Professional Fund 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 therapy assistants. The bill proposes raising the annual licensure fee from $50 to $90. According to the DCH, the 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: 6-16-08 Fiscal Analyst: Matthew Grabowski
floor\sb1167 Analysis available @ http://www.michiganlegislature.org
This 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.
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. sb1167/0708