2021 Legislative Updates

Thanks to everyone who help us throughout the 2021 Legislative Session.  We had some success, but we still have a lot of work to do.

HB 1363 (adding Board Certified DPTs to 15 days of direct access) passed both the House and the Senate and was signed by the Governor. It became effective September 1, 2021.

HB 2988 (Fair Co-Pay) passed the full House, but did not get a hearing in the Senate in the final days of the Session.

HB 3499 (allowing PTs to be a part of the school district concussion protocol team) also passed the full House, but did not get a hearing in the Senate.

HB4 (the major telehealth bill) passed the House and the Senate and was signed by the Governor. It specifically listed Physical Therapy among the services eligible under the bill.

2021 PT Legislative Bills

HB 1363 by Minjarez and SB 455 by Hughes: These bills will allow DPTs who are Board Certified to see patients for up to 15 business days before needing a referral. This is a clean-up from the passage of HB 29 in the 2019 Session. It is not controversial and there was no testimony in opposition in either the Senate or House Committees. Please urge your Legislators to support it throughout the process.

HB 2988 and HB 3755 by Minjarez and SB 939 and SB 940 by Gutierrez: These bills are the Fair Co-Pay bills. Since the passage of HB 29 Physical Therapists are now Primary Care Providers and patients should not have to pay Specialist Co-Pay rates any longer. These bills require that co-pays cannot be any higher for physical therapy than the patient’s insurance requires for a visit to a primary care physician. HB 3755 and SB 940 are similar, but the language is specific to Medicaid recipients. Ask for support of the bills.

HB 4 by Price: This is the major telehealth bill. Physical Therapy is currently specifically listed in the bill and our ask is that we remain listed in the legislation.