Legislative Update Aug. 2024

Direct Access

HB 1491 is a bill that was introduced by Representative Pat Gallagher and a group of initial co-sponsors. The objective is to modernize Direct Access for Physical Therapists in Pennsylvania.  SB 1042 was also introduced by Senator Rosemary Brown which will run concurrently. These legislative actions propose amending the Pennsylvania Physical Therapy Act (Act 38 of 2008) allowing increased access to Physical Therapy. HB 1491 was referred to the PA House Licensure Committee and SB 1042 was referred to the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee. This modernization of the Pennsylvania Physical Therapist Practice Act would accomplish the following:

• Increase the time period a physical therapist is able to manage an individual without a referral from the current 30 days to 60 days from the first date of treatment.
• Remove the current two year requirement of clinical practice before applying for a certificate of authorization to practice by direct access
• Remove the requirement for the certificate of authorization

APTA Pennsylvania is asking members to do the following:

• Review the information included on this page including the talking points
• If Senator Rosemary Brown or Representative Pat Gallagher  or one of the legislators below who are co-sponsors, please reach out to thank them for their support!
  • Senators – Brown, Culver, Hutchison, Costa, Schwank, Argall
  • Representatives – Gallagher, Rabb, Guenst, Sanchez, Khan, Hill-Evans, Borcenski, Honenstein, Cerrato, Cirest, Kazeem, Green
• If one of the members of the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure committee is your Senator, and is not already a co-sponsor, please contact them to request their co-sponsorship and support to refer SB 1042 to the whole Senate. The members of the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure committee are:
  • Senators – Patrick Stefano (R majority Chair) Lisa Boscola (D minority chair) Farry, Gebhard, Ward, Pennycuick, Aument, Regan, Robinson, Collett, Dillion, Flynn, Santarsiero
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• If one of the members of the House Licensure Committee is your representative, and is not already a co-sponsor, please contact them to request their co-sponsorship and support to refer HB 1491 to the entire House. The members of the House  Professional Licensure committee are:
  • Representatives – Frank Burns (D majority Chair) Carl Metzgar (R minority Chair) Kosterowski, Guenst, Mullins, Williams, Markosek, Guzman, Munroe, Burgos, Malagari, Steele, Gallagher, Merski, Venkat, Ecker, Kuzma, Scheuren, Marcell, Lawrence, Tomlinson, Gaydos, Mako, Klunk, Mehaffle
• Contact your State Senator and Representative’s office (preferably via phone or in person) to educate them on the value of our profession and the need for early management of movement issues.
• Importantly, we need you to notify APTA Pennsylvania that you contacted your legislator by one of the below methods, as it helps our executive committee, legal team, and content specialist know who may need follow up
• Contact [email protected] with the date you contacted, the response (if applicable), and any follow-up items. 

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