Some real doozies this week. Commentary below.
Thursday, October 5, 2023
TIME: 10:30 AM
PLACE: Room 519, House Office Building, Lansing, MI
AGENDA:SB 384 (Sen. Hertel) Insurance; insurers; denying or limiting insurance to living organ donors; prohibit.
HB 4101 (Rep. VanderWall) Health occupations; speech-language pathologists; temporary licensing of speech-language pathologists; modify.
HB 4213 (Rep. Morse) Mental health; code; definition of distant site for a telemedicine visit; provide for.
HB 4579 (Rep. Price) Insurance; health insurers; reimbursement rate for telehealth visits; require to be the same as reimbursements for office visits.
HB 4580 (Rep. Brabec) Human services; medical services; reimbursement rate for telehealth visits; require to be the same as reimbursements for office visits.
HB 4131 (Rep. Liberati) Insurance; health insurers; coverage for health care services provided through telemedicine; modify.
HB 4504 (Rep. Fitzgerald) Health occupations; physical therapists; physical therapy licensure compact; enact.
HB 4505 (Rep. Zorn) Health occupations; physical therapists; licensing process; modify to incorporate physical therapy licensing compact.
HB 4169 (Rep. Rogers) Health occupations; occupational therapists; occupational therapy licensure compact; enact.
HB 4170 (Rep. Wozniak) Health occupations; occupational therapists; licensure process for occupational therapists; modify to incorporate occupational therapy licensure compact.OR ANY BUSINESS PROPERLY BEFORE THIS COMMITTEE
To view text of legislation go to: http://www.legislature.mi.gov/mileg.aspx?page=CommitteeBillRecord
Committee Clerk: Melissa Sweet
Phone: (517) 373-5176
e-Mail: msweet@house.mi.gov
Background on select bills in the order listed:
Speech language pathologists (SLP) help kids with speech impediments, adults with speech/swallow problems after stroke, and much more. There's a shortage of SLPs, bad enough that the ones in training can't get enough hours of supervision to go independent. This bill attempts to fix the problem by extending temporary licenses, multiple times if necessary. I've written before about the false promises of licensing. This is yet another example of a profession that should never have been licensed at all.
Telehealth: Can anyone give one sound, care-based reason Michigan law should control this, instead of leaving it to the market?? Where is the evidence that patients and clinicians are incompetent to find the best telehealth service for their needs and budget, the best way to use it, and whether insurance should cover it??
License Compacts: I testified and wrote about these bureaucratic, globalizing, and unconstitutional schemes when Michigan proposed one for nurses.
The PT and OT Compact bills passed committee with an H1 substitute on Oct 12. Language changes will not be available until the House floor vote occurs and is recorded.
The Michigan House approved House Bills 4504 and 4505 to enter Michigan into the Physical Therapy Licensure Compact:
https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_b952aaca-0952-11ef-811b-5bf7e32a17e6.html
Michigan House OKs bills to enter physical therapist compact
By Scott McClallen | May 3, 2024(The Center Square) – The Michigan House approved bills to allow physical therapists to practice in states that have entered a compact.
House Bills 4504 and 4505 aim to enter Michigan into the Physical Therapy Licensure Compact, which allows physical therapists to practice physical therapy in states within the compact without having to be licensed in each state.
HB 4504 would make Michigan a party to the PTLC, and HB 4505 would make related changes to the code’s physical therapy licensure provisions.
Republican Reps. Doug Wozniak, of Shelby Township, and Dale Zorn, of Onsted, sponsored the bills.
“These interstate compacts will improve access to health care in Michigan while maintaining our state’s regulatory authority to protect the health and safety of our residents,” Zorn said in a statement. “This legislation would also help fill the need for physical therapists specializing in critical areas of care, such as chronic pain, oncology rehabilitation, and more.”
Currently, 28 states are part of the OT compact, while 34 states are a part of the PT compact, including Michigan’s neighboring states of Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin. Several additional states also have similar legislation to enter the compacts as well.
To enter the compact, a state must use a recognized national examination for licensure, require continuing competence requirements, participate in the data system, and run FBI background checks on license applicants.
Officials can investigate complaints and remove licensees for violating rules.
The compact aims to increase access to telemedicine services by allowing workers to get multistate licensure.
“Occupational therapists go through rigorous education and training to receive their professional licenses,” Wozniak said in a statement. “It’s common sense to allow these qualified professionals to provide in-person and online services throughout the country.”
Officials in each state oversee the compact’s licensure data system, allowing for instantaneous verification of licensure information.
The Michigan House is also considering similar legislation introduced earlier this year to enter the state into a similar multistate licensure compact for physician’s assistants.
Compacts give us more centralized, bureaucratic control over clinicians.
At the other extreme is license reciprocity.
For some reason, Michigan only proposes the simple, no-cost version for Canadians.
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