Key IssuesAPTA - Take ActionThe link above will take you to APTA's Take Action page, which contains various resources to get involved and to contact your legislators. Direct AccessTelehealthCompact LegislationWhat is it?
The APTA Pennsylvania is currently working with the PA Legislature to introduce a bill to the House and Senate to provide Pennsylvania PT/PTAs the ability to participate in the Interstate Physical Therapy Compact Agreements. The Physical Therapy Compact Licensure is a contract:
Benefits include:
The Physical Therapy Compact Commission (PTCC) was officially enacted on April 25, 2017. The PTCC original board is comprised of representatives from members of the original seven states to initially join the compact and representatives from both the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) and Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT). The representatives for the APTA and FSBPT do not vote but serve to offer consultation and provide communication as needed. View the PT Compact Bylaws To be eligible to purchase a compact privilege you must:
Frequent Questions:
Below is a breakdown of the participating states, the states who have enacted legislation and the states who have introduced Compact Legislation.
How can you help?We need people to call their local representatives to ask them to support the Compact Legislation, especially when it gets closer for legislation to vote on HB862. The more people who call to let them know we are interested in it the better chances we have that it will be passed through legislation. Find and contact your local representative to ask them to show support for this bill. Once we have a bill number you will be able to watch the progress on the PA State Legislative webpage. Please refer to the APTA Advocacy webpage to find a letter you can send to your local representative. What does it mean for our profession?If passed into Pennsylvania law, it would help military families when they receive PCS, permanent change of station orders. The military spouse would be able to use the compact legislation to work in the new state without the long process of filling out paperwork and waiting to get a license for each state they move to. They would experience improved quality of life and have opportunities to start looking for work with less waiting and paperwork.
What if you lived in the Philadelphia area and worked for a large company that has physical therapy clinics in multiple states like Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware? If all three states participated in the compact legislation you would only need a Pennsylvania license and a compact license to practice in all three states. This would provide you a better opportunity to cover sites for your company without having to get a license for each state. What does it mean for you and your patients?If your home state is Pennsylvania and you want to start travel physical therapy, the compact legislation can help. You would be able to use a compact legislation license to practice in any of the participating states and only apply for licenses in states that are not participating. It would allow less paperwork, less time waiting for the paperwork to be processed and allow you to start working in a participating state sooner as you do not have to wait on being licensed. It could also benefit physical therapists looking to do a residency or fellowship program outside of their home state. One of the goals of the compact legislation is to allow flexibility to practice under a single license in multiple states. The Compact Legislation improves public access to physical therapy services in under-served areas by decreasing the barriers of therapists/therapist assistants crossing state lines to provide needed services or allow opportunities for patients/clients to see a specialist as allowed by state law. ResourcesTo learn more about the Compact Legislation visit:
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