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SB 1168

Relating to per-visit compensation for home health care entities.

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Wlnsvey Campos and 13 co-sponsors

Michigan joins the Physical Therapy Licensure Compact, allowing out-of-state PTs and PTAs to practice under a compact privilege, with a multistate commission and shared rules.

Effective date, January 1, 2026.
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Bill Summary · SB 1168

SB 1168 — Physical Therapy Licensure Compact (PTLC) — Summary

Status: Placed on second reading (introduced Feb 7, 2025)
Subject: Amends the Michigan Public Health Code (Article 15 / Article 17) to incorporate the Physical Therapy Licensure Compact and to recognize compact privileges for physical therapists and physical therapist assistants (PTAs). Tie‑barred to House Bill 4504 (companion).

Main purpose

To authorize Michigan to join the multistate Physical Therapy Licensure Compact (PTLC), enabling licensed physical therapists and PTAs from other member states to practice in Michigan under a compact privilege without obtaining a separate Michigan license, and to incorporate those compact privileges into Michigan’s Public Health Code.

Key provisions

  • Adds definitions and statutory references to incorporate the PTLC into the Public Health Code (amends MCL 333.17801; adds secs. 17820a and 17820b).
  • Authorizes an individual holding a compact privilege to:
    • Practice physical therapy in Michigan (sec. 17820a).
    • Practice as a physical therapist assistant under supervision (sec. 17820b).
    • For Code purposes, a compact‑privilege holder is treated as licensed under the Code.
  • Requires participating states to meet PTLC membership standards, including:
    • Use of a recognized national exam for licensure.
    • Continuing competence and FBI fingerprint criminal background checks (state may collect biometric information for FBI submission).
    • Participation in the Compact Commission’s data system and timely reporting of adverse actions/investigative information.
  • Compact privilege requirements for individual practitioners include:
    • Holding an unencumbered home‑state license.
    • No adverse actions within specified look‑back periods.
    • Notification to the Commission and payment of applicable fees.
    • Compliance with remote state jurisprudence requirements and laws.
  • Regulatory and enforcement structure:
    • Establishes the Physical Therapy Compact Commission (member‑state delegates and an executive board) to maintain a coordinated licensure/adverse‑action database, promulgate rules, levy assessments, and conduct joint investigations.
    • Home state retains exclusive authority to take adverse action against its license; remote states may act against a practitioner’s compact privilege.
    • Procedures for withdrawal from the Compact are prescribed.
  • Licensing/fees: the bill establishes a fee for an individual seeking compact privilege (listed as $90 per year in the substitute text). Other fee levels (application, exam, license) are also shown in the enacted substitute.
  • Board administration: the Michigan Board of Physical Therapy will select a state delegate to the Compact Commission.

Who would be affected

  • Licensed physical therapists and PTAs seeking to practice in Michigan from other PTLC member states (and Michigan licensees seeking compact privileges elsewhere).
  • Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) and the Michigan Board of Physical Therapy (administration, investigations, and enforcement duties).
  • Patients and employers: potentially greater access to out‑of‑state practitioners.
  • State government: possible participation costs (legal, Attorney General enforcement), and Commission assessments; potential reduction in traditional licensure fee revenue since some practitioners will practice under compact privileges rather than paying full Michigan licensure fees.

Fiscal and administrative impacts

  • Fiscal impact on the State: indeterminate. LARA expected to absorb administrative duties within existing resources, but the State could incur legal costs (if Compact disputes arise), Attorney General costs, and annual assessments from the Commission (amount unknown). Traditional licensure revenue could decline as out‑of‑state practitioners use compact privileges.
  • Individual fee: compact privilege fee shown as $90/year in the substitute.

Procedural / timeline notes

  • The bill is tie‑barred to HB 4504 (the bill that directly enacts the PTLC text into the Public Health Code); SB 1168 adds conforming Michigan code sections recognizing compact privileges.
  • Versions show differing effective dates (introduced version: 90 days; substitute/passed version: 1 year after enactment). Final effective date will depend on the enacted version and the companion bill.
  • Committee reports note Michigan would join the PTLC alongside 26 other states (as of the reporting date), aimed at improving access to services and easing interstate mobility for therapists.

Bottom line

SB 1168 integrates the Physical Therapy Licensure Compact into Michigan law and statutorily recognizes compact privileges so that qualifying out‑of‑state physical therapists and PTAs may practice in Michigan under the Compact. The change is intended to increase access to care and ease interstate practice, while preserving state regulatory authority and creating a multistate administrative commission and shared data system.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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