Skip to content
A1396Assembly2017-2018 Session

Let OT Assistants Treat Injuries

Official title

“Authorizes treatment of workers' compensation injuries by an occupational therapy assistant”

Sponsor Kenneth ZebrowskiAD-96+11 co-sponsorsAffects Economy
Status
In Senate Committee
Labor
Impact
4/10
Low
Passage
0%

Bill progress

Step 5 of 7

In Senate · Labor

What's happening

This bill allows licensed occupational therapy assistants to provide workers' compensation injury treatment under physician supervision, but not perform independent medical exams.

Why it matters

  1. Expands access to care for injured workers. by allowing occupational therapy assistants (OTAs) to provide treatment under proper supervision, potentially reducing wait times and improving rehabilitation outcomes for patients needing occupational therapy.

  2. Addresses workforce shortages in occupational therapy. by formally recognizing OTAs as eligible providers (under physician supervision), which could help clinics and hospitals better staff their therapy teams and serve more patients.

  3. Maintains quality and oversight. by clearly prohibiting OTAs from conducting independent medical examinations, ensuring that complex determinations about workers’ compensation claims remain in the hands of more highly trained professionals.

  4. Aligns state law with modern occupational therapy practices. , reflecting how OTAs are already trained and utilized in many healthcare settings, and bringing New York’s workers’ compensation system in line with current professional standards.

The daily · weekday mornings

Albany, before your first meeting.

Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.

Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.

Who cares

Headline styles

Let OT Assistants Treat Injuries

Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.

Sponsors

Primary sponsor
Kenneth Zebrowski

Assembly Member · Assembly District 96

History

  1. Referred to labor
  2. Delivered to senate
  3. Passed assembly
  4. Ordered to third reading cal.102
  5. Returned to assembly
  6. Died in senate
  7. Referred to rules
  8. Delivered to senate
  9. Passed assembly
  10. Ordered to third reading rules cal.320
  11. Rules report cal.320
  12. Reported
Show 6 earlier actions
  1. Amend and recommit to rules 1396b
  2. Reported referred to rules
  3. Reported referred to codes
  4. Print number 1396a
  5. Amend and recommit to labor
  6. Referred to labor

Full text

1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗

STATE OF NEW YORK

1396--B

2017-2018 Regular Sessions

IN ASSEMBLY

January 12, 2017

Introduced by M. of A. ZEBROWSKI, WEPRIN, COLTON, BENEDETTO, STECK, SKOUFIS, MURRAY, STIRPE, BRINDISI, GARBARINO, THIELE -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. LUPINACCI, McDONOUGH, WALTER -- read once and referred to the Committee on Labor -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- reported and referred to the Committee on Codes -- reported and referred to the Committee on Rules -- Rules Committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to the Committee on Rules

AN ACT to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to authorizing treatment of workers' compensation injuries by an occupational therapy assistant

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:

Section 1. Paragraph (e) of subdivision 1 of section 13-b of the workers' compensation law, as amended by chapter 473 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows:

(e) Upon the prescription or referral of an authorized physician occupational therapy care may be rendered by a duly licensed occupational therapist or by a duly licensed occupational therapy assistant licensed by the state education department pursuant to article one hundred fifty-six of the education law. Where occupational therapy care is rendered records of the patient's condition and progress, together with records of instruction for treatment, if any shall be maintained by the occupational therapist and physician. Said records shall be submitted to the chair on forms and at such times as the chair may require. A duly licensed occupational therapy assistant shall not be authorized to perform independent medical examinations.

§ 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have become a law.

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD04628-04-7

Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.

Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.