BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 783
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 783 (Hayashi)
As Amended April 7, 2011
Majority vote
BUSINESS & PROFESSIONS 9-0
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|Ayes:|Hayashi, Bill Berryhill, | | |
| |Allen, Butler, Eng, | | |
| |Hagman, Hill, Ma, | | |
| |Nestande | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Adds licensed physical therapists and occupational
therapists to the list of healing arts practitioners who may be
shareholders, officers, directors or professional employees of a
medical corporation, podiatric medical corporation, or
chiropractic corporation, so long as the sum of all shares owned
by those licensed persons does not exceed 49% of the total
number of shares, and so long as the number of those licensed
persons owning shares in the professional corporation so
designated herein does not exceed the number of persons licensed
by the governmental agency regulating the designated
professional corporation.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Defines a "professional corporation" as one that renders
professional services in a single profession, except as
otherwise authorized in Corporations Code, Section 13401.5.
2)Authorizes medical corporations to permit the following
licensees be shareholders, officers, directors or professional
employees:
a) Licensed doctors of podiatric medicine;
b) Licensed psychologists;
c) Registered nurses;
d) Licensed optometrists;
AB 783
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e) Licensed marriage and family therapists;
f) Licensed clinical social workers;
g) Licensed physician assistants;
h) Licensed chiropractors;
i) Licensed acupuncturists; and,
j) Naturopathic doctors.
3)Authorizes podiatric medical corporations to permit the
following licensees be shareholders, officers, directors or
professional employees:
a) Licensed physicians and surgeons;
b) Licensed psychologists;
c) Registered nurses;
d) Licensed optometrists;
e) Licensed chiropractors;
f) Licensed acupuncturists; and,
g) Naturopathic doctors.
4)Authorizes chiropractic corporations to permit the following
licensees be shareholders, officers, directors or professional
employees:
a) Licensed physicians and surgeons;
b) Licensed doctors of podiatric medicine;
c) Licensed psychologists;
d) Registered nurses;
e) Licensed optometrists;
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f) Licensed marriage and family therapists;
g) Licensed clinical social workers;
h) Licensed acupuncturists; and,
i) Naturopathic doctors.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. This bill is keyed non-fiscal.
COMMENTS : According to the author's office, "AB 783 ensures
that physical therapists (PTs) can keep their jobs and continue
to practice where they are needed most. After 21 years, the
California Board of Physical Therapy has reversed its policy
about where physical therapists can work and is threatening to
impose immediate, severe penalties that will jeopardize patient
care. Without this bill, most physical therapists will have no
choice but to quit their jobs or risk losing their license.
"Medical and podiatric medical corporations have been legally
employing various health professionals for years, including
psychologists, optometrists, chiropractors, acupuncturists, and
registered nurses. This bill maintains the status quo by
enumerating PTs on this list."
Since 1990, the California Board of Physical Therapy (Board) has
allowed physical therapists to be employed by both medical and
podiatric corporations and general corporations. The Board's
resolution titled "Physical Therapy Corporation Ownership by a
Layperson" determined that the Moscone-Knox Professional
Corporation Act was intended to cover medicine, dentistry, and
law, and not physical therapy. This resolution was rescinded on
November 3, 2010. At the same time, the Board reacted to a
separate Legislative Counsel opinion which stated that, as the
law currently stands, a physical therapist may be subject to
discipline for providing physical therapy services as an
employee of a medical corporation, or any professional
corporation other than a naturopathic corporation. The Board
then drafted a letter, threatening those physical therapists
employed by medical and podiatric medical corporations with the
choice of losing their jobs or having the Board take action
against their license to practice physical therapy.
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There are over 15,000 physical therapists in California today,
with an average growth of 440 jobs each year, according to the
Employment Development Department. Approximately 80% work in
offices of physicians and other health practitioners, hospitals,
home health care services and nursing care facilities.
Physical therapists treat individuals who have been diagnosed by
a physician to have medical problems or other health-related
conditions, illnesses, or injuries that limit their ability to
move and perform functional activities, often consulting and
practicing with a variety of other professionals, such as
physicians, dentists, nurses, educators, social workers,
occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, and
audiologists. Because of this coordinated treatment, continuity
of care, or a long-term partnership between healthcare
professions and the patient, are essential. Disrupting the
continuity of care can both prolong treatment and prevent
optimum results.
This bill is identical to AB 1152 (Anderson) of 2010, which
unanimously passed out of the Assembly Business and Professions
Committee on July 12, 2009 and passed the Assembly Floor with a
vote of 75-0 on July 26, 2009.
The Occupational Therapy Association of California and the
California Chiropractic Association, fearful that the
Legislative Counsel opinion would be expanded to prevent
occupational therapists from working for medical, podiatric
medical, and chiropractic corporations, requested to be amended
into the bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Marina Wiant / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301
FN: 0000240