Policy impacts practice.  The Texas Occupational Therapy Association is committed to being proactive relative to legislative issues that impact you, the practitioner, and the clients we serve. We hope that you will find the information here helpful as you advocate for your profession and your future.  

 

Occupational Therapy Licensure Compact (OT Compact) Update 5/21/2025
HB 932 - Relating to the Occupational Therapy Licensure Compact; authorizing fees. 
Unfortunately, there has been no movement on this Bill since 5/5/2025 after being referred to the Senate Health & Human Services Committee. The bill did not receive the necessary hearing in the committee. We received notification on 5/20/2025 PM that it is unlikely the Texas Legislature will pass any of the licensure compact bills, including the OT Compact Bill. 

We thank each and everyone of you who reached out to your representatives and asked for their support. We must acknowledge as an organization and a community of occupational therapy practitioners and students a bigger voice is needed to impact legislation.  TOTA members represent less than 4% of the 20,330 licensed OT practitioners in Texas. 

Click on the image below ⬇️ that shows the progression of HB 932.  The regular Texas Legislature will adjourn on June 2, 2025.

 The 89th Texas Legislative Session

 Upcoming End of Session Deadlines: 

May 23—last day for the House to consider all local and consent HBs on second reading 
May 24—last day for the House committees to report out Senate Bills 
May 27—last day for the House to consider Senate Bills on 2nd Reading 
May 28—last day for the Senate to consider all bills on 2nd reading 
June 1—last day for the House and Senate to adopt all conference committee reports 
June 2—SINE DIE

TOTA 2025 Bill Tracking Reports: 
Bill Tracking Report 5/09/2025

 

Advocacy Group Resources

American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) - Home - AAPD

 American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today (ADAPT) - Welcome to ADAPT - National ADAPT

 American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR) - Advocacy | ANCOR

 Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) - Action Center - Autistic Self Advocacy Network

 The Arc - Policy and Advocacy | The Arc

 United Cerebral Palsy - Advocacy - United Cerebral Palsy

 

Reimbursement Rate Reductions by Private Insurance Groups - What Can a Professional Association Do?  

State associations cannot and do not have the power to negotiate reimbursement rates for providers. By doing so they could risk violating anti-trust laws.  The laws are designed to protect the consumer and providers are considered sellers.  Insurance companies are considered buyers and buyers are consumers. 

Per the Federal Trade Commission, trade associations such as TOTA may represent its members before legislatures or government agencies, providing valuable information to inform government decisions.  State associations must be careful not to encourage, signal, or promote a boycott of an insurer.  The role of state associations can only be to educate our members. TOTA is committed to providing education and resources to our members on topics such as: 

• Service denial management. 
• The use of appropriate billing codes for services rendered. Companies or clinics that typically use the billing code that yields the highest reimbursement rate for all the services provided could be charged with upcoding.
• Anti-trust laws 

TOTA will focus on empowering our members with knowledge and resources to build and maintain their private practice businesses.  AOTA  provides a wealth of information for entrepreneurs.  You will find them under Private Practice Essentials . We look forward to continuing to serve our members.  If you have questions or comments, please submit them here.  

Familiarize yourselves with the CPT codes available for use and ensure you are using the most appropriate code for the services you are providing.  Click Here for a list of CPT® codes frequently used by occupational therapy practitioners.

 

Got Advocacy? 
Would you like more information about TOTA's role in state Advocacy? 
Would you like quick tips on what you can do today to improve your advocacy for tomorrow? 
TOTA is now offering free presentations for students and practitioners via zoom.  
If you are interested, email [email protected] to request a presentation for your class, clinic, or department.  

  

TOTA PAC:

The Texas Occupational Therapy Association Political Action Committee (TOTA PAC) is a state bipartisan political action committee. TOTA PAC provides financial support to candidates for state offices that support the profession of occupational therapy.