By now many of you have heard that our efforts to win Direct Access
and Term Protection at the Virginia General Assembly this year were
derailed at an unpleasant subcommittee fight on Monday night. While
the momentum of our grassroots helped to strength support for these
bills among the collective body, a small number of three delegates
(one of which was a chiropractor and another a physician) took
advantage of procedural rules to stifle debate and kill the bills
before they could be heard by the full committee. Anyone present at
the meeting would agree that some members of the subcommittee acted
un-statesmanlike and even lashed out at the proponents of our bills
-- refusing to allow potential compromises to be brought to the table
for debate.

Despite the success of the back handed methods of those mentioned above, the
merits of our bills were eloquently presented by Delegate Bill Janis, also a
member of the sub committee. It was apparent that Delegate Janis took the time
to educate himself on the facts and evidence ,presented to him by VPTA members
and patients, that dispelled the unsubstantiated accusations of our opponents.
Those of you that were present can attest to the fact that Delegate Janis
contributed a compelling, logical argument in support of our legislation.

The VPTA lobbying and grassroots efforts this year were extensive --opening
doors to new support for these measures and strengthening old allies. Our
lobbyists Richard Grossman, Myles Louria, Cathy France and the rest of the
Vectre Corporation did an outstanding job assuring that our grassroots efforts
were acknowledged. They referred to the VPTA’s legislative initiatives as “Our
bills” and communicated with us on a daily basis. Time and again legislators
commented on the excellent representation these individuals provided for our
Association. Response from VPTA members across Virginia was incredible. Over
3500 postcards were sent. One legislative aide commented that our bills
generated the most constituant response than any other bill before them this
session.

It was clear we have allies within the General Assembly ready to move these
measures forward and our grassroots/lobbying efforts underway will further our
position in the coming months.

As you know, it has been five years since VPTA brought forward
pro-active legislation challenging restrictions on direct access. In that time,
almost 50% the membership of the House of Delegates has changed. Given the steep
learning curve on these issues, and the formidable challenge our opposition
mounted against us, it would have been difficult to pass meaningful changes to
the PT practice act this session without giving up too much to our opposition.
However, we did make great strides this session and we now have a very good
picture of where our strengths lie and where more efforts are needed.

This could not have been done without putting the issue before the legislature.
Soon we will regroup and continue the fight -- but for now, I wanted to thank
those of you worked so hard these past few weeks. We need to be proud of our
team effort, and energized by the ready willingness of our patients to attest to
the professionalism and value of our services.

Terry

Terry Izzo PT,PCS
Legislative Chair
Virginia Physical Therapy Association