by Lisa Hong, IOTA Legislative, Advocacy and Reimbursement Chairperson
IOTA has been working behind the scenes to bring the Interstate Compact to Idaho. Over the past year, we have provided information to OT practitioners across the state and encouraged feedback. During that open comment period, several took the time to learn more, ask questions, and voice support of the Compact.
Megan Doyle, IOTA President and Lisa Hong, IOTA Legislative, Advocacy and Reimbursement Chairperson attended the most recent Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (DOPL) Occupational Therapy Licensure Board meeting on 7/26/24, where they discussed the issue and expressed the intent to move forward with seeking legislation for installing the Compact in Idaho. As the Interstate OT Compact is a joint effort between the AOTA and the NBCOT, NBCOT Representative Francielle Pineda also presented information regarding the status of the Compact to the DOPL OT Licensure Board, and Kari Thompson, Idaho NBCOT Ambassador, was present at the meeting to provide support.
The next step is to prepare to bring the bill installing the OT Compact before the Idaho Legislature in 2025, specifically the Health and Welfare House and Senate Committees. This entails finding bill sponsors from both the House and Senate, and providing supporting documents. While our lobbyist, Caroline Merritt, works to secure these sponsors, we are asking our OT practitioners and other interested parties across the state to provide statements that can help the Legislature understand how enacting the Interstate OT Licensure Compact benefits occupational therapy practitioners and clients. We would welcome your experience as a military spouse, traveling therapy provider, employer/recruiter, OTP living near the state borders, etc. Please email statements to legchairofiota2@gmail.com
We want to express appreciation to Caroline, as well as Daniel Markels from AOTA and both Shaun Conway and Francielle Pineda from NBCOT for support and advocacy.
If you want more information regarding the Compact, please see https://otcompact.org/