Bill Text: IL SB2153 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Illinois Physical Therapy Act. Provides that initial physical therapy evaluations without a referral or an established diagnosis may be performed by a licensed physical therapist via telehealth when the physical therapist determines that an in-person examination is not required based on the physical therapist's clinical judgment and the applicable standard of care (rather than cannot be performed via telehealth unless necessary to address a documented hardship). Provides that a physical therapist or a licensed physical therapy assistant may require the patient to undergo an in-person visit instead of providing telehealth services (rather than the use of telehealth as a primary means of delivering physical therapy must be an exception and documentation must support the clinical justification). Provides that a physical therapist providing telehealth must have the capacity to provide or be able to facilitate a referral to in-person care within the State (rather than must only have the capacity to provide in-person care). Provides that the standard of care for a patient receiving physical therapy through telehealth is equal to the standard of care for in-person care.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-25 - Assigned to Licensed Activities [SB2153 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-SB2153-Introduced.html

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 SB2153 Introduced 2/7/2025, by Sen. Cristina Castro SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
225 ILCS 90/1.3
Amends the Illinois Physical Therapy Act. Provides that initial physical therapy evaluations without a referral or an established diagnosis may be performed by a licensed physical therapist via telehealth when the physical therapist determines that an in-person examination is not required based on the physical therapist's clinical judgment and the applicable standard of care (rather than cannot be performed via telehealth unless necessary to address a documented hardship). Provides that a physical therapist or a licensed physical therapy assistant may require the patient to undergo an in-person visit instead of providing telehealth services (rather than the use of telehealth as a primary means of delivering physical therapy must be an exception and documentation must support the clinical justification). Provides that a physical therapist providing telehealth must have the capacity to provide or be able to facilitate a referral to in-person care within the State (rather than must only have the capacity to provide in-person care). Provides that the standard of care for a patient receiving physical therapy through telehealth is equal to the standard of care for in-person care.
LRB104 09779 AAS 19845 b
A BILL FOR
SB2153 LRB104 09779 AAS 19845 b
AN ACT concerning regulation.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Illinois Physical Therapy Act is amended by
changing Section 1.3 as follows:
(225 ILCS 90/1.3)
(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2026)
Sec. 1.3. Telehealth services.
(a) Physical therapy through telehealth services may be
used to address access issues to care, enhance care delivery,
or increase the physical therapist's ability to assess and
direct the patient's performance in the patient's own
environment.
(b) A physical therapist or physical therapist assistant
working under the general supervision of a physical therapist
may provide physical therapy through telehealth services
pursuant to the terms and use defined in the Telehealth Act and
the Illinois Insurance Code subject to the following
conditions:
(1) Initial physical therapy evaluations without a
referral or established diagnosis may only be performed by
a licensed physical therapist and may be performed via
telehealth when the physical therapist determines that an

SB2153 - 2 - LRB104 09779 AAS 19845 b
in-person examination is not required based on the
physical therapist's clinical judgment and the applicable
standard of care. and cannot be performed via telehealth
unless necessary to address a documented hardship,
including, but not limited to, geographical, physical, or
weather-related conditions.
(2) A physical therapist or a licensed physical
therapy assistant may require the patient to undergo an
in-person visit instead of providing telehealth services.
The use of telehealth as a primary means of delivering
physical therapy must be an exception and documentation
must support the clinical justification.
(3) A patient receiving physical therapy must be able
to request and receive in-person care at any point during
their treatment.
(4) A physical therapist providing telehealth must
have the capacity to provide or be able to facilitate a
referral to in-person care within the State of Illinois.
(5) The standard of care for a patient receiving
physical therapy through telehealth is equal to the
standard of care for in-person care.
(Source: P.A. 103-849, eff. 1-1-25.)