Dear Honorable Members of the Illinois General Assembly, The Illinois Physical Therapy Association opposes passage of HB4935 or SB2635. We urge you to consider the damaging impact of such "pay to play” healthcare legislation on the Illinois citizens, if either is enacted. HB4935 and SB2635 amend over 20 Acts that regulate the medical and healthcare professions, including the Illinois Physical Therapy Act. HB4935 and SB 2635 amend the Illinois Physical Therapy Act to allow financial fee splitting between physical therapists and the physicians who refer patients to them. These Physician Fee Splitting Bills specifically allows fee splitting that has been prohibited in Illinois since 1971 and ruled unethical by the American Medical Association since 1930. It is just such activity that has caused the cost of healthcare to skyrocket. The financial burden of such unnecessary conflict of interest is born by everyone who pays for healthcare. Legislating incentives that have been proven over two decades to increase utilization and cost of healthcare services, is nothing more than "pay to play” physical therapy. Members of the Illinois Physical Therapy Association believe the people of Illinois deserve affordable high quality healthcare free of unnecessary conflict of interest and fee splitting. While we are working with the Illinois State Medical Society to clarify some of the language of the bills, we want you to know that our objections are based on bedrock ethical principles related to protecting the public from financial exploitation, and contamination of the all-important relationship of trust between doctor and patient. Join us in resisting this attempt to take Illinois into the realm of "pay to play” healthcare. Please vote to defeat HB4935 in the Health Care Licenses Committee and SB2635 in the Licensed Activities Committee. Professionally Yours,