06/02/2026
From our President:
We are happy to announce House Bill 5150 was passed overwhelmingly 103-3 by the Michigan House of Representatives on Thursday, 5/22. House Representative Jamie Thompson, also a nurse, is the Sponsor of our bill and we are very grateful for not just sponsoring this Bill but also for her passionate support of our profession and her tireless efforts promoting this Bill. I also want to thank our lobbyists Bret Marr & Nick Baugh and our Legislative Committee for their ongoing efforts.
This Bill strengthens our profession in the Michigan Public Health Code as it:
1. Updates our professional label from Respiratory Therapy to Respiratory Care.
2. Eliminates the alphabet soup of our professional nomenclature from RT, RCP, LRT, LRCP, etc, to "respiratory therapist" (RT) and "respiratory care practitioner" (RCP).
3. Clarifies RCPs can accept orders from NPs and PAs.
4. Mandates Student-Practitioner limited licensing for student practitioners (note: these are students who are in good standing in their college programs AND employed in Respiratory Care departments; licensing will not be required for students for clinical rotations. Their scope of practice will be limited to non-ICU care).
5. Mandates RRT credential as the minimum competency for Licensure (current CRTs will be grandfathered in).
6. Expands our current scope of practice in the Public Health Code with written, verbal, or telecommunicated physician or extender orders and includes: implementing/titration of respiratory care treatment plans and protocols, management of mechanical ventilatory support and other means of life support, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, inserting and maintaining artificial airways and arterial and venous lines, hemodynamic monitoring, performing therapeutic bronchoscopy and diagnostic bronchoscopy, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, electrophysiological monitoring, ECMO, etc.
To read the Bill as passed by the House of Representatives in it's entirety:https://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2025-2026/billengrossed/House/pdf/2025-HEBH-5150.pdf
What's next:
The bill now heads to the Senate, where our lobbyists have already started conversations with key Senate members. We will provide updates as they arise.
