Alaska's respiratory therapists would pay $350 for a first license under proposed rules

State regulators on Sunday proposed the first licensing rules for Alaska's respiratory therapists, setting a $350 price for a first license and requiring new applicants to hold a national credential.

Respiratory therapists treat breathing problems in patients ranging from premature babies to trauma victims on ventilators. Alaska is the only state that does not license them, Rep. Carolyn Hall told the House Finance Committee in April, when lawmakers heard that 200 to 250 practice in the state.

That changes under a state law that takes effect Jan. 1, 2027. People already practicing then can keep working without a license for up to a year. Starting Jan. 1, 2028, no one may practice respiratory care in Alaska without a state license, according to the Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing's implementation page. Doing so would be a class B misdemeanor.

People employed in Alaska under a physician's direction on or before Jan. 1, 2027, who apply within a year can be licensed, and keep renewing, without the national credential. Everyone else would need to be a registered respiratory therapist through the National Board of Respiratory Care, under the proposed rules.

The proposed fees are a $150 nonrefundable application fee and a $200 license fee for the first two years, then $200 every two years to renew. The national certification costs another $190, and the cost of continuing education is unknown, the division says. State law requires licensees to pay the full cost of regulating their profession.

In April, division Director Sylvan Robb told lawmakers that for similar-sized professions without a licensing board, "the cost for licensure are somewhere between $100 and $325 for a 2-year period."

To renew, licensees would need 20 hours of continuing education and a current national credential. The division would audit renewals, and licensees would have to follow the American Association for Respiratory Care's ethics statement.

The law does not apply to students, people licensed in another profession working within its scope, military and federal-facility workers, or some workers in labs, physician's offices, clinics and outpatient facilities who work under a physician's direction, among others.

Licensing began as a standalone House bill, which Alaska News covered in April. The Senate Labor and Commerce Committee later added it to a health care compacts bill, House Bill 110, which became law June 22 without the governor's signature.

Written comments are due by 4:30 pm Nov. 23 through the licensing rules notice. Adopted rules take effect 30 days after the lieutenant governor files them.