Statutes lay out the purpose of the Examining Board of Physical Therapists and Athletic Trainers, which is to protect the general public from unsafe practices and from occupational practices that tend to reduce competition or fix the price of services rendered. Statutes also govern telehealth in physical therapy. Statutes grant authority to physical therapists to consult, evaluate and treat an individual without referral from a physician. Statutes also provide that if a physical therapist is authorized by law to perform a particular service, the physical therapist is entitled to compensation for the services from disability insurance, standard health insurance and all other insurance plans, or health service organizations and HMOs, but compensation for services is still subject to cost containment mechanisms such as cost sharing and utilization review.