by 
Conversations have been on the rise around inclusion of health and fitness professionals as service providers in the healthcare continuum. These pros are well positioned to support physical activity/exercise programs and interventions that can help curb the obesity epidemic. Also rising is the introduction of bills that would regulate exercise professionals in State governments across the country.
The primary goal of policymakers who have introduced licensure or registration bills to date has been to increase consumer protection. From our perspective, regulation could potentially bring enhanced recognition and respect to fitness professionals, and an increased confidence on the part of referring professionals and consumers. This would allow greater opportunities for exercise professionals to work alongside other allied health professions, providing services that contribute to a healthier population.
ACE’s ultimate goal is to ensure that you are ideally situated to provide the leadership and expertise to help people from all walks of life live their most fit lives. We are working on your behalf to ensure that any legislation that would regulate the profession will provide the enhanced consumer protection that policymakers believe is necessary, but avoids creating an unnecessary burden or expense for individuals with a current National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA)-accredited exercise professional certification.
Our commitment to elevating and protecting the profession has led us to unite with other leaders in the fitness industry who offer certification programs accredited by the NCCA. Together, through the recently formed Coalition for the Registration of Exercise Professionals (CREP), a 501 (c)(6) organization, we are presenting a united and powerful front to advocate for the recognition of exercise professionals with current, NCCA-accredited health and fitness certifications as health providers.
Part of our responsibility is to keep you informed and educated on the changing landscape of our industry and what we are doing to help protect you. There have been a number of regulation bills introduced around the country that you should be aware of: Massachusetts (pending), Florida (died), and the District of Columbia (passed).
We are closely tracking these bills for any movement and have been in contact with the elected officials in each state/municipality to voice our concerns about the current language of the proposed bills. We’ve also offered alternate language that considers the needs and interests of all stakeholders including consumers, professionals, employers and the state while avoiding unnecessary expense.
If you are interested in learning more about any of the bills mentioned, including key provisions and analyses on how the measures could affect you, or if you would like to access the actual bill language, please visit the CREP Policy We Follow page or contact us at publicpolicy@acefitness.org.
