Bill Name: Assembly Bill 2548 (A 2548)

Primary Sponsor: Assembly person Alicia Hyndman

Status: 1/26/2023 Referred to House Committee on Economic Development

AmSpa’s Take: The addition of microneedling treatments to cosmetologist and aesthetician scopes of practice is a common trend across multiple states. This bill is unusual in that it only includes roller-type microneedling devices.

Outlook: This bill is in the first steps of the process and, based on the sponsor’s past record, it has a lower likelihood of passing.

Analysis: Currently, New York treats microneedling as a medical treatment to be performed under medical supervision. Typically, aestheticians and cosmetologists are prohibited from performing services on their own that invade or affect the living tissue. A 2548 seeks to expand the scopes of practice of cosmetologists and aestheticians to include microneedling. Microneedling, in this case, refers to devices that use rollers only. So, more modern electric or combination devices are not covered.

In order for aestheticians and cosmetologists to add this service to their scopes of practice, they would need to complete a board-approved five-hour course. In addition to this course, the person would also need to complete an OSHA bloodborne pathogen training course.

As cosmetic medical procedures become more common and popular, there has been a strong trend to expand the practice of aestheticians and cosmetologists to include them. This is most commonly done by creating new advanced practice licenses with different training requirements. Occasionally, the changes are made by expanding the existing licenses’ scopes of practice. If you would like additional information, to read the language of the bill or to contact the sponsors or committee, you can find the information you need through this link.