Regulation of massage therapy is at an all-time high on a state level. During 2009 alone, almost 30 states have already considered, or are currently considering, legislation that stands to impact our profession, according to the website of the American Massage Therapy Association. As usual, the various states are following their own agendas for regulation, and I’m not saying that’s necessarily a bad thing. What I am saying is that I think we’re missing the bigger picture here.
Reform of health care policies on a national level is imminent and long overdue; the system is broken. In 2007, the latest year that statistics are available for, over 46 million Americans were without health insurance, and 80% of those are people who are gainfully employed, not people on welfare. Health care costs are out of control; about 1.5 million people lose their homes to foreclosure in the average year due to overwhelming medical expenses, and in a recession economy, that figure goes up exponentially in proportion to unemployment figures.
What does this have to do with the massage profession? At this point in time, nothing, because we’re not making any sort of concerted effort to have any voice in national health care reform, and that’s a shame. Not only are we missing out by not speaking out en masse for our due recognition as a licensed health care profession; many of us are also self-employed people who can’t afford our own health insurance, and/or small business people who either can’t afford to provide benefits for our employees, or in some states, are being financially crippled by the laws directing us to do so.
Other legislation, such as the freedom to choose the health care the individual wants, is a huge issue that we, as united professionals, should be proactively committed to fighting the good fight for. Our profession has made a lot of strides in recent years, and we can’t stand idly by and backslide, or as private citizens, watch while our individual rights are taken away.
There’s real strength in our numbers. Associated Massage & Bodywork Professionals has over 67,000 members. The American Massage Therapy Association has over 58,000. 91,000 practitioners are nationally certified. That’s a lot of professionals who ought to make their voice heard. Add to that the 30 state boards that are members of the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards, all the AMTA leadership on both the state chapter and national levels, and the assistance that ABMP gives in state legislative efforts, and that could be an impressive show of force for participating in, and making a difference in, the substance and intent of the winds of change that are blowing on the national health care scene. If the National Certification Board would direct all the lobbyists and lawyers they’ve hired, and all the money they’re spending in trying to block the Federation and the MBLEx, and spend it instead on lobbying for national health care reform that would be fair and beneficial to massage therapists, that alone would be a huge amount of money and effort that would actually be of benefit to our profession and consumers alike.
The public is at the mercy of the insurance and pharmaceutical companies and unethical medical practitioners who gouge the system. Massage therapists are treated unfairly in most places by the insurance companies; for instance, in many states, massage therapy is not covered at all, and in others, is covered only when performed in an MD or chiropractic office under supervision. In the case of the latter, there are many chiropractors who hire untrained people at a cheap wage to be muscle-rubbers and bill the insurance company the same amount they would if the work were being performed by a professional therapist.
Another issue is Medicare, which won’t pay for massage at all. The big injustice with that are the many people who have a supplemental policy such as BCBS that would normally pay for their massage when performed under the MD or chiropractor, but because Medicare is considered the primary insurance and it won’t pay, neither will the secondary policy. It’s just another way the present system is screwing elderly and disabled people.
Our professional leadership, and we as individual citizens, must rise up and make a big noise on a national level. We are licensed health care professionals and we should not be discounted or left out of the decision-making loop. If you belong to one of the professional associations, contact the leadership and urge them to get more involved in health care reforms on a national level. They work for you, the membership. If you’re nationally certified, contact the leadership of the NCB and tell them to turn their efforts toward something productive. They work for you, the certificants.
As an individual massage therapist, and business person if that applies to you, make it a priority to keep abreast of the developments that have the potential to impact you. Both AMTA and ABMP websites maintain frequently updated sections with current legislative actions that are being considered. Contact your government representatives and speak your mind. They work for you, the taxpayer. The only thing louder than your voice is your silence.
Peace & Prosperity,
Laura Allen
May 20th, 2009 at 10:55 am
I’m commenting on my own post, because I just read a survey on the Massage Today website that asked the question of whether or not you have ever contacted your legislators in relation to an issue that stands to affect the massage profession. Only 29% of therapists had answered “yes.”
What does it take to make people want to care about the politics of our profession? Most people don’t seem to care, or at least they don’t take any action, even when it directly concerns them! There are the few who will speak up, but we need so many more!
May 20th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Hi Laura,
I’d like to THANK YOU ! for all of your wonderful educational books and
materials, and also for keeping us informed about the political issues
effecting Massage Therapy and Bodywork / Bodyworkers.
I am SO ignorant of the current legislation (statewide and Nationally) and
don’t know what to do or where to go to learn more about these issues.
I would like to see all the Massage/Bodywork Professional Associations serve their Members broader needs by keeping us informed about current legislative new I’d also like to see them organize petitions, etc… for members to voice their opinions and cast their Votes.
THANK YOU ! again and GOD BLESS ! for your caring enough to raise my consciousness about these very important matters that affect us all.
May 21st, 2009 at 2:04 pm
In response to Nikki’s post – speaking from the perspective of an AMTA state chapter Government Relations chair, getting involved should be as easy as contacting your organization. If you are interested in the politics of how our profession is regulated, (as we all should be!) contact your professional organization. AMTA, ABMP, AOBTA, and the organizations representing Trager, Feldenkrais, Alexander, Polarity, Rolfing/SI, Somatic Movement Education, Reflexology and others all have government relations teams either at the state or national level that work to get the best forms of professional regulation possible for your state. Call the national office first and they can tell you how to help themselves or who to contact in your local area. I can guarantee they will be ecstatic to hear you want to help and they will give you the know-how to put you work effectively to whatever extent you let them. And there are always ways to help even for those who are Free Time-Challenged!
As for contacting legislators, some people are hesitant or nervous about doing so. Remember, they are there to represent YOU. In the vast majority of cases, these lawmakers just have to assume they know how you want them to vote, but with a 45 second phone call you can be certain they know for sure what you want. Here in MN legislators equate every phone call, email, letter or other contact as meaning 300 people in their district feel the same way about an issue who don’t take the time to call. A legislator we talked to said sometimes they decide how to vote on an issue based on as little as 3 phone calls from constituents.
You can make a difference – Contact the organzation representing your profession and find out how!
May 24th, 2009 at 10:08 pm
that’s insightful and encouraging to know that a few people CAN make an impression and thus a difference with their elected officials…. the power of one person can be counted as 300 in your example…
I think the lack of action on many people’s parts is they don’t know what to do or say or think that they are powerless over the powers that be so they do nothing and hope for the best.