Massage Therapy Journal Spring 2024

Spring 2024 • 13

Health, Substance Use and Recovery in support of this legislation. SB 1272 is still active and continues to move through the Senate. 2. New Hampshire House Bill 66 , which was enacted into law in April 2023, helps establish a committee to study non-pharmacological treatment options for patients with chronic pain.

Education (ED) released proposed regulations to establish safeguards to protect students from unaffordable debt or insufficient earnings from career training programs. AMTA submitted comments to the ED on the proposed rules. On October 10, 2023, the ED released its final rule on Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment. In addition, on October 31, 2023, ED released landscape within our massage therapy profession, most significantly the elimination of the 150% rule. You can view AMTA’s stance on the 150% rule at amtamassage.org/schools-fundingatrisk. AMTA will closely monitor the implementation of the final rule, while continuing to advocate for massage therapy students and graduates. AMTA Advocates for U.S. Veterans to Gain Better Access to Massage Therapy AMTA was invited to submit a statement on the benefits of massage for military and veteran populations at the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing on the Department of Veterans Affairs research program. In addition, we issued a press release in honor of Veterans Day in November 2023. The press release, featuring the latest research on how massage therapy can help military veterans with chronic pain and mental health issues, reached millions of consumers across the country. AMTA also met with the Veterans Health Administration to support better funding and access to massage therapy for veterans. We continue to collaborate with veteran researchers and work with our members directly on regional issues affecting veterans. AMTA has also been an ongoing member of the stakeholder coalition: Friends of Veterans to help endorse access to complementary and integrative health services for veterans, including massage therapy. its final rule on Financial Responsibility, Administrative Capability, Certification Procedures, Ability To Benefit (ATB). This will have a substantial impact on the educational

AMTA Advocates for the Regulation of Massage Therapy in Utah and Alabama • In Utah, the “Massage Therapy

Practice Amendments,” a sunset review provision, was passed over in the Business and Labor Interim Committee on August 9, 2023. This inaction threatened to deregulate massage therapy in the state. AMTA’s grassroots efforts led to more than 1,300 members, volunteers and concerned citizens sending messages to state legislators, advocating for allowing the Utah Board of Massage Therapy to continue. As a result, the Massage Therapy Practice Act Amendments were unanimously passed out of committee, extending the next sunset date to July of 2034—a huge win for the profession! • In Alabama, HB 192 was introduced as a standard Sunset Legislation for the Alabama Board of Massage Therapy. A board’s sunset puts an end date in the statute, which requires the legislature to review the board for efficacy, necessity and transparency. In a surprising and unprecedented act, HB 192 was amended to reduce licensing and penalty fees, as well as make changes to the original Massage Therapy Practice Act. Despite the Board’s attempts to correct the issues raised in the 2023 Sunset Audit Report, the Committee determined that allowing the current Board of Massage Therapy to terminate in 2024 was the best course of action. AMTA will continue to advocate for the state regulation of massage therapy in Alabama, and will offer input and guidance to the Alabama legislature as they consider language to reconstitute the Board in 2024. AMTA Submits Comments on Department of Education Rules Recently, the U.S. Department of

LEARN MORE Read more about AMTA’s advocacy efforts and how you can get involved at amtamassage.org/ advocacy.

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