The Alliance for Licensing Massage Therapists has made a list of what they consider Talking Points about why the state should license Massage Therapists. Below are their points and MNHLRP’s response to those points. Our responses are in red.
- The MN CAM Law was defunded last year so currently there is no means of enforcing standards.
- The proponents of this bill were clearly not at a hearing on Thursday evening March 4th which discussed the closing of the OCAP office. Tom Hiendlmayr, the Director of the Health Occupations Program within the MDH, offered several options for enforcement that currently exist, even with OCAP not funded. He also stated that the law was going well. That they recently have done some investigations without funding. That there is a desire on the part of the employees in his department to continue to provide this service. There is always a way to enforce a law. It may not be the most convenient, but others can investigate.
- Watch the lingo used by the out of state interests who have come into Minnesota to promote legislation. As of 3/5/10 they are still referring to it as The Minnesota CAM Law an improper name. It is the Health Freedom Law, or Statute 146A. You can always tell an outsider by their use of improper language. Why are there big buck lobbyists working on this bill? Not because they are concerned about therapists or consumers. There is no reason to spend that much money on hiring lobbyists if there isn't some fnancial payback coming for investing the money. Your lobbyists at MNHLRP are VOLUNTEERS.
- This is Voluntary and anyone who wants to avoid registration can do so.
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The law says it is voluntary, but the practical reality is that most of the communities, even those that do not currently license massage therapists, will likely require it. According to the Minnesota Department of Health, the cities are free to require it. In other states where it begins as a voluntary registration, in a few years, it became required licensure. Further evidence is suggested by the fact that the board is charged with taking away the ability of the practitioner to practice at all. If this was truly registration, then the only ability the board would have would be to take away the title, as registration is title protection.
- This bill has been extensively vetted and should be passed this session
- By the Board of Nursing, who voted unanimously to take on our Advisory Council,
- By the MN Council of Health Boards, who found this to be a health care profession in need of regulation to protect the public,
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The Minnesota Council of Health Boards held their Review without any input from the Minnesota Natural Health Legal Reform Project. We were asked to be notified of their meetings in what turned out to be less than two weeks before their meetings began. We were promised we would be notified but we were not. The report would likely have been different had there been input from opponents. How can we be so certain about that? Because in previous years, when a Review was done and there was input from opponents, the outcome was vastly different. Nothing about massage therapy has really changed over the years, at least that has not been presented as evidence in their documentation.
- And by a laundry list of allied health care professional associations, several of which offered input to the language that we incorporated to make the bill stronger.
- The time has come to bring MN up to speed with the 43 states and District of Columbia who are protecting their citizens in a way that MN is not.
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The evidence they presented in their documentation suggests that Minnesota IS currently protecting its citizens under Statute 146A. There were 11 rulings in insurance cases against massage therapists over a number of years. These are therapists that are credentialed by a national credentialing organization. Apparently a credential does NOT insure the quality of massage therapists. If once considers that there are somewhere between 3,000 and 5,000 massage therapists in MN who give multiple massages per week, that is NOT very many claims.
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Just because other states are licensing Massage Therapists only shows that most of those states likely do NOT have a law such as MN Statute 146A. Citizens are well protected with Statute 146A.
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In those states with a massage credential, complaints against massage therapists run as high as 28 complaints per 1000 massage therapists. 28/1000 is higher than the same statistic for MN Nurses, Social Workers and PTs, combined.
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This comparison is invalid. The other regulated professions have supervisors that likely field the complaints, not the licensing or credentialing board. According to ALMT’s documentation, approximately 1/3 of all massage therapists practice out of their homes. They are not supervised. Others who practice in other settings are also not supervised. One can assume that the only place to complain is with the state credentialing board, as opposed to an on-site supervisor for the other practitioners listed. The more important statistic is how many of those complaints were actionable.
- Clients can know that practitioners with the credential have been checked out for relevant criminal history and can then choose based on quality of work
- Have they surveyed clients of massage therapists and found that this is a regular concern? This is a concern of cities who are trying to manage prostitution on the backs of legitimate massage therapists. But are the clients really that concerned? The popularity of massage schools and massages in general suggest it is not.
- Our state is one of only seven with no state-wide regulation of massage therapists
- City ordinances are too expensive, overly restrictive, and in many cases demeaning. MN League of Cities supports legislation to take massage regulation off the plate of the cities
- Some cities have found the information on Statute 146A helpful and have waived fees for massage therapists who have proven they comply with it.
- Currently new clients don't know the difference between your practice and that of someone practicing illegitimate massage
- We think that the average massage therapy client is wiser than they are given credit for in this statement. If someone has a difficult time distinguishing between a massage therapy clinic and a house of prostitution, we suggest that he or she gets a recommendation from a friend who has a massage therapist, or go to one within a chiropractic office.
- No enforceable laws in MN to hold those who step out of bounds accountable like there are in 43 other states and the District of Columbia (MN’s CAM Law enforcement was unallotted.)
- While closing OCAP may appear to present a problem, most states with Health Freedom Laws such as the one in Minnesota do NOT have an OCAP office. Statute 146A can be enforced by county attorneys and local police departments.
- Our bill is "budget neutral" and self-funded This is according to the standard means for new credentials to be paid for in MN
- This is only speculation. It is “voluntary” after all. If it truly is voluntary, there would not be a way to estimate very accurately. The four year naturopath registration law was supposed to be self-funded, but there are far fewer registered than anticipated.
- Removes the hesitancy some potential referring providers might have of referring to an "unlicensed" practitioner; fear of what Journal of the American Medical Association calls "vicarious liability"
- A more expanded practices act for physicians would improve everyone’s access to all kinds of natural health modalities. Their backward standards of care shouldn’t place a burden on non-medical health care providers.
- Increases the public's access to care by doing away with the local ordinances for those with the state credential
- Explain how that increase works, please. This will not increase the number of massage therapists. You may have to drive to the next community to find one, but there won’t be an increase. If anything, it decreases access because it may eliminate some massage therapists who only do this part time, or cause some therapists to be “outlaws” which means that they are not willing to make their name known.
- Has a Grandfathering clause to allow those not meeting the educational criteria to establish their expertise and get a state credential
- How may of you can remember all your anatomy and physiology? The examination is how well you remember book learning, not how good a therapist you are in a practical sense.
- Has an exemptions clause to make it completely clear that this law will not effect practitioners in related fields nor will it require a massage credential of them – they can continue to practice just as they always have with no interruption
- Exactly which related fields are those? This is completely unclear in the bill. In other states, laws have had to be opened up over and over again to exclude certain groups of practitioners because the bill was unclear.
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