AMTA: Supporting Massage Therapists for the Affordable Care Act (or Not?)

[massageblog]

The Affordable Care Act goes into effect on January 1, 2014. This stands to have a major impact on the ability of massage therapists to be reimbursed by insurance. The 1300+ page document includes language prohibiting discrimination against licensed integrative health care practitioners.
Diana Thompson, well-known educator, author, long-time AMTA member and past president of the Massage Therapy Foundation, recently shared with me a letter she sent to the BOD of AMTA, expressing her concerns that the organization is not supporting the movement of massage therapy into the mainstream as a health care choice. In the letter, Thompson went so far as to call out AMTA for not operating according to their own bylaws, which include the mandates that the organization is, among other things, to
(D.) Promote legislation that supports and upholds, and oppose legislation that harms
and damages, the massage profession;
(E.) Protect and preserve the rights of its members;

(H.) To advocate the rights and interests of persons seeking massage therapy as
health care;…READ MORE

Tags: ACA, ACCAHC, AMTA, Diana Thompson, Massage, massage therapists