December 21, 2024 • 18 mins
Topics:
- Healwell News 0:44
- State and National News 2:44
- Massage Envy Settlement 2:49
- Association News 7:20
- AMTA, MPPR, and Veteran's Affairs 9:58
- Upcoming Live and Online events 14:30
Healwell's Glossary of the Massage Therapy Profession
Opening to the Mystery with Cal Cates (21 CEUs for most healthcare)
Department of Justice
AMTA's Letter to Veteran's Affairs
MTF Grants
IMTRC Registration
ABMP News
AMTA News
Send us an email: podcast@healwell.org
Leave us a voice message: 703-468-1799
Check out our interview-style podcast: Interdisciplinary
You can support Healwell and the cool things we make by donating here!
Ways join in:
- Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts
- Check Healwell’s live and online classes
- Continue the conversation with a free 3-day trial of the Healwell Community
- Find a copy of Rebecca Sturgeon's book: "Oncology Massage: An Integrative Approach to Cancer Care"
Thank you to ABMP and AMTA for sponsoring us!
Healwell is a 501(c)(3) non-profit based out of the Washington DC area. Check us out at www.healwell.org
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Welcome to the Rubdown, a news update about
massage therapy.
I'm your host, kori Rivera,licensed massage therapist and
correspondent.
The Rubdown brings you newsfrom the world of massage
therapy.
Today's Rubdown will includenews from September, october and
November 2024, because thisfall was the longest year ever,
(00:31):
don't forget.
The HealWell blog has a helpfulglossary of terms.
You can find the link to thisguide in the show notes.
If we've missed any, please letus know by emailing us at
podcast at HealWellorg.
First up HealWell News.
September saw HealWellHomecoming our first live
conference event.
Attendees participated inclasses on fascia ethics,
(00:51):
lymphatics and pregnancy.
Shout out to Sakina Irizarryand Meg Ballinger for teaching
their first classes ever andknocking it out of the park.
We then had a keynote speech byHealWell Executive Director,
kyle Cates, followed by aroundtable World Cafe-style
conversation about big topics inmassage therapy.
Thank you to our gold sponsor,the American Massage Therapy
Association, for helping thisevent happen and for
(01:13):
enthusiastically participatingin the discussions.
In other HealWell news, theHealWell Service Department has
provided 9,747 massages so farin 2024 in the DC, maryland,
virginia area.
Stay tuned to learn if we break10,000 massages this year.
The new HeWell community willopen December 28th.
The community is shifting focusand, in addition to being a
(01:35):
supportive environment formassage therapists, we are
working on helping massagetherapists improve both their
practice and the profession ofmassage therapy.
We have live meetings once aweek that focus on topics like
practice support, understanding,research and discussing
podcasts.
There are recommendation listsfor books and academic articles,
as well as a variety ofeducational resources and a
(01:56):
monthly topical theme.
The theme for January will beForging New Things, because we
could all use some new things.
The community platform itselfhas also been redesigned for
easier use.
Community members get exclusivediscounts on Heelwell classes
and first-to-know news updatesand class offerings.
Members can vote on ideasthey'd like to see in the
(02:18):
community, such as mentorshipopportunities, ethics practice
sessions and writing groups.
Members who register for thecommunity before January 31st
will also get a founding memberbadge.
Membership in the community isonly $19 a month.
Once you sign up, yourmembership price will be locked
in.
As long as you remain a member,your subscription price will
never go up.
If you have big ideas but needhelp making them happen, the
(02:41):
HeOL community would love tohave and help you Up.
Next state and national newsRecently, massage Envy has
agreed to settle a case againstProvidence, rhode Island in
March of 2021.
The complaint stated that aMassage Envy franchise quote
discriminated againstindividuals with disabilities
(03:02):
who, because of disability,needed assistance transferring
to and from the massage orfacial table.
The complaints alleged thatsuch individuals were required
to bring their own third partyto assist them with transferring
or be denied services.
The US Department of Justiceconcluded that requiring a
disabled person to bring a thirdparty to help with assistance
is a violation of the Americanswith Disabilities Act.
(03:24):
The Department of Justice alsoconcluded that the franchise
location failed to reasonablymodify its transfer assistance
policy.
The policy requiring a thirdparty quote imposed eligibility
criteria that screened out, ortended to screen out,
individuals with disabilities.
Because the parties involvedhave agreed to a settlement,
massage Envy is not required toadmit any wrongdoing and has
(03:44):
denied liability.
The settlement Massage Envy isnot required to admit any
wrongdoing and has deniedliability.
The settlement requires MassageEnvy to pay the aggrieved
individual $10,000 and to modifyits service provider standards
to practice policy to state thatMassage Envy franchise
employees will not deny servicesto people on the basis of their
disability, will providetransfer assistance to customers
with disabilities and will notrequire customers to bring a
(04:05):
third party for transfers.
If you'd ever like to searchthe Department of Justice
website for cases involvingmassage therapy.
You can do that at the link inthe show notes.
The Department of Human Servicesin Arkansas published a
proposed rule that would makelicensed massage therapists
mandated reporters.
Mandated reporters mustimmediately notify the child
abuse hotline or law enforcementif they have reasonable cause
(04:27):
to suspect a child hasexperienced maltreatment, a
child died from maltreatment ora child is experiencing
conditions or circumstances thatcould reasonably result in
child maltreatment.
The mandated reporting rulealready in place includes other
professions such as dentists,nurses, mental health
professionals, osteopaths andphysicians.
Delaware has passed two billsregarding their licensing.
(04:48):
The first bill changes thestate's minimum hours of massage
therapy education for studentsfrom 500 to 625 hours and
revises curriculum for eachsubject.
The second bill changes thetiered licensing system in
Delaware.
After December 31st, the Boardof Massage and Bodywork will
stop issuing initialcertifications to applicants to
practice as a certified massagetherapist or CMT.
(05:09):
This news comes from ABMP andthey have stated that their
understanding is that schoolsthat have a 300-hour
certification course will stopoffering such programs.
Therapists holding a CMT willremain certified as long as they
continue to renew thatcertification.
If a CMT allows theircertification to lapse, they
(05:33):
will have to meet the currentrequirements to obtain a license
.
Illinois has added trainingrequirements for abnormal skin
growth education to theirlicensing.
Practitioners need to provideproof of completing a course
approved by the Department ofFinancial and Professional
Regulation in abnormalnormalSkin Growth Education, including
training on identifyingmelanoma.
This law includes massagetherapists, cosmetologists,
barbers, hair braiders,estheticians, nail technologists
(05:55):
and electrologists.
Massage therapy is licensed asa service profession in Illinois
.
A practitioner referring aclient to a medical profession
regarding abnormal skin growthwill not be considered to be
acting outside of their scope ofpractice.
Also, the practitioner andtheir employer cannot be held
criminally liable for acting ingood faith.
(06:15):
Illinois has also amended theirmassage therapy misconduct laws.
A massage therapist who ischarged with misconduct is
required to have a chaperone inthe room while practicing.
The chaperone must be alicensed massage therapist or
other licensed healthcareworkers.
Misconduct could mean anoffense that may result in
registering as a sex offender,sexual misconduct of a minor
(06:36):
battery or sexual misconductagainst a patient, or a forcible
felony, which is a felony thatearns special penalties because
force was involved, such asmurder.
The massage therapist who isaccused will receive an
administrative order about thechaperone requirement.
The chaperone must provide awritten notice to clients before
the treatment that explains whythere is a chaperone present
(06:57):
Quote the client notice muststate in 14-point font the
massage therapist is presumedinnocent until proven guilty of
the charges.
Clients must sign the notice asan acknowledgement that they
have read and understood theinformation.
Failure to comply with theadministrative order, including
the use of the chaperone or theclient notice, will result in a
temporary license suspensionuntil the outcome of the
(07:18):
criminal proceedings.
Our next segment is news fromthe Massage Therapy National
Associations.
Stephanie Rodriguez, founder ofthe United States Organization
of Licensed Massage Therapists,or USOLMT, has officially
(07:38):
resigned her position and haschosen to leave the massage
therapy industry completely.
The director of membership,anne Elliott, will be taking
over as managing director.
The Massage Therapy Foundationhas announced the award of four
community service grants for the2024 cycle.
Community service grants helpbring the benefits of massage
therapy to people who wouldotherwise not have access.
Awards were granted to programsthat supported individuals of
(07:59):
color who were experiencinghomelessness, training for
hospital-based pediatric massagetherapy, massage therapy to
low-income families, at-riskyouth and survivors of
gender-based violence in Limpopo, south Africa, and training
programs covering essentialmassage techniques, anatomy,
physiology and hygiene practicesin Moshi, tanzania.
There are six awards availablefor 2025, and they're all
(08:22):
currently accepting submissions.
The Research Support Grantawards up to $30,000 and has a
deadline of February 1st.
The Research Award grants up to$300,000 and has a deadline of
March 1st.
There are several communitygrants which have a deadline of
March 1st.
There are several communitygrants which have a deadline of
March 3rd and the Practitionerand Student Case Report Contest
have a deadline of June 1st.
The Bob King Community Servicefor Schools Award is held
(08:45):
quarterly and its next deadlineis March 1st.
The International Journal forTherapeutic Massage and Bodywork
has put out a call for papersfor a special issue on mental
health and manual therapies.
The IJTMB is seeking papersshowcasing the potential for
massage to impact the managementand care of mental health
conditions, as well as qualityof life and wellness.
The submission deadline isDecember 31st and if you can
(09:08):
write a whole paper between nowand then, bless you.
If you're interested insubmitting to the IJTMB but do
not hold a PhD, you should checkout the recent editorials by
Editor-in-Chief, dr AmandaBaskwell, titled the Pillars of
the IJTMB.
They discuss a variety ofvaluable topics related to
massage practice and educationthat you could contribute to.
If that piques your interest,you should also join the new
(09:30):
HealWell community, because wewill be discussing these
editorials in early 2025.
The new HealWell communitybecause we will be discussing
these editorials in early 2025.
The National Certification Boardof Therapeutic Massage and
Bodywork, or NCBTMB, would liketo thank everyone who completed
the job task analysis survey.
They're working with the datanow and they are so thrilled to
get the response they did,especially when you consider how
long the survey was.
That last part was a note fromthe NCB, not a comment from me.
(09:53):
The American MassageAssociation had a busy fall.
Amta recently responded to theDepartment of Veterans Affairs'
request for input on creating anational standard of practice
for massage therapists who workwith the VA.
When an agency is thinking ofchanging a policy or creating a
new one, there will often be aninvited period of comment from
(10:13):
stakeholders.
Or creating a new one, therewill often be an invited period
of comment from stakeholders.
In their response, amtaemphasized that these standards
are vital to ensure safety,professionalism and integrity in
massage therapy.
However, their response alsomentions the MPPR.
If you don't know what the MPPRis, don't worry.
I didn't either until I startedwriting this news update.
But to talk about it, we firsthave to talk about how massage
(10:34):
therapists interact with the VA.
In order to work with veteransthrough the VA system, massage
therapists contract with the VAthrough the Community Care
Network.
These massage therapists arenot employees of the VA.
Medicare pays for the service,but a separate entity does the
billing and reimbursement.
This entity varies based onwhere you live in the country.
(10:55):
These entities have recentlychosen to apply the MPPR to
massage therapists working inthe VA's community care network.
Mppr stands for multiplepayment procedure reduction and
it is part of a Medicarereimbursement policy that was
established in 2002.
When therapies like physicaltherapy, occupational therapy
(11:16):
and speech-language pathologybill insurance, they do it in
15-minute increments.
Until, the MPPR, providerswould be paid the same amount
for each increment, even whenthe code used to define the
service was the same.
After the MPPR, the first 15minutes are now billed at a rate
that is higher and a smalleramount is paid for the rest of
the repeated codes.
(11:37):
The reasoning used is that mostmedical procedures have pre and
post-tasks that are included inthe billing, and if you bill
several of the same code, youaren't doing the pre and
post-work every time.
As of late 2023, massagetherapists who work for the VA
through the Community CareNetwork are now being reimbursed
under the MPPR policy Becausemassage therapists use the same
(12:00):
code for each 15-minuteincrements.
This means they are gettingpaid less for the same work.
In January 2024, new HampshireCongressman Chris Pappas, who is
a member of the House Committeeon Veterans Affairs, asked the
VA to reverse the change.
He wrote Massage therapy is aneffective and non-invasive form
(12:21):
of treatment for variousphysical and mental health
conditions commonly experiencedby veterans, including chronic
pain, anxiety, depression andpost-traumatic stress disorder.
Recognizing as an integral partof holistic care for veterans,
massage therapy addresses notonly physical ailments, but also
contributes to mental andemotional well-being.
In their letter to the VA, amtastated quote Unlike other forms
of therapy, massage therapy iscurrently treated as a single
(12:44):
service, regardless of thenumber of units provided in a
session.
We believe this is amisapplication of a policy
designed for other therapies,such as physical and
occupational therapy.
Massage therapy is one of themost requested treatments by
veterans, and reducingreimbursement rates in this way
risks exacerbating existingworkforce shortages and further
limiting veterans' access tonecessary care.
(13:05):
If you would like to readAMTA's full letter to the VA,
check out the link in the shownotes.
The AMTA government relationsteam attended a celebration
recognizing the enrollment ofone million veterans in the
Million Veteran Program, aresearch study initiative
started by the VA in 2011.
The program focuses onadvancing personalized medicine
for veterans, studying thecomplex interplay between
(13:28):
genetics, lifestyle factors andmilitary experience.
Amta has been accepted into theNational Center for
Complementary and IntegrativeHealth Coalition for Whole
Person Health.
Amta joins 70 other nonprofitorganizations to emphasize the
influence research has onproducing integrative,
patient-centered health care.
Size the influence research hason producing integrative
(13:49):
patient-centered health care.
The coalition was establishedthis summer to advance awareness
of the National Center forComplementary and Integrative
Health, the National Institutesof Health and the transformative
potential of whole person care.
And lastly, in October, amtawas the leading sponsor of the
Paine Collaborative's inauguralmeeting.
The mission of the PaineCollaborative is to connect key
stakeholders and experts,identify gaps in their shared
(14:09):
work, develop resources andpromote innovation and progress.
The Pain Collaborative focuseson the whole health
biopsychosocial model that theVA also focuses on.
This event brought togetherexperts and advocates and
discussed topics like equitablepain care, addressing low back
pain and policy changes that areaffecting pain management.
(14:30):
And lastly, here are the massagetherapy events coming up for
2025.
Live events for HealWellinclude the HealWell Oncology
Massage Workshop in VirginiaMarch 21st through 23rd.
The Pediatric Stewardship inWashington DC April 2nd through
5th.
Two SCAR classes with KathyRyan, one in Indianapolis May
(14:53):
3rd through 4th and one in SaltLake City October 3rd through
4th.
And lastly, the Hospital-BasedMassage Therapy Adult
Stewardship in Washington DCOctober 29th through November
1st.
Other live conferences includethe Massage Therapy Foundation's
IMTREC or International MassageTherapy Research Conference,
which is Sunday April 27th toTuesday April 29th.
(15:14):
Early bird tickets will beavailable until January 3rd.
This event is held every threeyears and brings together
massage therapy field leaders,clinicians, educators and
researchers to discuss thepractice implications and
applications of current research.
A note for all our listenersIMTREC is much more like a
traditional conference than theother massage therapy events.
(15:35):
There's a lot of sitting,listening, answering questions
and having conversations.
There is also a lot of massagenerds.
So if you're a massage nerdlooking for your people, they'll
be in Virginia in April.
The AMTA's annual school summitwill be in Anaheim, california,
february 13th through 14th.
Some of this year's educationsessions include discussions of
(15:55):
generational diversity in thefield, the four pillars of
building a great CE course,retention, marketing strategies
and enhancing massage therapyeducation through technology For
virtual events.
Healwell's Opening to theMystery is Monday, january 27th
through Saturday, february 1st,from 5 pm to 8.30 pm Eastern,
every day.
(16:15):
It is a live online retreatwith HealWell Executive Director
Cal Cates.
It invites you to deeplyconsider and even befriend, your
own mortality.
Opening to the Mystery isapproved for 21 CEs, for both
massage therapists and manyother healthcare practitioners.
This class happens once a year.
It always sells out, and thensome, so if you're considering
(16:36):
attending at all, you shouldregister soon.
Afmt is having a think tankmeeting on how to be a strong
teaching assistant.
December 30th from 5 30 pm to 730 pm.
Amta has a free MedicareAdvantage 101 webinar.
This webinar explores the insand outs of Medicare Advantage
plans, with a focus on howmassage therapists can best
integrate Medicare Advantageinto their practice.
(16:58):
It teaches about massagebenefits that are offered under
Medicare Advantage payment plansand how to identify and
research Medicare Advantageplans in your region.
If you have any state ornational level news about
massage therapy you would liketo share, please send an email
with your news and a link toyour source at podcast at
(17:18):
healwellorg.
You can always join us in theHeal Well Online community and I
am so excited about our newlaunch.
I might do a little dance afterI finish making this podcast.
You can always text the show byclicking the link in the show
notes.
In each update I'll be asking aquestion and reading any
responses I get the followingmonth.
Please respond.
I would love to read yourresponse.
This month's question is whatis something you dream of doing
(17:40):
but don't think you can Writing,teaching, reading that really
big book you bought a year ago?
This has been your September,october and November news
rubdown.
Thank you for listening.
Welcome to the Rubdown, a news update about
massage therapy.
I'm your host, kori Rivera,licensed massage therapist and
correspondent.
The Rubdown brings you newsfrom the world of massage
therapy.
Today's Rubdown will includenews from September, october and
November 2024, because thisfall was the longest year ever,
(00:31):
don't forget.
The HealWell blog has a helpfulglossary of terms.
You can find the link to thisguide in the show notes.
If we've missed any, please letus know by emailing us at
podcast at HealWellorg.
First up HealWell News.
September saw HealWellHomecoming our first live
conference event.
Attendees participated inclasses on fascia ethics,
(00:51):
lymphatics and pregnancy.
Shout out to Sakina Irizarryand Meg Ballinger for teaching
their first classes ever andknocking it out of the park.
We then had a keynote speech byHealWell Executive Director,
kyle Cates, followed by aroundtable World Cafe-style
conversation about big topics inmassage therapy.
Thank you to our gold sponsor,the American Massage Therapy
Association, for helping thisevent happen and for
(01:13):
enthusiastically participatingin the discussions.
In other HealWell news, theHealWell Service Department has
provided 9,747 massages so farin 2024 in the DC, maryland,
virginia area.
Stay tuned to learn if we break10,000 massages this year.
The new HeWell community willopen December 28th.
The community is shifting focusand, in addition to being a
(01:35):
supportive environment formassage therapists, we are
working on helping massagetherapists improve both their
practice and the profession ofmassage therapy.
We have live meetings once aweek that focus on topics like
practice support, understanding,research and discussing
podcasts.
There are recommendation listsfor books and academic articles,
as well as a variety ofeducational resources and a
(01:56):
monthly topical theme.
The theme for January will beForging New Things, because we
could all use some new things.
The community platform itselfhas also been redesigned for
easier use.
Community members get exclusivediscounts on Heelwell classes
and first-to-know news updatesand class offerings.
Members can vote on ideasthey'd like to see in the
(02:18):
community, such as mentorshipopportunities, ethics practice
sessions and writing groups.
Members who register for thecommunity before January 31st
will also get a founding memberbadge.
Membership in the community isonly $19 a month.
Once you sign up, yourmembership price will be locked
in.
As long as you remain a member,your subscription price will
never go up.
If you have big ideas but needhelp making them happen, the
(02:41):
HeOL community would love tohave and help you Up.
Next state and national newsRecently, massage Envy has
agreed to settle a case againstProvidence, rhode Island in
March of 2021.
The complaint stated that aMassage Envy franchise quote
discriminated againstindividuals with disabilities
(03:02):
who, because of disability,needed assistance transferring
to and from the massage orfacial table.
The complaints alleged thatsuch individuals were required
to bring their own third partyto assist them with transferring
or be denied services.
The US Department of Justiceconcluded that requiring a
disabled person to bring a thirdparty to help with assistance
is a violation of the Americanswith Disabilities Act.
(03:24):
The Department of Justice alsoconcluded that the franchise
location failed to reasonablymodify its transfer assistance
policy.
The policy requiring a thirdparty quote imposed eligibility
criteria that screened out, ortended to screen out,
individuals with disabilities.
Because the parties involvedhave agreed to a settlement,
massage Envy is not required toadmit any wrongdoing and has
(03:44):
denied liability.
The settlement Massage Envy isnot required to admit any
wrongdoing and has deniedliability.
The settlement requires MassageEnvy to pay the aggrieved
individual $10,000 and to modifyits service provider standards
to practice policy to state thatMassage Envy franchise
employees will not deny servicesto people on the basis of their
disability, will providetransfer assistance to customers
with disabilities and will notrequire customers to bring a
(04:05):
third party for transfers.
If you'd ever like to searchthe Department of Justice
website for cases involvingmassage therapy.
You can do that at the link inthe show notes.
The Department of Human Servicesin Arkansas published a
proposed rule that would makelicensed massage therapists
mandated reporters.
Mandated reporters mustimmediately notify the child
abuse hotline or law enforcementif they have reasonable cause
(04:27):
to suspect a child hasexperienced maltreatment, a
child died from maltreatment ora child is experiencing
conditions or circumstances thatcould reasonably result in
child maltreatment.
The mandated reporting rulealready in place includes other
professions such as dentists,nurses, mental health
professionals, osteopaths andphysicians.
Delaware has passed two billsregarding their licensing.
(04:48):
The first bill changes thestate's minimum hours of massage
therapy education for studentsfrom 500 to 625 hours and
revises curriculum for eachsubject.
The second bill changes thetiered licensing system in
Delaware.
After December 31st, the Boardof Massage and Bodywork will
stop issuing initialcertifications to applicants to
practice as a certified massagetherapist or CMT.
(05:09):
This news comes from ABMP andthey have stated that their
understanding is that schoolsthat have a 300-hour
certification course will stopoffering such programs.
Therapists holding a CMT willremain certified as long as they
continue to renew thatcertification.
If a CMT allows theircertification to lapse, they
(05:33):
will have to meet the currentrequirements to obtain a license
.
Illinois has added trainingrequirements for abnormal skin
growth education to theirlicensing.
Practitioners need to provideproof of completing a course
approved by the Department ofFinancial and Professional
Regulation in abnormalnormalSkin Growth Education, including
training on identifyingmelanoma.
This law includes massagetherapists, cosmetologists,
barbers, hair braiders,estheticians, nail technologists
(05:55):
and electrologists.
Massage therapy is licensed asa service profession in Illinois
.
A practitioner referring aclient to a medical profession
regarding abnormal skin growthwill not be considered to be
acting outside of their scope ofpractice.
Also, the practitioner andtheir employer cannot be held
criminally liable for acting ingood faith.
(06:15):
Illinois has also amended theirmassage therapy misconduct laws.
A massage therapist who ischarged with misconduct is
required to have a chaperone inthe room while practicing.
The chaperone must be alicensed massage therapist or
other licensed healthcareworkers.
Misconduct could mean anoffense that may result in
registering as a sex offender,sexual misconduct of a minor
(06:36):
battery or sexual misconductagainst a patient, or a forcible
felony, which is a felony thatearns special penalties because
force was involved, such asmurder.
The massage therapist who isaccused will receive an
administrative order about thechaperone requirement.
The chaperone must provide awritten notice to clients before
the treatment that explains whythere is a chaperone present
(06:57):
Quote the client notice muststate in 14-point font the
massage therapist is presumedinnocent until proven guilty of
the charges.
Clients must sign the notice asan acknowledgement that they
have read and understood theinformation.
Failure to comply with theadministrative order, including
the use of the chaperone or theclient notice, will result in a
temporary license suspensionuntil the outcome of the
(07:18):
criminal proceedings.
Our next segment is news fromthe Massage Therapy National
Associations.
Stephanie Rodriguez, founder ofthe United States Organization
of Licensed Massage Therapists,or USOLMT, has officially
(07:38):
resigned her position and haschosen to leave the massage
therapy industry completely.
The director of membership,anne Elliott, will be taking
over as managing director.
The Massage Therapy Foundationhas announced the award of four
community service grants for the2024 cycle.
Community service grants helpbring the benefits of massage
therapy to people who wouldotherwise not have access.
Awards were granted to programsthat supported individuals of
(07:59):
color who were experiencinghomelessness, training for
hospital-based pediatric massagetherapy, massage therapy to
low-income families, at-riskyouth and survivors of
gender-based violence in Limpopo, south Africa, and training
programs covering essentialmassage techniques, anatomy,
physiology and hygiene practicesin Moshi, tanzania.
There are six awards availablefor 2025, and they're all
(08:22):
currently accepting submissions.
The Research Support Grantawards up to $30,000 and has a
deadline of February 1st.
The Research Award grants up to$300,000 and has a deadline of
March 1st.
There are several communitygrants which have a deadline of
March 1st.
There are several communitygrants which have a deadline of
March 3rd and the Practitionerand Student Case Report Contest
have a deadline of June 1st.
The Bob King Community Servicefor Schools Award is held
(08:45):
quarterly and its next deadlineis March 1st.
The International Journal forTherapeutic Massage and Bodywork
has put out a call for papersfor a special issue on mental
health and manual therapies.
The IJTMB is seeking papersshowcasing the potential for
massage to impact the managementand care of mental health
conditions, as well as qualityof life and wellness.
The submission deadline isDecember 31st and if you can
(09:08):
write a whole paper between nowand then, bless you.
If you're interested insubmitting to the IJTMB but do
not hold a PhD, you should checkout the recent editorials by
Editor-in-Chief, dr AmandaBaskwell, titled the Pillars of
the IJTMB.
They discuss a variety ofvaluable topics related to
massage practice and educationthat you could contribute to.
If that piques your interest,you should also join the new
(09:30):
HealWell community, because wewill be discussing these
editorials in early 2025.
The new HealWell communitybecause we will be discussing
these editorials in early 2025.
The National Certification Boardof Therapeutic Massage and
Bodywork, or NCBTMB, would liketo thank everyone who completed
the job task analysis survey.
They're working with the datanow and they are so thrilled to
get the response they did,especially when you consider how
long the survey was.
That last part was a note fromthe NCB, not a comment from me.
(09:53):
The American MassageAssociation had a busy fall.
Amta recently responded to theDepartment of Veterans Affairs'
request for input on creating anational standard of practice
for massage therapists who workwith the VA.
When an agency is thinking ofchanging a policy or creating a
new one, there will often be aninvited period of comment from
(10:13):
stakeholders.
Or creating a new one, therewill often be an invited period
of comment from stakeholders.
In their response, amtaemphasized that these standards
are vital to ensure safety,professionalism and integrity in
massage therapy.
However, their response alsomentions the MPPR.
If you don't know what the MPPRis, don't worry.
I didn't either until I startedwriting this news update.
But to talk about it, we firsthave to talk about how massage
(10:34):
therapists interact with the VA.
In order to work with veteransthrough the VA system, massage
therapists contract with the VAthrough the Community Care
Network.
These massage therapists arenot employees of the VA.
Medicare pays for the service,but a separate entity does the
billing and reimbursement.
This entity varies based onwhere you live in the country.
(10:55):
These entities have recentlychosen to apply the MPPR to
massage therapists working inthe VA's community care network.
Mppr stands for multiplepayment procedure reduction and
it is part of a Medicarereimbursement policy that was
established in 2002.
When therapies like physicaltherapy, occupational therapy
(11:16):
and speech-language pathologybill insurance, they do it in
15-minute increments.
Until, the MPPR, providerswould be paid the same amount
for each increment, even whenthe code used to define the
service was the same.
After the MPPR, the first 15minutes are now billed at a rate
that is higher and a smalleramount is paid for the rest of
the repeated codes.
(11:37):
The reasoning used is that mostmedical procedures have pre and
post-tasks that are included inthe billing, and if you bill
several of the same code, youaren't doing the pre and
post-work every time.
As of late 2023, massagetherapists who work for the VA
through the Community CareNetwork are now being reimbursed
under the MPPR policy Becausemassage therapists use the same
(12:00):
code for each 15-minuteincrements.
This means they are gettingpaid less for the same work.
In January 2024, new HampshireCongressman Chris Pappas, who is
a member of the House Committeeon Veterans Affairs, asked the
VA to reverse the change.
He wrote Massage therapy is aneffective and non-invasive form
(12:21):
of treatment for variousphysical and mental health
conditions commonly experiencedby veterans, including chronic
pain, anxiety, depression andpost-traumatic stress disorder.
Recognizing as an integral partof holistic care for veterans,
massage therapy addresses notonly physical ailments, but also
contributes to mental andemotional well-being.
In their letter to the VA, amtastated quote Unlike other forms
of therapy, massage therapy iscurrently treated as a single
(12:44):
service, regardless of thenumber of units provided in a
session.
We believe this is amisapplication of a policy
designed for other therapies,such as physical and
occupational therapy.
Massage therapy is one of themost requested treatments by
veterans, and reducingreimbursement rates in this way
risks exacerbating existingworkforce shortages and further
limiting veterans' access tonecessary care.
(13:05):
If you would like to readAMTA's full letter to the VA,
check out the link in the shownotes.
The AMTA government relationsteam attended a celebration
recognizing the enrollment ofone million veterans in the
Million Veteran Program, aresearch study initiative
started by the VA in 2011.
The program focuses onadvancing personalized medicine
for veterans, studying thecomplex interplay between
(13:28):
genetics, lifestyle factors andmilitary experience.
Amta has been accepted into theNational Center for
Complementary and IntegrativeHealth Coalition for Whole
Person Health.
Amta joins 70 other nonprofitorganizations to emphasize the
influence research has onproducing integrative,
patient-centered health care.
Size the influence research hason producing integrative
(13:49):
patient-centered health care.
The coalition was establishedthis summer to advance awareness
of the National Center forComplementary and Integrative
Health, the National Institutesof Health and the transformative
potential of whole person care.
And lastly, in October, amtawas the leading sponsor of the
Paine Collaborative's inauguralmeeting.
The mission of the PaineCollaborative is to connect key
stakeholders and experts,identify gaps in their shared
(14:09):
work, develop resources andpromote innovation and progress.
The Pain Collaborative focuseson the whole health
biopsychosocial model that theVA also focuses on.
This event brought togetherexperts and advocates and
discussed topics like equitablepain care, addressing low back
pain and policy changes that areaffecting pain management.
(14:30):
And lastly, here are the massagetherapy events coming up for
2025.
Live events for HealWellinclude the HealWell Oncology
Massage Workshop in VirginiaMarch 21st through 23rd.
The Pediatric Stewardship inWashington DC April 2nd through
5th.
Two SCAR classes with KathyRyan, one in Indianapolis May
(14:53):
3rd through 4th and one in SaltLake City October 3rd through
4th.
And lastly, the Hospital-BasedMassage Therapy Adult
Stewardship in Washington DCOctober 29th through November
1st.
Other live conferences includethe Massage Therapy Foundation's
IMTREC or International MassageTherapy Research Conference,
which is Sunday April 27th toTuesday April 29th.
(15:14):
Early bird tickets will beavailable until January 3rd.
This event is held every threeyears and brings together
massage therapy field leaders,clinicians, educators and
researchers to discuss thepractice implications and
applications of current research.
A note for all our listenersIMTREC is much more like a
traditional conference than theother massage therapy events.
(15:35):
There's a lot of sitting,listening, answering questions
and having conversations.
There is also a lot of massagenerds.
So if you're a massage nerdlooking for your people, they'll
be in Virginia in April.
The AMTA's annual school summitwill be in Anaheim, california,
february 13th through 14th.
Some of this year's educationsessions include discussions of
(15:55):
generational diversity in thefield, the four pillars of
building a great CE course,retention, marketing strategies
and enhancing massage therapyeducation through technology For
virtual events.
Healwell's Opening to theMystery is Monday, january 27th
through Saturday, february 1st,from 5 pm to 8.30 pm Eastern,
every day.
(16:15):
It is a live online retreatwith HealWell Executive Director
Cal Cates.
It invites you to deeplyconsider and even befriend, your
own mortality.
Opening to the Mystery isapproved for 21 CEs, for both
massage therapists and manyother healthcare practitioners.
This class happens once a year.
It always sells out, and thensome, so if you're considering
(16:36):
attending at all, you shouldregister soon.
Afmt is having a think tankmeeting on how to be a strong
teaching assistant.
December 30th from 5 30 pm to 730 pm.
Amta has a free MedicareAdvantage 101 webinar.
This webinar explores the insand outs of Medicare Advantage
plans, with a focus on howmassage therapists can best
integrate Medicare Advantageinto their practice.
(16:58):
It teaches about massagebenefits that are offered under
Medicare Advantage payment plansand how to identify and
research Medicare Advantageplans in your region.
If you have any state ornational level news about
massage therapy you would liketo share, please send an email
with your news and a link toyour source at podcast at
(17:18):
healwellorg.
You can always join us in theHeal Well Online community and I
am so excited about our newlaunch.
I might do a little dance afterI finish making this podcast.
You can always text the show byclicking the link in the show
notes.
In each update I'll be asking aquestion and reading any
responses I get the followingmonth.
Please respond.
I would love to read yourresponse.
This month's question is whatis something you dream of doing
(17:40):
but don't think you can Writing,teaching, reading that really
big book you bought a year ago?
This has been your September,october and November news
rubdown.
Thank you for listening.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.