10/10/2023
**Emergency Call To Action** Utah friends...Utah is about to De-regulate Licensure for Massage Therapists. The decision to be made on this Wed and we need your help.
If you are someone who would prefer to have your body worked on by LICENSED and educated professionals, please please please click the link to share your opinion and help us keep this regulated in our state.
Below are ways that this will effect us as Massage Therapists and I also want the public to understand the serious effects to you as clients. While it might look cheaper to you as a client to go to anyone who is willing to work on you, without proper training they really will have no idea what they are actually doing to the body. That is not a risk I'm willing to take in regards to who works on my body, and not something I recommend at all.
Please see below for links on how to support.
*copied from original post*
TLDR: Unless we show up RIGHT NOW in a very BIG way, massage will be completely deregulated effective July 1, 2024 - this means no licenses, tests, or education required whatsoever - LITERALLY anyone will able to do massage in Utah.
ACTION links at the bottom of the post.
MORE INFO
For those who haven't heard, here's the basic long story short:
Our superbill, the "Massage Therapy Practice Act" expires every 10 years. This bill is the reason why you have to have a license in order to legally practice Massage Therapy in Utah.
The Business and Labor Interim Committee meet this Wednesday, and if they vote to do nothing (which is how the wind is currently blowing) then the Massage Therapy Practice Act and Utah Board of Massage Therapy both will automatically "sunset" ie entriely cease to exist.
Should that happen, Massage Therapy will be effectively and completely deregulated which means that starting July 1, 2024 anyone - not figuratively, but LITERALLY - anyone will be able to practice massage therapy without a license, any tests, or any education whatsoever.
I hope I don't need to explain all the truly terrible ramifications that this will have for all of us, but a few examples for those of you who think it "won't affect you" to consider: If you're working at any spa, or for a chiropractor guess what - chances are you're most likely about to be replaced with someone cheaper who they will "train" to be "good enough". Or at the very least, you're now very, very replaceable so good luck getting a raise or any other sort of benefits.
If you're in private practice, guess what - you're about enter a market that's flooded with a lot more really cheap massages, because for someone used to making $15-20 an hour, making $30-50 is amazing. *And while, it's true that most people will to a large degree get what they pay for, it's also true that for a lot of those people what they'll get might be good enough. Maybe they don't get as much relief as what you would give them for your $90+ an hour, but hell - they'll just see Bob three times, or at least give him a shot. And, unless you're highly specialized, how long do you think you'll hold on to your current clientele let alone get new ones at your going rate when the market price is suddenly skewed far cheaper? Thinking about raising your prices to match inflation? Think again. And so on, and so forth.
All of you wanting apprentices, guess what... they don't need you, your programs, your study guides, your hours, your supervision, nothing - they can just go at it on their own if they want, and most will. *Bare minimum, the demand and cost of what you have to offer just dropped significantly.
Want to work with insurance, medicare, medicaid, the VA, other health care facilities - it just got a hell of LOT harder.
Want to transfer your license to another state - better hope you've already got all your transcripts and ducks in a row, because it's going to be really difficult now.
Work in a city like Millcreek, South Salt Lake, or any other number of cities which have already basically tried to effectively ban massage therapy in the past - guess what... chances are those bills to ban us are either
1. coming back with a vengeance because why on earth would they allow us to be there considering the exponentially increased risk of prostitution, trafficking, and other "undesirable" things that make bad press - not to mention the risk to the public, or
2. your annual licensing fee just increased a LOT to make sure that you're not one of those kinds of people / places. -- and to give you an idea of what that looks like: before we got Millcreek to reverse their decision, it was an annual conditional use permit fee of almost $800 on top of your annual licensing fee.
*And even if your city writ large doesn't make it a lot more difficult, or expensive - a lot of landlords may for the exact same reasons.
SO..... The CALL TO ACTION
1. Fill this out - and ask all your people, friends, colleagues, clients to do the same. It can take as little as 30 seconds, but there is a space to add your own words as well - I would encourage you to, politely, do so.
https://www.amtamassage.org/advocacy/action-center/?utm_source=informz&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=members&utm_content=utah-sunset-bill-oct-9&_zs=Eft4J1&_zl=oH0G7
2. Attend the meeting either virtually or in person this Wednesday, Oct 11th at 8:30am.
Link to agenda, etc. https://le.utah.gov/committee/committee.jsp?year=2023&com=INTBUS
Link to the live stream: https://le.utah.gov/committee/committee.jsp?year=2023&com=INTBUS.
Spread the word far and wide, and let's keep massage safe in Utah.
Thanks all.
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