FOR YOUR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION!
Dear
friends,
The
article below is a combination of several letters which have been
written to the Representatives and Senators of the Indiana General
Assembly and from it you will understand many of the reasons why
the majority of Indiana massage therapists and Indiana residents
are emphatically opposed to House Bill 1071 once they are aware
of the implications of it. We strongly urge you to call your state
Senator and Representative and urge them to vote NO on this bill
or copy all or part of this letter and mail it to your legislator
and to all the Senators on the Committee on Health and Provider
Services where the bill currently resides. (Your legislators' addresses
and phone numbers can be gotten by phoning the numbers at the bottom
of this letter).
Massage
Regulation - House Bill 1071
Yours
in the freedom to serve,
Desiree Sunshine Yoder
c/o non-domestic
PO Box 763; near:
Jasper, Indiana (47547)
812-482-7868 Indiana House 1-800-382-9842
Indiana Senate 1-800-382-9467
Indiana State Senate
200 W Washington Street
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204-2785
Indiana House of Representatives
200 W Washington Street
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204-2786
"In
memory of our God, our faith, our freedom, and of our spouses, our
children, and our peace.”
Dear
Indiana Senator or Representative,
We
would like to outline a couple of the court cases concerning massage
regulation which we have made reference to in the past few weeks
and to put in writing some of the objections that many Indiana massage
therapists and Indiana residents have regarding massage regulation.
The
irony and hypocrisy of the American Massage Therapy Association's
(AMTA) pushing for massage licensing in Indiana and in a host of
others states is that in 1989 the AMTA sued the Maryland Board of
Physical Therapy for attempting to regulate massage therapists in
that state. In it's complaint at that time, the AMTA's attorneys
took the position that the Maryland physical therapy board's actions
infringed on massage therapists' rights to commercial free speech
and violated antitrust laws. The AMTA's attorneys then argued successfully
that "The use of the ... terms 'massage therapy' or "therapeutic
massage' ... is generic." and that no one and could "legally
restrict the use of generic terms and titles such as "massage"
and "massage therapist". "Generic" means "being
or having a non-proprietary name." "A non-proprietary
name" means that no one can have the exclusive right, ownership,
or use of a name or title. The AMTA won this lawsuit specifically
because of this argument.
The
irony and hypocrisy is that the bill now in the Indiana Senate,
which the AMTA supports in every way, expressly gives the exclusive
right, ownership, and use of the terms "massage" and "massage
therapist", and other massage terms to a new State Board of
Massage Therapy which would be established by this bill. Other court
cases in North America have also ruled "massage" to be
a generic term over which no one person or group can claim ownership.
But many legislators continue to ignore these court cases and continue
to push for legislation, not on the behalf of the public or most
massage therapists, but on the behalf of those who would most profit
by restricting competition -- special interest groups only. The
ones pushing for this bill to be passed say it is for the "credibility"
and "accountability" of the profession, but this is coded
language which really means monopoly control, status, and therefore
more money and bigger and better profits for those who would benefit
from the regulation of massage.
Our
government was founded on a system of checks and balances in order
to prevent legislatures from enacting bills that favor special interest
groups to the detriment of the public good. IN CASES OF STATE REGULATION,
THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES HAS RULED THAT THE BURDEN
IS ON THE STATE TO "DEMONSTRATE THAT THE HARMS IT RECITES ARE
REAL AND THAT ITS RESTRICTION WILL IN FACT ALLEVIATE THE HARMS TO
A MATERIAL DEGREE." ~ Ibanez v. Florida Dept.of Business and
Professional Regulation, Board of Accounting. No. 93-539. June 13,
1994.
Nobody
has heard the public outcry for massage reform in Indiana and neither
has it been heard in any other part of the country because there
isn't any public outcry and there never has been any! It is those
who have a special interest in profiting in some way from massage
regulation that are promoting these bills. We will say it again,
those who are pushing for massage legislation have never cited,
nor can they or will they ever cite, nor have they demonstrated
any specific harm to the public that requires such legislation,
however they keep pushing for it in the name of "credibility"
and "accountability" even though they refuse to or cannot
demonstrate the lack thereof.
According
to the highest court in our land, before passing any law that would
impose an economic hardship on the public or any segment of the
population, it is incumbent upon the legislators and those promoting
state regulation of any profession to demonstrate the need for such
legislation. This bill would greatly increase the cost of doing
business for the average massage therapist and for the smaller massage
schools in Indiana. Indiana is largely a rural or small community
state and most of us massage therapists would have to pass these
increased costs on to our massage clients, the great majority, whose
incomes are not large, would no longer be able to afford our services
and have to cancel them due to the increase in rates that we would
have to charge to stay in business. Likewise, most of the smaller
massage schools would close because they are run by one or two people
who could not afford to offer the 500 hours of schooling to get
state accredited as HB 1071 demands. Just this past week we talked
to a massage therapist from Washington, Indiana who says for every
massage therapist she has talked to who wants regulation, she knows
ten massage therapists who don't belong to the AMTA who don't want
regulation because many of them, including herself, will have to
stop doing massages if the bill passes. Of course, this just what
the AMTA, the larger spas, and the large massage schools want --
to cut down on competition.
In
1992, the AMTA initiated creation of the National Certification
Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB) and its examination
is the standard for licensing in most states and will be the standard
in Indiana if this bill is passed, but the NCBTMB exam endorses
many quack concepts! The NCBTMB's handbook, for example, indicates
that certification candidates are expected to answer approximately
15 questions about metaphysical concepts of traditional Chinese
medicine, palpation to assess "craniosacral pulses" and
"energy blockages", "therapeutic touch", "energetic
effects of nutrition", "manual contact and manual manipulation
to affect . . . the energy system", and several other practices
based on new age, metaphysical, oriental, or just plain quack concepts.
These concepts, which are an integral part of the AMTA's marketplace,
endorse things like "life energy (chi or qi)" that flows
through supposed channels called meridians and that ill health is
due to energy blockages and/or "chi or qi imbalances."
Practitioners claim to restore health by correcting these alleged
imbalances. None of these concepts have a scientifically plausible
rationale or have they been shown to favorably influence the course
of any physical ailment. Several are claims to detect and manipulate
subtle "energies" that have not been scientifically demonstrated,
and none (except perhaps for the use of aromatic oils if clients
enjoy their odor) has any rational place in the practice of massage
therapy.
"Ordinary
massage and the legitimate practice of massage therapy can help
people feel better. However, many practitioners falsely claim to
do much more, and the agencies that oversee the educational and
licensing systems display no evidence of concern about this. If
you seek help from a massage therapist, try to select one who does
not espouse the irrational beliefs or practices mentioned in this
article (those mentioned in the preceding paragraph)." ~ 'Massage
Therapy: Riddled with Quackery' by Stephen Barrett, M.D.
No
one seems to be able to give evidence as to how any massage therapist
is guilty of a lack of accountability or of illicit behaviour that
is not be covered under current laws of the Indiana Code such as
those covering Indecent Acts and Prostitution (see current law Indiana
Code 35-45-4-2&3). The pending bill in the House will not cut
down on massage being used as a cover for prostitution and illegal
sexual activities in the two larger cities of Indiana, Indianapolis
and Gary. The question is, since laws already exist to shut down
those offering massage as a cover for illegal sexual activities
and prostitution, why aren't they being enforced? Why do they want
to add burdens to those who are operating lawfully as a benefit
to their community rather than enforce these existing laws? And,
if current laws aren't being enforced, why would anyone think that
licensing and more laws, more paperwork, and more bureaucracy would
change anything? In the states that have passed massage licensing
laws, law enforcement agencies report that people who have used
massage as a cover for illicit activities have just switched to
other covers such as escort and dating services.
Licensing
does not protect the public from injury, in fact, there is more
evidence to the contrary because licensing gives the public a false
sense of security. The public needs to be taught to ask the right
questions and to ask for references, which any reputable practitioner
of massage would be willing to give. Those who are careless or of
questionable motives and morals who enter into the practice of massage
looking for cheap thrills or just to make money are in the wrong
profession and their reputation will soon expose their motives.
To think that legislation or licensing will protect the public from
the unscrupulous, immoral, or careless massage practitioner is naive
and illogical. If anyone asks me for references I would be able
to gladly give them a few out of the hundreds of names and phone
numbers of massage clients who have told me that I have given them
one of the best and most thorough massages they have ever gotten
-- I am not trying to exalt myself as I give God the credit for
the talents, abilities, and the desire to serve others that He has
given me -- without Him I can do nothing -- but I am trying to make
a point, and that is that the licensing massage therapists does
not guarantee competence, nor does it help anyone. Licensing and
insurance tends to give the public and the massage practitioner
a false sense of security that leads to more harm rather than less.
The
health care system in the United States is a prime example of this.
In 1999, statistics show that the third leading cause of death (100,000
deaths per year) in the United States was medical errors and medical
malpractice and that's just the errors and malpractice that were
reported and caught -- it is no telling how many deaths were (and
are every year) attributed to natural causes that were really caused
by medical carelessness, mistakes, and indifference! Think about
it -- The third leading cause of death in America behind heart disease
and cancer lies at the feet of LICENSED AND HIGHLY TRAINED medical
doctors and nurses! I've worked in hospitals for several years and
I've seen time and time again how much government policy and procedure
and paperwork interferes with proper patient care. I have seen time
and time again where doctors and nurses are too involved with government
mandated paperwork to attend to a patient or in much of a rush when
they do attend them.
Consider
also that some hospitals now employ more staff to handle insurance
claims than they employ for patient care and third party billing
and insurance coverage for massage is what many massage therapists
are striving and hoping for in pushing for massage regulation. It
hasn't been the sky-rocketing costs of the health care system that
have necessitated the heavy involvement of medicare and insurance
coverage, it has been the involvement of medicare and insurance
companies that has caused the the sky-rocketing costs of the health
care system. Get insurance involved and the same type of thing will
happen to massage costs if regulation is forced on the practitioners
of massage. For those massage therapists who do wish to be involved
with insurance companies, national certification is often a valid
seal of approval for most insurance companies and the "credibility"
and "acceptability" of the massage community would be
even more enhanced, if the scientifically unproved and quack aspects
promoted by the AMTA and on the National Certification exam were
done away with.
Moral
education is ALWAYS preferable to the force of men's laws for both
the public and for the giver of any treatment. In whatever type
of relationship you're in with another person, whether business
or personal, don't you always prefer someone doing the right thing
because that is what they want to do rather than because that is
something they have to do? It is a decadent and declining culture
whose first line of defense against immoral practices is legislation
and force rather than moral education. While undisputed statistics
show that licensed and highly trained medical people are the third
leading cause of death in the U.S., when was the last time you heard
in the news or have you ever heard of someone being killed, injured,
or harmed in any way by a practitioner of massage? Does someone
getting a bad massage justify the expense of a new government agency
and imposing economic hardship on the public?
I
received my massage training in a class of three students under
a lady who has been doing massage for many years and I received
a very competent training and instruction from her. I had to learn
all the bones and muscles of the body, the origins, attachments,
and functions of the muscles, the circulatory and nervous systems,
ethics, etiquette, and contraindications of massage, along with
many other things, including doing many practice massages on friends
and relatives before receiving my certification. The point that
I am trying to make is, just as home schoolers consistently out
perform public schoolers on almost every test, in my training I
received much better and closer attention and scrutiny as to what
I was learning or being taught than had I been forced to go to a
bigger school with 30 or 40 students in a class. The art of massage
is a talent and a gift of God which I believe one either receives
or one does not receive depending upon the reasons and motivations
for his or her embarking upon the art of massage.
If
you want to talk to someone about the pros and cons of licensing
massage therapists, ask Jack Chaplin, who has been a massage therapist
at the French Lick Springs Resort Spa in French Lick, Indiana for
34 years. He has seen hundreds, if not thousands, of licensed and
unlicensed massage therapists come and go over the years and he
will tell you that, hands down, time and time again, it is almost
always the unlicensed massage therapist who has been to and certified
by the smaller schools who is the better massage therapist -- mostly
because the licensed massage therapist with his 500 or 1000 classroom
hours of massage theory is usually lazy and doesn't want to do any
more than the minimum of what he has to do to get by, and you will
be hard pressed to get him or her to clean up after themselves,
Jack says.
Massage
is an art. There is no one right way of doing it and almost anybody
can do it. Every massage is comparable to an original, creative
work of art. This is why you can no more license a massage professional
for competence in hands-on work than you can license an artist for
competence in painting a landscape. Massage practitioners, regardless
of their training, have not caused enough documented harm (or any
that I am aware of) to justify the alleged need for state regulation
to protect the public from that harm. Although massage does not
harm people, state regulation does harm people -- in the economic
harm that is inflicted on the general public in higher massage rates,
and on massage therapists, some of whom have been doing massage
for several years.
"A
fancy, gold-embossed massage license hanging on the wall in a frame
is no guarantee that you're going to like a given massage therapist's
technique (or be benefited by it). On the other hand, someone with
no license at all may be one of the most highly skilled massage
therapists you'll ever meet. When it comes to choosing a pro, go
with your heart and your intuition" ~ from the book 'Massage
for Dummies'.
House
Bill 1071 would give a State Board of Massage the powers of the
judiciary to levy judgments and fines of $5000 for each offense
of practicing without a license, to wit: " Sec. 3. (a) Any
person who practices, offers to practice, attempts to practice,
or holds the person out to practice massage therapy or as a massage
therapist without being licensed under this article, in addition
to any other penalty provided by law, shall pay a civil penalty
to the board in an amount not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000)
for each offense as determined by the board. (b) The civil penalty
shall be paid within sixty (60) days after the effective date of
the order (of the board) imposing the civil penalty. The order (of
the board) shall constitute a judgment and may be filed and execution
had in the same manner as any judgment from any court of record."
For 57 years of my life I guess I have been under the mistaken notion
that in America, under our great Constitution, a person accused
of wrongdoing was innocent until proven guilty and had the right
of a trial by jury, if he so chooses, before being convicted. This
law would allow trial by massage bureaucrats who have no experience
in jurisprudence and gives them power to execute judgments and levy
fines against fellow citizens without trial! What has happened to
due process in America?
The
regulation and restriction of the titles of "massage"
and "massage therapist" been struck down by the courts
as illegal because of their generic nature and the Supreme Court
of the United States, the highest court in the land, has declared
that, in cases of state regulation, claims of harm to the public
good must be substantiated and not left open to conjecture and speculation.
Not only does the bill now in the Indiana Senate directly contradict
these rulings, it is badly and carelessly written because, under
the language of the bill, anyone who is not enrolled as a student,
could be fined $5000 for giving a massage to a relative, friend,
or anyone, EVEN IF THERE WAS NO CHARGES MADE FOR THE MASSAGE. The
ONLY exemption specified in this bill for someone doing a massage
without charging for it is if one is enrolled as a student.
Not
long ago, while discussing this bill with a massage therapist who
was a member of the AMTA, who badly wanted massage licensing in
Indiana, I asked her before we parted, "Is this how that one
verse in the Bible goes: "Where the Spirit of the Lord is,
there is control."? She replied indignantly, "When you
receive compensation for doing massage it is a BUSINESS and you
should leave God out of it." I replied that I was glad I wasn't
in a business partnership with her.
Thank
you on behalf of myself and many other Indiana residents and Indiana
massage therapists for listening to and standing firm for the rights
of your constituents and the little entrepreneurs of this country,
the ones who made America the economic force it is today.
Yours
respectfully,
Jon
Zwayer
Certified Massage Therapist
On behalf of many others.
Dear Indiana Residents and Massage Therapists,
If
you don't want a national organization of massage bureaucrats controlling
your future here in Indiana and if you mind paying higher prices
for massage and higher taxes (for the new state agency that this
bill will establish) or if you want to practice massage or continue
the practice of it and share the same concerns as we do about this
bill, then we urge you to call or e-mail your Indiana Representative
and Senator AS SOON AS POSSIBLE and we are asking you to urge everyone
you know who lives in Indiana to also call or e-mail them AS SOON
AS POSSIBLE to tell them you are strongly opposed to this bill and
that we don't need this legislation in Indiana and to urge them
to vote NO on House Bill 1071. Anyone in Indiana can find out who
their Representative and Senator is by calling 1-800-382-9842 (House)
or 1-800-382-9467 (Indiana Senate) and they can speak to their Representative
or Senator's office and express their feelings about this bill at
the same time. Or they can get the e-mail address of all the legislators
at the following web URL:
http://www.in.gov/cgi-bin/legislative/contact/contact.pl
Remember,
"Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." 2
Cor. 3:17.
Jon Zwayer
heartcom@smithville.net
___________________________________________________________________
February
3, 2003 RE: Vote NO to Indiana House Bill 1355 and Senate Bill 0313
Licensing of MassageTherapists.
Dear
public servant: In the best interests of the
people your laws affect, please take the time to read this short
letter completely. This is to request you vote NO
to House Bill #1355 and Senate Bill #313. This letter also provides
reasons why licensing of massage therapists in Indiana would be
unnecessary and burdensome legislation. The outline follows:
Section
1 - Discussion of licensing private business by a corporate board
a.
Foundational Law in the United States of America.
b. The conflicts of licensure with foundational law and consequences
of the same.
c. ‘Ex Post Facto’ laws.
d. Lawyers, burdens and woes.
Section
2 - Rebuttal of the alleged reasons why Indiana needs massage licensing
a. Massage parlors, indecent sexual activities and prostitution
would be legalized, not stopped.
b. Licensing does not raise the professional credibility of massage
therapists.
c. Licensing does not ensure clients receive quality care and
does not equal competence.
d. Licensing would not guarantee insurance coverage.
e. Licensing is not necessary to prevent licensing by another
corporate board.
f. Aiding and Abetting?
Section
3 - Alternatives to licensing
a. Freedom, utilizing current laws and associations to protect
citizens and provide discipline.
b. “Title protection,” to prevent another board (cosmetology,
etc. from licensing massage therapy)
c. Registry (similar to Minnesota’s)
Section
4 - Closing request Remove HB1355 and SB0313 and all similar legislation
from all future considerations.
SECTION
1: Discussion of licensing private business by a corporate board
a.
Foundational Law. Regardless of religious belief, Foundational
Law in the United States of America recognizes the Bible as the
word of God. Public Law 97-280 declares “the Bible is the
word of God,” and “admonishes all Americans to learn
and apply it,” confirming its position in Law.
b.
The conflicts of licensure with foundational law and consequences
of the same.
1.
License is “permission to do that which would otherwise be
unlawful” (Black’s Law Dict 7th edition).
2.
Foundational Law commands us to “do your own business, and
work with your own hands; lay hands on the sick, and they shall
recover; to neglect not the gift...of healing...in thee.”
Having been commissioned to do something which is lawful under foundational
law in this nation, how could I or anyone get “permission
to do that which would otherwise be unlawful?” It is a functional
impossibility.
3.
The Indiana Constitution (Art. 1 Sec. 21) which your oath of office
binds you to support, says ‘No person's particular services
shall be demanded, without just compensation. No person's property
shall be taken by law, without just compensation.’ Passing
a law that a person cannot charge for services learned by apprenticeship,
home study or elsewhere effectively “takes their property
(talents) by law without just compensation” in contradiction
to the state constitution. Did you know that in 1989 the AMTA
sued the Maryland State Board of Physical Therapy and won, stating
that the physical therapists desire to regulate massage therapy
was unconstitutional and prohibited free commercial speech? Nothing
has changed since that time and the regulation of massage therapists
is still unconstitutional and therefore, illegal.
4.
Licensing tends to raise costs for all involved: therapists, regulating
boards, insurance companies and the client. For chiropractic and
others, state licensing contributed to increased schooling costs,
increased malpractice costs, decreased quality time due to the pressure
that each client must provide a certain amount of income and this
all translates into increased client costs. These extra burdens
are a hindrance to the economy, not a boost.
5.
Licensing makes one an ‘agent of the State’ which is
reminiscent of Hitler who demanded certain ‘agents of the
State spy on the public. This is also the end result of licensing
midwives (please vote NO to Senate Bill 0005 also).
c.
Ex Post Facto Law
The
Indiana Constitution (Art. 1 Sec. 24) declares “No ex post
facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, shall ever
be passed.” In light of this, Section 10 of Bill #1355
is completely unacceptable. It is not lawful to take away someone’s
livelihood just because they have only been doing it for 1 month
or 1 year. That is thievery and not law. Nor can you require one
be a member of a certain organization or have attended a certain
school in order that they may now receive “permission”
to do what they have done in the past (before such a Law is enacted)
as a livelihood. You have NO jurisdiction to license or restrict
existing massage therapists. (Except to prevent prostitution under
current law IC 35-45.)
d.
Lawyers, burdens and woes.
Finally, adding burdens to people who are operating lawfully is
not only ridiculous, it is wicked. ‘Woe unto you also, ye
lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and
ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.’
(Luke 11:46) Please do not be of this group. Instead, please consider
the aim of those seeking massage therapy licensing, the full picture
of why it is not needed, and serve for the best interests of the
people as a whole. I believe your conclusion will agree that a “NO”
vote serves best.
Section
2 - Rebuttal of the alleged reasons why Indiana needs massage licensing
a.
Massage parlors, indecent sexual activities and prostitution would
be legalized, NOT stopped.
It
is stated licensing would “stop massage parlors from indecent
sexual activities and prostitution.” Firstly, the massage
parlors would simply hire “licensed massage therapists”
thereby legalizing prostitution! This has been demonstrated
in other States. Laws already exist to shut down those offering
massage as a cover for indecent sexual activities. Sadly, it becomes
painfully clear when reading HB#1578 and SB0342 that shutting down
such centers are not the desired goal at all! When a state seeks
to prohibit good people from doing good works and then by license
gives permission to evil people to do evil, this is a dangerous
place to be and my prayers for mercy are with you all. May you and
all others wake up to see the contradiction before it is too late.
Enforce existing laws and do not add burdens to those who are
operating lawfully as a benefit to their community.
To hold a therapist accountable, Indiana Code 35-45-4-2 states,
“A person who knowingly or intentionally...offers or agrees
to fondle, the genitals of another person for money or other property
commits prostitution, Class A misdemeanor ...Class D felony if...two
prior convictions.”
To hold one accountable who asks a therapist, IC 35-45-4-3 states,
“A person who knowingly or intentionally pays, or offers or
agrees to pay, money or other property to another person for having
fondled, or understanding that the person will fondle the genitals...patronizing
a prostitute...Class A misdemeanor...Class D felony if...two prior
convictions.”
IC 35-45-4-4 provides enforcement for an employer accountable for
allowing or promoting this activity.
IC 34-19-2 can be used to hold the landlord of such a building,
the lessee and the persons employed accountable for maintaining
a place of prostitution as described above.
IC 35-45-6-2 may be used in repeat offenders/convictions. This enforces
punishment for: “corrupt business influence, a Class C felony;
Pattern of racketeering activity means engaging in at least two
(2) incidents of racketeering activity; Racketeering activity means
to commit, attempt to commit, conspire to commit a violation of,
or aiding and abetting in a violation of...Promoting prostitution
(defined in IC 35-45-4-4).”
In
conclusion of this point, massage licensing is not needed to find
and close down therapists who are actually prostitutes. These laws
are enforceable without licensing of lawful massage therapists.
b.
Licensing does not raise the professional credibility of massage
therapists.
It
is also said licensing would “raise the professional credibility
of massage therapists and remove the association with the “sleazy”
side of town.” The honest ways to raise the credibility of
the massage profession are:
AWARENESS: Educate the public that: #1 Massage
is not sexual. #2 Massage is a valuable relaxation method.
#3 Massage can improve one’s well being by relieving stress,
tension and pain among other benefits. This is not the responsibility
of the corporate government, but of the therapists and citizens
themselves. Awareness begins individually and can expand to the
community through speaking at businesses, schools and organizations.
Many therapists currently do this and associations already exist
to assist their members and communities in these areas.
EDUCATION: Massage therapists, while applying what
they’ve learned, are to maintain a teachable attitude. This
does not need to be board-mandated ‘hours per year’
learning. Every good massage therapist already holds this attitude
and is constantly learning how to improve technique and get better
results. Education also involves teaching clients and the public
about massage’s benefits and what massage is not. Quality
workshops are available without the need for making this a law.
At least four associations exist for those who wish to join. One
can also learn much through “unaccredited” home study
and apprenticeship study.
EACH THERAPIST DOING A GREAT JOB: The best way
to raise credibility is for each therapist to “do unto others
as you would have them do unto you” as each client is served.
As each therapist does well, the profession as a whole gains credibility.
Licensing does NOT raise credibility. Did licensing directly raise
the credibility of chiropractors? Or, has education and the desire
to care more naturally for ourselves contribute to the increase
of chiropractic?
c.
Licensing does not ensure clients receive quality care and does
not equal competence.
It is said we must license “to ensure uniform education and
so clients will know if the therapist is qualified and receive quality
care.” As much as we would like to believe a license means
someone is competent, qualified, and a quality care-giver, this
is not truthful. While the level of education most licenses require
should imply competence, this is not reality. Some state-accredited
schools, even in the highly regulated state of Florida, do not provide
confidence or competence to the students enrolled. A high school
diploma, which implies 12 years of gaining a certain level of knowledge
does not even guarantee that one can read! Does ‘licensing’
equal ‘competence’ or simply give a false appearance
of competence? A license often causes one to place unquestioning
trust in the licensed professional simply because they are licensed
by a small group of people who have voted on what “qualified”
means. Is this unquestioning trust good? Or, have we created a pattern
of people who have forgotten that they are each responsible for
making informed decisions, and for asking the questions that would
cause them to be informed? Too many people have been taught, “If
the doctor, dentist, chiropractor, attorney, minister, licensed
professional says it, it must be true.” Licensing has the
tendency to create the false impression of “They know what
they’re talking about and I don’t because they’ve
gone to school, etc.” This has contributed to the human tendency
to then blame someone else when something does go wrong. We again
create a situation contradicting Foundational Law.
This also opens people for sexual abuse by a massage therapist because,
“they said I needed that treatment.” One only has to
read the NCBMTB guidelines and see the inherent dangers. The AMTA
knows full well this problem exists and has problems within its
own association with discipline. Will state licensing make it “easier”
to prosecute? Ask yourself this question, “Has licensing prevented
sexual issues in the following fields: Doctors, Nurses, Psychiatrists,
Ministers? The obvious answer is “No.” For sexual issues,
the existing laws do not require licensing of lawful masseuses.
(Sec 2-a)
Three final questions for those wishing client trust would be increased
because of a ‘license’ on their wall. “Would the
above professions be less expensive if they had not lobbied for
state licensing?” (Maybe) “Has state licensing improved
the quality of care in these professions?” (No) “Has
state licensing contributed to the increase of malpractice suits
in the above professions?” (Yes.) The increased cost of care,
the lesser quality of care and the desire to blame someone else
has all contributed to the latter. Licensed professionals are the
easiest to blame with the prevailing attitude of “They can
afford it.” Consider this and stop the massage licensing in
Indiana by voting NO to House Bill 1355 & Senate Bill 0313.
d.
Licensing would not guarantee insurance coverage and increases the
risk of being sued for malpractice.
Many in favor of licensing desire “insurance reimbursement”
for massage. This is a money argument. It is figured that if insurance
will cover it, more clients will come and we can charge more than
we do now. They argue most insurance companies now pay for chiropractic,
since licensing was enacted. Many insurance companies now pay for
massage also. This has nothing to do with licensing, it is an individual
insurance company’s choice. Would it not be far better to
educate the insurance companies as to the benefits of massage and
the fact that massage could decrease their costs for some illnesses?
Not all therapists WANT the hassle of insurance paperwork. For those
who do wish to be involved with insurance companies, national certification
from the NCBMTB is often a valid seal of approval. Or, it could
become a valid seal through education of the insurance board. Licensing
is not necessary and all other concocted “reasons” to
convince legislators we need licensing is in truth a cloak for this,
the root reason. The love of money is the root of all evil.
e.
Licensing is not necessary to prevent licensing by another corporate
board.
Another oft-quoted reason is “if we therapists don’t
license ourselves, the doctors, physical therapists, occupational
therapists, cosmetologists, or chiropractors will license us!”
This is also the love of money; for those who wish to control another’s
livelihood desire the profit without the effort. Do two wrongs make
one right? No. Just as a massage therapists cannot call themselves
“physical therapists” simply do not allow anyone the
authority to exclusively hold the title “massage therapist.”
House Bill 1355 & Senate Bill 313 restricts anyone from applying
massage techniques for reimbursement unless schooled by the very
ones now crying they do not want to be controlled by others! This
is absolute hypocrisy! Licensing only serves the economical interests
of the people desiring such licensing. Let them set up their private
associations and ‘approve’ those who desire to join.
Section 1 has discussed the unlawfulness of such a “law.”
f.
Aiding and abetting?!?
These bills have also added an imposed penalty on anyone who “aids
and abets” a person not authorized to use a “professional”
title regulated by this article. You make it sound as though giving
massage without the state’s (or Amta’s) permission is
a dangerous and heinous crime! As said in section 1, it is unlawful
to call evil what Foundational Law declares good. Again, it is painfully
clear what the desired goals really are. When a state seeks to prohibit
good people from doing good works and then by license gives permission
to evil people to do evil (see HB#1578 and SB0342) this is a dangerous
place to be and my prayers for mercy are with you. May all awake
and vote NO on HB#1355 & SB#0313.
Section
3 - Alternatives to licensing
a. Freedom; utilize current laws and associations to protect
Citizens and provide discipline.
Let Indiana remain a “free” state where massage therapy
is concerned. Proactively enforce the laws that would close down
the indecent, sexual parlors and leave the lawful therapists free
to operate successfully.
It has already been determined that licensing will not raise credibility
nor ensure quality. For those who wish to attend a 500-1000 hour
state-accredited school, they remain free to do so. Workshops are
readily available for others (college students looking to ethically
pay their way through other college majors, mothers whose children
have grown and are looking for alternative ways to expend their
talents, those who want to know massage and apply it on their friends
and family with the freedom to be reimbursed, those who are researching
and deciding if they want to further pursue massage knowledge, etc.)
to begin their learning process. Another way to learn effectively
is through apprenticeship programs. Bills #1355 and #313 would declare
all these methods of learning ‘invalid.’ Home schooling
was once viewed in the same way, but it is now shown that home-schooled
students are often rated higher on standardized tests such as the
SAT. Bills #1355 and #313 would effectively declare home-schooling
statistics to be invalid by restricting the ‘learning’
of ‘professional massage’ to state-approved or accredited
institutions.
For therapists in unlicensed states who want an outside ‘seal
of approval,’ joining an organization or becoming nationally
certified is available through at least 5 organizations. For those
who do not require an outside seal, word of mouth will either build
up their reputation in their community or, if they are incompetent,
will bring this awareness. This is the preferred solution!
b.
Title protection, to prevent another board (cosmetology, etc. from
licensing massage therapy)
To prevent another board from regulating massage, it could be stated
in Law that “massage therapy (as defined in Bill#313) shall
not be regulated or licensed by any state board.”
c.
Registry
A registry of unlicensed alternative health professionals could
be formed with the disciplinary actions made availablesuch as can
be found in the Minnesota state statutes 146A. This is not the preferred
solution, as the disciplinary actionsunder these statues already
exist in other forms in State law.
Section
4 - Closing request
I ask you to remove HB1355 and SB0313 Licensing of Massage Therapists
(and SB0005 Licensing of Midwives) and all similar legislation from
the consideration of being law in Indiana both now and forever.
If you have any questions or reasons why you disagree with these
comments, feel free to contact me at the exact mailing location
below.
Thank you for your consideration.
Truthfully.
Desiree Sunshine Yoder
Servant of the King of kings; Homeschool Graduate; Certified Massage
Therapist; Business Owner; Citizen; and more!
c/o non-domestic
PO Box 763; near:
Jasper, Indiana (47547)
PS:
Please consider this quote: “We shall create an intensified
centralization of government in order to grip in our hands all the
forces of community. We shall regulate mechanically all the actions
of our subjects by new laws. These laws will withdraw one by one
all the indulgences which have been permitted by the [general public]…
We shall be told that such a despotism as I speak of is not consistent
with the progress of these days, but I will prove to you that it
is.” IS THIS WHAT YOU WANT TO BE PART OF CREATING? Quoted
from Fourth Reich of the Rich, by Des Griffin.
PPS:
“Fascism” is defined as “government controlled
business.” Though fascism was “defeated” with
World War II, it apparently lives here in America today. Were you
elected to further bring this upon the Citizens of this State?
©
Copyright 2002/2003 D. Sunshine Yoder. All Rights Reserved. Permission
is granted to reprint for free distribution to massage therapists,
senators, representatives and other interested parties.
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