Great news! A public hearing for the Massachusetts Safe Harbor Practitioner Exemption bill H.2504/S.1481 An Act providing for consumer access to and the right to practice complementary and alternative health care services has been scheduled for:

July 14, 2025

The Joint Committee on Public Health

10:00 a.m. EST in room A-1

Massachusetts State House

If you are a complementary or alternative health care practitioner in the state of Massachusetts or you are a consumer who uses complementary or alternative health care to get and stay well, your testimony is needed! 

Safe harbor laws protect complementary and alternative health care practitioners such as herbalists, homeopaths, traditional naturopaths, Ayurveda practitioners, energy healers, and many others who are not licensed by the state as well as access for the public to these healers.

This is a hybrid hearing – you can testify in person or virtually. You can also submit written testimony. We highly recommend testifying in person if you can!

You must Pre-register by 2pm on Friday, July 11th if you wish to testify in-person* or virtually during the hearing.

*Individuals who miss the deadline to pre-register for testimony may appear on the day of the hearing and sign-up to speak in person on forms provided by committee staff outside of the hearing room. Time permitting, when all pre-registered individuals have been called to testify, the Chairs will then call any individuals who signed-up on the day of the hearing.

🚨 Take Action Steps:

Click Here to Sign-up to Testify in person or virtually during the public hearing on Monday, July 14 beginning at 10:00 a.m. EST. Register before Friday July 11 at 2p.m. EST.  You may testify yourself or as part of a panel. Individuals testifying are limited to 3 minutes and panels are given a total of 6 minutes.

Persons who do not have a Microsoft account or do not wish to use the Microsoft form can submit testimony and/or sign up to testify by emailing matthew.murphy@masenate.gov. Please indicate whether you plan to testify in person or virtually.

If you have any questions, you may email Ramla.Hagi@mahouse.gov and Matthew.Murphy@masenate.gov.

Submit Written Testimony: Please include “Public Health Committee Testimony, Bill “H2504/S.1471” in the subject line of the email, as well as your name, address, phone number, and organization, if any.

Written testimony will continue to be accepted after the hearing until the relevant bill is acted upon. Such testimony may be submitted via email to JointCommittee.PublicHealth@malegislature.gov.  Written testimony may also be physically mailed to the House Chair: Chair Marjorie C. Decker, Joint Committee on Public Health ATTN: Ramla Hagi, 24 Beacon St., Room 130, Boston, MA 02133

Those who plan to submit only written testimony may do so before or after the sign-up deadline. For those who do not plan to testify but want to watch, you may view the live stream under the Hearings & Events section of the legislative website.

See below for an example template to get you started on testimony. 

You can also watch prior testimony on this same bill during the 2021 session for inspiration which begins 10 mins and 30 secs in PART 2 of the video, or during the 2023 session which is from 01:41:44 to – 01:13:49.

Example Template To Help Write Your Testimony

(Month) (Day) (Year)

The Joint Committee on Public Health
The State House
24 Beacon Street
Boston, MA 02133

RE:  Testimony in Support of H.2504 and S.1471, An Act Providing for Consumer Access and the Right to Practice Complementary and Alternative Health Care Services 

Dear Chairs and Members of the Committee:

My name is (your first and last name) (or I am writing on behalf of a business or organization) and I am a (type of practitioner, teacher or consumer) who resides in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

(Do not add where you reside if you do not live or work in MA. Please note, that anyone in the US can join in writing a letter of support).

State why you support protecting unlicensed alternative and complementary health practitioners. Include a personal story, perhaps how you or someone you know benefited from this care. Tell the Committee how the law could affect you, your family, and your community and/or organization or business.

Example:

I want to voice my strong support for H.2504 and S.1471, as a law will protect existing holistic practitioners in Massachusetts and encourage new healers to set up practices.

I’ve personally benefited from seeing a variety of holistic and energy medicine practitioners over the past 20 years for things like headaches, joint pain, insomnia, and hormonal issues. I’m so grateful to have access to these kinds of options when I need them. As stress levels rise and more people struggle with chronic health issues, every state should want to make it easier—not harder—for residents to access complementary or alternative care. That’s why laws to protect these practitioners are so important.

Please vote yes on H.2504 and S.1471. Thank you for your time and consideration of this issue.
Sincerely,

Print your name
Street address
Town/City