Bad News! A Public Hearing is scheduled for noon on Monday, Dec. 13th on MA H.350/S.221, “An Act Regulating Alternative Healing Therapies”, in the Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure. We need your testimony now – both written and virtual – to defeat this legislation and protect your access to the complementary and alternative health care you enjoy today! You must register by 5pm on Thursday, December 9 if you wish to testify at the virtual hearing (details below).

MA H.350/S.221 will negatively impact access for thousands of health seekers to hundreds of non-invasive gentle methods of healing including but not limited to:

• Reiki

• Qi Gong

• Reflexology

• Ayurveda

• Polarity Therapy

• And over 200 other holistic wellness, stress relief and spiritual healing modalities.

The proposed restrictive bill will hurt practitioners – many who are now exempt from massage licensure under current law – as well as the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ economy.  Tell legislators and committee members why you want them to oppose this restrictive licensing bill.

Take Action Steps:

1. Click here to email your personal legislators and committee members to OPPOSE MA H.350/S.221, a restrictive licensing bill, because it hurst alternative healing practitioners and the clients they serve.

2. Click Here to Sign-up to Testify virtually during the public hearing on Monday, December 13, beginning at 12:00 pm EST.  Persons who wish to testify virtually, submit written testimony, or both, should complete this form.

Persons who do not have a Google account or do not wish to use the Google form can submit testimony and/or sign up to testify by emailing:  JointCommittee.PublicHealth@malegislature.gov.

Persons planning to testify at the virtual hearing must sign up no later than 5:00 pm EST on Thursday, December 9.  Please be advised that due to potential high volume of registrants, individuals registered to submit oral testimony may need to be available for an overflow day on Tuesday, December 14 at 1:00 pm EST.  Once the deadline for registration has passed, those participants will be notified by committee staff as to whether they will be expected for Monday or Tuesday.

Those who plan to submit only written testimony may do so before or after the signup deadline. If you have any questions, you may email Al Anzola (Alberto.Anzola@mahouse.gov) and Tara Wilson (Tara.Wilson@masenate.gov).

3. Watch the public hearing on Monday, December 13.  For those who do not plan to testify but want to watch, you may view the livestream via the Facebook public page of Chair Tackey Chan by clicking here.  A Facebook account is not required to view the livestream using the above link.

MORE REASONS TO OPPOSE MA H.350/S.221

Under the licensing bill gentle alternative therapies would be unnecessarily regulated and require licensing by the government.  The bills would add alternative healing therapies to the jurisdiction of the Massage Therapy Board.  An Advisory Council of practitioners from various vocations would advise the Massage Board but the Board would be given the authority to adopt rules and regulations governing the licensure of all alternative healing therapists including demonstration of competency and the approval and operation of alternative therapy training and certification programs and establish standards of professional and ethical conduct for alternative healing therapies and continuing education.  Many of the spiritual and holistic practices affected by the proposed bills are minority traditions offered by sole practitioners.  New, unnecessary regulatory burdens would force closures adversely impacting teaching masters, students and consumers alike.  Many of these are women. Read the Lengthy Regulatory bill here.

Also, under the restrictive licensing bill, practices and the use of titles would be prohibited and banned from the public domain.  A person would not be able to hold themselves out to others as an alternative healing therapist or practice any alternative healing therapy unless the person holds a valid state license.

Requirement that instructional programs be licensed by the state would also prevent many practices from being taught due to the bureaucratic process, high fees. This will put countless practitioners out of business, hurt families, increase jobless claims and cause a loss of educational programs with restriction of trade and monopolization of health care offerings to state endorsed, dominant medicalized professions.

There is no constitutional basis for regulating vocations that do not pose an imminent risk of harm to the public.  Reducing the prevalence of unnecessary and overly broad occupational licensing that hurts workers and consumers is a goal of many governments and Massachusetts should join in defeating these licensing bills. 

Thanks in advance for your help OPPOSING MA S.221/H.350!  Together we can protect our alternative healing practitioners.