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ABMP Legislative Report
Wisconsin 9/18/07 5/17/02 2/20/02 3/16/00 9/19/07: Wisconsin 2007 Legislative Survey Results and Next Steps for ABMP Members In July 2007, at the request of the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA)—Wisconsin Chapter, ABMP mailed a short legislative survey to Wisconsin members. The intent of the survey was to gauge the massage therapy community’s interest in pursuing state licensure. The current law offers state certification with title protection only. A total of 3810 surveys were sent out to practitioners who are Wisconsin state certified or belong to one of the following associations: ABMP, AMTA—WI Chapter, or American Organization for Bodywork Therapies of Asia (AOBTA). Because 64% of respondents favored licensing, the AMTA—WI Chapter has decided to pursue a change in the law from title protection to a practice act, which is state licensing, in the 2009-2010 legislation session. ABMP members, however, were much more evenly split in their support of licensing. Of the 1600 ABMP surveys mailed out, 527 (33%) were returned. Fifty percent (50%) favored licensing, 40% did not favor licensing, and 10% were undecided. In the next few months, ABMP will conduct a more thorough survey of members via e-mail to determine concerns so that ABMP can more effectively advocate our Wisconsin members priorities. Your feedback is important. Please watch your e-mail and respond to future messages about licensing for massage therapists in Wisconsin. Town hall meetings will be held throughout the state to discuss the details of a state licensing proposal. Permissable Scope of Massage and Related Services Performed by Aestheticians and Cosmetologists and by Massage Therapists 5/17/02: The legislative session adjourned on April 12, 2002. Activity in Wisconsin included Assembly Bill 749 and Senate Bill 413, which would have made Wisconsin's law a practice act and increased the number of hours required for licensure from 500 to 600. Wisconsin members received a mailing regarding the activity in February. SB413 did not pass and HB413 did pass, which essentially changes the designation to certification. 2/20/02: Assembly Bill 749 was introduced on January 28th, 2002. If passed, the bill would change the massage therapy regulation in Wisconsin from a title protection act (registration) to a practice act (licensure). Passage of this bill would: • Require therapists to hold a license in order to practice massage in the state of Wisconsin. • Require 600 hours of education to obtain a license instead of the current 500 hour requirement. Thirty states (and the District of Columbia) currently regulate massage and of those, twenty-seven regulate in the form of a practice act. However, of those 31 states, only nine require 600 or more educational hours. There is no justification provided within the bill that would indicate a need for an additional 100 hours. ABMP does not support the change to 600 hours without any documented justification. For those of you not currently registered with the state, the bill does provide for a two-year temporary license, provided the applicant has a minimum of 500 hours of education and submits application for both the next state jurisprudence exam and the next available examination date for the National Certification Examination for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork. The regulations do maintain a portfolio review option for licensure applicants that do not meet the educational requirements. Practice requirements include obtaining informed consent from the client and informing the client that he or she may withdraw the consent at any time, maintaining client confidentiality and abstaining from providing service at a sexually oriented business. For a complete copy of the bill, visit http://www.legis.state.wi.us/2001/data/ab_list.html. Assembly Bill 749 has been referred to the Committee on Health. ABMP encourages you to contact the committee and/or your representative to voice your position on this regulation. You can call toll-free 1-800-362-9472 outside the Madison area or 266-9960 within Madison. For the hearing impaired call the TDY number - 1-800-228-2115. 3/16/00: Effective March 1, 2000 requirements for registration in Wisconsin will increase from 500 educational hours to 600 hours and the National Certification Exam. In addition, on November 23, 1999 the following release was sent out from Marlene Cummings, Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Regulation & Licensure. Permissible Scope of Massage and Related Services Performed by estheticians and Cosmetologists and by Massage Therapist Wisconsin laws regulate massage therapists and bodyworkers by restricting the use of the title "massage therapist or bodyworker" to persons who are registered with the Department of Regulations and Licensing. The law creates "title protection" only, and the law specifically says that it "does not prohibit a person who is not a registrant from engaging in the practice of massage therapy or bodywork". The definitions of both aesthetics and massage therapy or bodywork include the word "massage", which has led to some confusion regarding the appropriate scopes of practice of these two professions. The department has taken the position that massage by massage therapists or bodyworkers is limited to massage of soft tissue which is intended to have health benefits and is not intended to have a beautifying effect. A massage therapist may provide a facial massage for relaxation or some other therapeutic purpose, but not for beautification. On the other hand, the massage which is included in the scope of practice of aesthetics or cosmetology is intended to beautify, not to have a health benefit. The department has received many questions, especially from spa owners, regarding the provision of certain services that might be offered along with body massages, especially body wraps and the application of various topical preparations. Except for the application of an oil or other preparation to facilitate therapeutic massage by preventing skin chafing, these other services may not be performed by massage therapists. The definition of both aesthetics and cosmetology in section 454.01(2) and (5) of the Wisconsin Statutes include both wrapping and applying oils, lotions, powders, etc., while the definition of massage therapy or bodywork in section 440.98 (4) of the Wisconsin Statutes does not include such services. |