State Licensing

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Denise Leon R.N.,B.S.,L.M.T. on January 6, 2010 at 1:36pm

Also call NCBTMB and find out info , if they dont need a license and practice under chiro's etc then why should we be paying the state for our license and also to be nationally certified as well. Or how about our required CEU's why do I have to pay for that stuff too. All the money all of us has put into this career to be licensed has now gone to the wayside , not to mention the care given will be poor health care to the clients and also seeing that anyone can do this job how about allowing sex offenders in too. We need to file a class action law suit against the state board for massage therapy and whoever else changed this.

Permalink Reply by Michael McAleese on January 6, 2010 at 1:55pm

I think they are making Changes... we need to contact the people who are representing us.... it is being kept hush hush...

Michael

Permalink Reply by Barb Kilzer on January 6, 2010 at 2:44pm

I read the Public Act that went into effect on Jan. 1st, and it seems that they have changed the language to directly relate to registered nurses, physician assistants, pt's and pta's. I placed a call to the office of the senator who sponsored the bill and asked how this directly affect massage therapists. They are supposed to have one of the two people who were directly involved with the process call me back, so I will let you know what they tell me.

Also, about the renewal, it won't show up that we are in renewal until probably around October, because you can't renew until at least 2-3 months before expiration. I am interested to see what is supposed to happen after 2012, as the MT act is set to expire. Maybe someone at ABMB can find out an let us know.

Permalink Reply by Marissa on January 7, 2010 at 6:24pm

Still no response to my e-mail. I know they're busy and all, but......

Permalink Reply by Julie Wuebbels on January 8, 2010 at 11:48am

I had no idea all this was going on I am going to let my friends I went to school with know about all this thank you for letting us know I guess I need to start paying closer attention to what is going on in the world and not just my own world I have not got my continuing education yet and I work for a chiropractor right now with another massage therapist I hope he does not find out he can just hire anyone because he will cut us and pay someone else less to do our job thank you again and I will pay more attention if anyone can figure out how to get a petition started to try and correct this problem I will sign it

Permalink Reply by Tracy Smodilla on January 12, 2010 at 9:41pm

Hi All:
I sit on the AMTA-IL Chapter Board and serve as the Government Relations Committee Chair. I am also a practicing massage therapist who is fed up with the shenanigans in Springfield and have been working very hard for nearly a year now on these issues. A colleague of mine referred me to this site for which I am grateful so that I can be better aware of discussions like these in the LMT community. Allow me to share information with you about SB318:

First, SB318 was the companion bill to HB64 that was sponsored by IL Rep. Angelo "Skip" Saviano on January 15th, 2009 per the recommendation of the Illinois Chiropractic Society. It was introduced to amend the Medical Practice Act that would afford the legal right for chiropractic physicians to delegate to licensed or unlicensed personnel. Clearly, chiropractors were seeking parody with MD's and DO's who are regulated by the MPA and the bill was meant to codify what chiropractors have been doing all along, but not under the auspices of Illinois law.

Upon learning of HB64, the IL AMTA Chapter started vigorously opposing it. In the meantime, the companion bill SB318 was drafted. We were successful in having HB64 ultimately killed in committee and having the original language in SB318 rewritten six times. Eventually, we took the position that we were not going to support the bill, but we wouldn't oppose it any longer either as we were out of time and resources. While SB318 ultimately passed in late May and was signed into law by Governor Quinn and enacted on January 1st, here's what it really means:
1) Chiropractors can only delegate when a physician/patient relationship already exists;
2) PT's cannot delegate under the amendment to the MPA;
3) The ENTIRE MPA is scheduled to sunset (expire) on December 31, 2010. There is great opportunity for LMT's to continue to vigorously oppose the language in the bill. The AMTA IL Chapter has created a Government Relations Toolkit that will be posted to their website in February and will help you legislate on these matters from your own desktop. However, I cannot stress the importance of forging a relationship with your state representatives and legislators enough. Writing, faxing and calling doesn't always get the job done. You need to garner some face time with them and let them know what's important to you. Our Toolkit will lead you through this step-by-step. Just be patient with us.
4) This is an excellent time to educate your patients and clients about the value of licensure and make them aware of The Patient Bill of Rights. This includes their right to know whether or not the person treating them is licensed to perform these duties and techniques. Insurance companies are also paying close attention to treaments and modalities that they are being billed for and in several cases, have rescinded payment to any physician who has delegated to unlicensed personnel.

Regarding the IDPFR, they are grossly understaffed to respond to complaints. Their is a new liason to the Massage Licensing Board and I will be reaching out to him so that the AMTA can support his efforts, those of the MLB and act accordingly on behalf of all LMT's in Illinois. It is critical, however, that all infractions of the Massage Licensing Act be reported to the IDPFR. They may not act on it right away, but at the very least there is a record of it. I'd appreciate everyone letting me know if and when you file these regardless of whether or not you are an AMTA member. My goal is to serve all IL LMT's, not just our membership.

You can be assured that all chiropractors are aware of this. I am concerned by what I have read, that many of you are just now learning of this. I'm assuming that this board is powered by the ABMP; didn't you have information or a "call to action" posted on your member website? Nonetheless, it is your (and our) collectively responsibility to stand up for your profession and license. And, because the Illinois Chiropractic Society took great liberty with taking shots at the AMTA-IL because of our opposition to HB64/SB318, I suspect we'll be in their "crosshairs" again as we resume fighting other unfriendly legislation that has the potential to impact our profession now that the legislative session in Springfield session has started (can you say "Criminal Record Expungement Bill"?).

FYI, you may also be interested in knowing that it is the AMTA-IL Government Relations Committe that got massage therapy exempted from SB750 last spring. Known to many as the "service tax bill", if massage therapy had not been exempted, you'd be asking your clients to pay an additional six to ten percent for their sessions. This was not an easy task in a cash-strapped state, but we prevailed.

I'll try to keep you all posted on what's going on, but you may want to visit the AMTA-IL website, too, for updates. Our new site should be launched in February. In the meantime, feel free to post questions for me here. I may not answer right away (remember that I do have a practice and a life; and I am a volunteer (unpaid) board member and committee chair), but I will try to keep in touch.

Best wishes to you all for a healthy, prosperous and successful year! And keep the faith, because together we can make a difference!

Tracy Smodilla, LMT, MMP
Trinity Therapeutic Massage and Wellness

Permalink Reply by Marissa on January 13, 2010 at 8:54am

Tracy- Thank you for your clarification on these things. I think that the "Toolkit" will be very helpful. From several conversations, it is apparent that there are many who want to take action, but are unsure how to take action. In previous blogs, I have stated that I am unsure of how to "properly" state my case. Having a printed opposition letter that I could sign and send to the proper party would be beyond helpful. Is this, by chance, in the works?
As for ABMP, they keep us updated on legislation, but it is up to us on how to respond. In my opinion, most people don't go on the main site unless looking for something specific or renewing. Which is a shame, because there is so much available to members on there. Personally, I am on there daily seeing "whats new".
Again, thank you for taking time out of your schedule to keep us updated. We highly appreciate your dedication!

Permalink Reply by Tracy Smodilla on January 13, 2010 at 11:13am

Marissa-Thanks for your reply and comments. Yes, we are all excited about the GRC Toolkit and it is one of the many valuable resources available to the AMTA members. This initiative was in response to the many LMT's out there who also said "I want to get involved, but I'm not sure how to do it." The tools will take you step-by-step through the process. However, I continue to stress that these tools are really designed to effectively engage LMT's with state legislators and exercise the power of their votes; in short, we would hope that you would personalize each letter to reflect your specific needs as licensed massage professional. You would, at the very least, need to properly address a letter to your own state representatives and senators. But don't worry....along with sample letters and ad hoc letters that will posted as needed, you'll get "Do's and Dont's", a robust "who's who" in Springfield directory, etc. Further to that, there will be a section on dealing with Municipalities.

Lastly, regarding your license, even though the MLA is set to sunset in 2012, all massage therapists in Illinois must have a license to practice. I know, I know....some of you are thinking, "But how can the chiro's delegate massage to an unlicensed "therapist"??" There, friends, is where you need to be diligent. No person not holding a valid Illinois license for massage therapy as mandated by the MLA may describe themselves, advertise themselves or their services or extend themselves as massage therapists. To do so would be a violation of the MLA and carries a penalty of $5,000.00, and because this is an infraction of the MLA, it needs to be reported.

I really look forward to hearing more from this group and others.

Tracy Smodilla
Trinity Therapeutic Massage and Wellness

Permalink Reply by Michael McAleese on January 13, 2010 at 1:24pm

How and what can I do as a LMT and a school Owner?

Tracy Smodilla said:

Marissa-Thanks for your reply and comments. Yes, we are all excited about the GRC Toolkit and it is one of the many valuable resources available to the AMTA members. This initiative was in response to the many LMT's out there who also said "I want to get involved, but I'm not sure how to do it." The tools will take you step-by-step through the process. However, I continue to stress that these tools are really designed to effectively engage LMT's with state legislators and exercise the power of their votes; in short, we would hope that you would personalize each letter to reflect your specific needs as licensed massage professional. You would, at the very least, need to properly address a letter to your own state representatives and senators. But don't worry....along with sample letters and ad hoc letters that will posted as needed, you'll get "Do's and Dont's", a robust "who's who" in Springfield directory, etc. Further to that, there will be a section on dealing with Municipalities.

Lastly, regarding your license, even though the MLA is set to sunset in 2012, all massage therapists in Illinois must have a license to practice. I know, I know....some of you are thinking, "But how can the chiro's delegate massage to an unlicensed "therapist"??" There, friends, is where you need to be diligent. No person not holding a valid Illinois license for massage therapy as mandated by the MLA may describe themselves, advertise themselves or their services or extend themselves as massage therapists. To do so would be a violation of the MLA and carries a penalty of $5,000.00, and because this is an infraction of the MLA, it needs to be reported.

I really look forward to hearing more from this group and others.

Tracy Smodilla
Trinity Therapeutic Massage and Wellness

Permalink Reply by Barb Kilzer on January 14, 2010 at 10:26am

I just want to say on behalf of ABMP that they contacted me via e-mail as a member with draft letter that I could print out, sign (or change as I wished) and then mail or fax to my state reps. I hate to admit that I got as far as printing it out and did not go any further. I also would like to state that the chiropractors with whom I have referral relationships don't either seem to know what is going on or would not delegate massage to anyone unlicensed, as they respect my training and profession. It seems that the problem with legislators, at every level, is they side with those who yell the loudest or scratch their backs, instead of trying to see what is best for the people. I would like to say thank you to everyone who is working hard to stand up for our rights, as well as those of the people we serve.

Permalink Reply by Allison Ishman on January 18, 2010 at 10:30am

Tracy - just for clarification - is sunset in 2010 or 2012?

Permalink Reply by Tracy Smodilla on January 19, 2010 at 10:18am

Hi Allison and All:

The IL Massage Licensing Act is scheduled to be repealed January 1, 2012. This year, 2010 is a renewal year for IL LMT's; the IDPFR has (in the past) sent out reminder of renewal notices sometime in the the third quarter. However, given budget issues in the state, I wouldn't count on anything by USPS given the expense.

The IL Medical Practice Act (to which SB318, the "delegation law") is scheduled to be repealed on December 31, 2010.

Tracy

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