Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey has redrafted “An Act Regulating Bodyworks” as “An Act Regulating Alternative Healing Therapies,” as S.221. An identical bill H.350 has been filed in the House to ensure its passage.

S.221 and H.350 requires the state to establish standards and licensing for the practice and teaching of holistic modalities under the control and direction of a board predominantly populated by massage therapists, and to restrict the teaching of the holistic modalities to schools licensed by the state, at a cost of more than $8,000 for an application. This includes putting up a $5,000 bond, a $2,500 initial application fee for a for profit school (which includes most independent practitioners) and a $1,500 application for a non-profit, plus a $1,000 application fee per instructor. That does not include the licensure fee.

Protect the Right to Practice, Teach and Access Alternative Healing Therapies in Massachusetts Now!

These bills will negatively affect thousands of sole practitioners and instructors from a wide array of disciplines such as Reiki, Qi Gong, Asian Bodywork Therapy, Trager, Feldenkrais, Ayurvedic Therapies, Reflexology, Polarity Therapy, Rolf Structural Integration, Body Mind Centering, Acupressure, Energy and Somatic Healing Practices who are now exempt from massage licensure under current law.

These requirements would create significant hardships and force alternative healthcare practitioners and teachers of these modalities to close their practices, and eliminate freedom of choice in alternative healthcare for the people of Massachusetts.

Please sign this change.org petition, which alerts each member of the Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure, where both bills currently sit, how detrimental this bill’s passage would be to the healthcare you depend upon.