Your Communicator 2022 IN TOUCH AMTA-KY Summer Newsletter

Summer 2022 Volume 29, Issue 1

In Touch

The Newsletter of the

American Massage Therapy Association

Kentucky Chapter

A Message From Your

AMTA-KY Chapter President

Jeff Butler, LMT

I hope everyone is having an enjoyable start to their summer! The warmer weather and increased daylight is certainly a welcome change for me. For those of you that do not know me, my name is Jeff Butler, and I am the newly elected AMTA-KY Chapter President. I am looking forward to this opportunity to meet, know, and interact with all of the membership throughout the state. Now that the in-person restrictions are being relaxed, I am envisioning many more face to face events.

As president, my first goal is to reach out to ALL LMT's, whether they are AMTA-KY Members or Non-members, from the entire state of Kentucky. I plan on doing this by instituting a fall social event, and having it in a different locale each year. This year's 2022 Fall event is currently still in the finalization stages, so we cannot release many details just yet, but it is set to be in Northern Kentucky. We will be inviting all LMT'S across the state to attend this special event. It will be in September, and you won't want to miss it! Please the spread the word to all of your LMT friends and colleagues that are not AMTA-KY members and invite them to our events.

The event will change, moving throughout the state, but will always be open to therapists from any part of Kentucky. However, if you cannot make it, don't fret! We are making this an annual event. So, if you have something in your area that you love, or that you think would be a great thing to show off, please let us know! We are always interested in your input, thoughts, and ideas regarding our events for this year, the next year, the year after, and beyond!

Beyond the fall event, there are a lot of changes happening for us as therapists in Kentucky. From the decreases in our CEs, to increases in our licensing fees, all the way to a looming sales tax, there are many issues to keep track of. Our Government Relations committee is doing an amazing job keeping on top of everything. For more information, please take a few moments to read the GR Report.

This year, the AMTA National convention is in Cleveland. That's close enough that I hope to see many of you all there!

Thank you for taking time out of your day to read our newsletter. And, please, contact us if you have any questions, comments, concerns, and certainly if you want to volunteer!

-Jeff Butler, LMT

AMTA-KY President

SAVE THE DATE!

ATTENTION: CALLING ALL LMT'S

The AMTA-KY Board Members

are currently planning a

"September Social Soiree"

This is an event you don't want to miss!

September 18, 2022

TIME:TBA

LOCATION:TBA

WATCH FOR MORE DETAILS

Let's get together for a little social time...!!

This is your chance to establish connections

with new friends and reconnect with old ones.

We hope you will join us for the FUN!

(Limited to LMT'S ONLY!)

Please share this with your LMT friends and colleagues

Government Relations Report: Update June 15, 2022

Ann Boone,

Government Relations Chair

Although HB79 passed on 3/18/21, there are many steps that still have to take place in order for all the working pieces to become law. First and foremost, moving the licensing fees from the legislative process to the regulatory process must be done in order to ensure that the board will be able to determine fees and keep the board solvent. As of now, the Kentucky Board of Licensure for Massage Therapy (KBLMT), board members have not been paid their per diem since 2019. Much appreciation to Denise Logsdon for attending the fees hearing on 6/2/2022. She and Kevin Winstead, KBLMT board counsel, were asked to represent the KBLMT with regards to the fees regulation only. They answered questions posed by the Licensing and Occupations committee. They attended along with Rebecca Hartsough and Julie Babbage (Babbage Cofounders) as well as our bill sponsor, Rep. Matthew Koch. One of the main questions posed pertained to why we felt the fees needed to be raised. Once they were informed that the last overall fee increase was in 2003, when our licensing bill passed, it was a no-brainer! There is an approximate 90 day waiting period after approval, before the regulation goes into effect.

Additional changes include the number of CE hours required biannually (from 24 to 12 -3 CE of ethics included in that number), microcurrent and PEMF devices added to scope of practice, license reinstatement refinements and Certificate of Good Standing (COGS) requirements. The CE changes have already been approved. There have been inquiries as to when we will be able to use microcurrent and PEMF devices (e.g. BEMER, MagnaWave, Hero, etc) within our scope of practice. We are hopeful that the device approval will go into effect soon as well. The board hasn’t been able to give clear guidance on this as of yet. View HB79 here: 21RS HB 79 - Legislative Research Commission.

With those issues either approved or going through the approval process, we are now on to our next challenge: namely, HB8. This bill has to do with imposing a sales tax on several services, including Massage Therapy. The caveat is unless it is deemed “medically necessary”. This bill was passed in the Senate, vetoed by Governor Beshear and the veto was overridden by the General Assembly. The bill has effectively passed and will go into effect on 1/1/2023. This bill was introduced as a push to lower the state Income tax to zero over the next 5-10 years and tax what are considered service industries to make up the difference. We are still in the loop to work with the Revenue Cabinet to clarify who will determine the definition of which Massage Therapy services are “medically necessary” and how will need to proceed with regards to showing proof of that necessity. Bob Babbage and his team are in contact with Revenue Commissioner Miller in order to reach consensus together. View HB8 here: 22RS HB 8 - Legislative Research Commission. (click on “current final” under documents. Scroll to Page 31, line 24).

I am very proud of our Government Relations team. They have worked hard over the last several years, and through the idiosyncrasies of a pandemic, to serve Kentucky AMTA members and the Massage Therapy profession as a whole. I am honored to be your GR Chair. I continue to learn a lot from everyone who has contributed to the process. Thank you!

If you have any questions and/or would like to join our GR team, please contact me at: GRchair@amtaky.org

In health, Ann

Ann E. Boone, LMT, BCTMB

AMTA-KY Government Relations chair

Remember:

Please continue to check the KBLMT website for any updates (bmt.ky.gov).

We will share updates as we receive them as well.

If you have any further questions, please contact Ann E. Boone, LMT at grchair@amtaky.org.

AMTA-KY MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Marcella Thompson, LMT

Marcella Thompson of DIVINE WONDERS MMT, LLC. www.divinewonderslmt.com is our newest board member to be elected to AMTA-KY chapter as the Even Year Board Member in March 2022. She was born in California, but has lived in Kentucky for over 30 years. When asked about an unusual fact, Marcella said she had 18 tattoos!

She began her massage journey in 1994 and obtained her license in 2010 at Daymar College in Louisville. She has a private practice and has recently developed a manual based on lymphatic massage that was approved by NCB. She is elated to have her daughter as a business partner.

She is on the government relations committee and has been volunteering for AMTA since the beginning of 2022. In five years, she would like to be teaching worldwide and elevating AMTA!

Welcome, Marcella!