October, 2021 News
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In the coming days we will ask for your help in opposing S.221 and H.350, An Act Regulating Alternative Healing Therapies in Massachusetts, by sending written testimony to the members of the Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure. We will provide an email template to everyone. This bill is extremely important because it will set precedent for other states to follow suit. The Reiki Unified website gives detailed information about the Massachusetts Legislation.
In a nutshell, the proposed legislation S.221/H.350, An Act Regulating Alternative Healing Therapies, affects holistic therapies such as Reiki, Asian Bodywork Therapy, Reflexology, Feldenkrais Method, Trager Approach, Ayurvedic Therapies, Polarity or Polarity Therapy, Structural integration or Rolfing, Qi Gong, and Body/Mind Centering. This bill creates a licensing board (with members who do not have the expertise in each of our practices). This board will establish professional and ethical conduct, will direct us how to practice and teach, and mandate continuing education generally beyond the scope of our practices. If this bill passes it will increase the cost of practicing, reduce the number of practitioners, increase the cost to consumers, generate unnecessary barriers with higher fees to practice, increase unemployment, discriminate against low wage earners, people of color, and women.
There is another bill the members of the Joint Committee on Public Health will be voting on, H.2343/S.138, An Act Providing for Consumer Access to and the Right to Practice Complementary and Alternative Health Care Services. This bill is referred to as the Safe Harbor law for Massachusetts. It gives safe harbor to alternative therapy healers, to practice without a license if they give disclosure to their clients that they are not licensed to practice by the state and provide their education qualifying them to practice. The MA General Laws currently protects the right to practice those professions listed above. To support the Safe Harbor Bill
It's important to recognize that if S.221 and H.350, An Act Regulating Alternative Healing Therapies, passes and if the Safe Harbor bill passes, there will be licensure. The Safe Harbor bill will not nullify the licensure bill.
Lastly, we posted our zoom educational videos onThe News Section of the Reiki Unified website
Together We Are Stronger!
The Reiki Unified Team—Rita Glassman, Susan Mitchell, and Christopher Tellez
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