Florida

Under current Florida law, an applicant is qualified for licensure as a massage therapist if he or she passes an approved exam and either completes a course of study at a school approved by the Massage Therapy Board or completes an apprenticeship program that meets the Board’s standards. Under SB 1334, recently introduced in the Florida state legislature, apprenticeships would no longer serve as a qualification for licensure.

Florida Senate Bill 500 (and companion bill: House Bill 7005, affecting massage establishments, has been scheduled for a hearing in the state legislature. Current law requires that all massage establishments, defined as “a site or premises, or portion thereof, wherein a massage therapist practices massage,” must have a state-issued license in order to operate.

Beginning July 1, 2012, the massage law will require that any person operating, employed by, or performing a massage, in a licensed massage establishment, must immediately present, upon request of a Department of Health inspector/investigator or law enforcement, a valid government identification while in the establishment. Valid government identification means one of the following:

1. Current driver’s license,
2. Current identification card issued by a state, territory, or district of the United States (U.S.)
3. Valid passport issued by the, U.S.

On May 4, 2012, Governor Rick Scott signed Florida House Bill 119, which reforms Florida’s mandatory no-fault auto insurance law, also known as “Personal Injury Protection” (PIP).  The new law excludes massage from the medical benefits that are covered under PIP.  Thus, beginning January 1, 2013, massage therapists can no longer receive PIP reimbursement for massage services.  If you currently bill PIP for massage therapy performed in connection with auto accidents, you will not be able to do so after December 31 of this year.

Florida House Bill 119, into which Senate Bill 1860 was merged, would reform Motor Vehicle Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance in Florida. The PIP reform bill eliminates coverage for massage therapy and acupuncture. The bill passed both houses of the Florida legislature and is expected to be signed into law by Governor Rick Scott. Scott pledged to make PIP reform his primary focus of the legislative session.

SB 584 failed to attract the votes needed to advance. If passed, the bill would have allowed the Board of Massage Therapy to issue temporary permits to applicants who met certain qualifications to practice massage therapy (specifically, graduating from an accredited program).

House Bill 139, sponsored by Representative Erik Fresen, has been referred to the Health Care Regulation Policy Committee.

The National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB) has filed a legal challenge to the Florida Board of Massage Therapy's decision to use the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards' (FSMTB) Massage & Bodywork Licensing Examination (MBLEx) exclusively beginning in May 2009. The NCBTMB charges that the FSMTB has not yet proved their ability to administer the exam efficiently, there is a conflict of interest because the chair of the Florida board is also the vice president of the FSMTB, and that the NCBTMB will lose revenue because of its exclusion.

On April 25, 2008, the Florida Board of Massage Therapy voted to accept the Massage and Bodywork Licensing Exam (MBLEx) offered by the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards (FSMTB: www.fsmtb.org). The board voted to begin accepting the MBLEx on August 1, 2008, and use it exclusively beginning May 1, 2009. The board previously accepted the National Certification Exam for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCETMB) offered by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB) as a qualification for licensure.