Bill Text: FL S0390 | 2020 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Massage Therapy
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2020-03-14 - Died in Health Policy [S0390 Detail]
Download: Florida-2020-S0390-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2020 SB 390 By Senator Hooper 16-00601-20 2020390__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to massage therapy; renaming ch. 480, 3 F.S., as “Massage Therapy Practice”; amending s. 4 480.031, F.S.; conforming a provision to changes made 5 by the act; amending s. 480.032, F.S.; revising the 6 purpose of ch. 480, F.S.; amending s. 480.033, F.S.; 7 revising terms and definitions; amending s. 480.041, 8 F.S.; revising requirements for licensure as a massage 9 therapist; conforming provisions to changes made by 10 the act; providing applicability for persons who were 11 issued a license as a massage apprentice before a 12 specified date; repealing s. 480.042, F.S., relating 13 to examinations; amending ss. 477.013, 477.0135, 14 480.034, 480.035, 480.043, 480.046, 480.0465, 480.047, 15 480.052, 480.0535, 627.6407, 627.6619, 627.736, and 16 641.31 F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by 17 the act; making technical changes; providing an 18 effective date. 19 20 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 21 22 Section 1. Chapter 480, Florida Statutes, entitled “Massage 23 Practice,” is renamed “Massage Therapy Practice.” 24 Section 2. Section 480.031, Florida Statutes, is amended to 25 read: 26 480.031 Short title.—This actshall be known andmay be 27 cited as the “Massage Therapy Practice Act.” 28 Section 3. Section 480.032, Florida Statutes, is amended to 29 read: 30 480.032 Purpose.—The Legislature recognizes that the 31 practice of massage therapy is potentially dangerous to the 32 public in that massage therapists must have a knowledge of 33 anatomy and physiology and an understanding of the relationship 34 between the structure and the function of the tissues being 35 treated and the total function of the body. Massage therapy is a 36 therapeutic health care practice, and regulations are necessary 37 to protect the public from unqualified practitioners. It is 38 therefore deemed necessary in the interest of public health, 39 safety, and welfare to regulate the practice of massage therapy 40 in this state; however, restrictions shall be imposed to the 41 extent necessary to protect the public from significant and 42 discernible danger to health and yet not in such a manner which 43 will unreasonably affect the competitive market. Further, 44 consumer protection for both health and economic matters shall 45 be afforded the public through legal remedies provided for in 46 this act. 47 Section 4. Subsections (3), (4), (5), (7), and (9) of 48 section 480.033, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 49 480.033 Definitions.—As used in this act: 50 (3) “Massage therapy” means the manipulation of the soft 51 tissues of the human body with the hand, foot, knee, arm, or 52 elbow, regardless of whetheror notsuch manipulation is aided 53 by hydrotherapy, including colonic irrigation, or thermal 54 therapy; any electrical or mechanical device; or the application 55 to the human body of a chemical or herbal preparation, an over 56 the-counter topical agent, or a topical agent prescribed by a 57 health care practitioner applied in accordance with board rule. 58 (4) “Massage therapist” means a person licensed as required 59 by this act, who administers massage therapy for compensation 60 and assesses or evaluates persons for massage therapy treatment. 61 (5) “Apprentice” means a person approved by the board to 62 study colon irrigationmassageunder the instruction of a 63 licensed massage therapist practicing colon irrigation. 64 (7) “Establishment” or “massage establishment” means a site 65 or premises, or portion thereof, wherein a massage therapist 66 practices massage therapy. 67 (9) “Board-approved massage therapy school” means a 68 facility that meets minimum standards for training and 69 curriculum as determined by rule of the board and that is 70 licensed by the Department of Education pursuant to chapter 1005 71 or the equivalent licensing authority of another state or is 72 within the public school system of this state or a college or 73 university that is eligible to participate in the William L. 74 Boyd, IV, Effective Access to Student Education Grant Program. 75 Section 5. Subsections (1), (2), and (4) of section 76 480.041, Florida Statutes, are amended, and subsection (8) is 77 added to that section, to read: 78 480.041 Massage therapists; qualifications; licensure; 79 endorsement.— 80 (1) Any person is qualified for licensure as a massage 81 therapist under this act who: 82 (a) Is at least 18 years of age or has received a high 83 school diploma or high school equivalency diploma; 84 (b) Has completed a course of study at a board-approved 85 massage therapy schoolor has completed an apprenticeship86program that meets standards adopted by the board; and 87 (c) Has received a passing grade on a nationalan88 examination designatedadministeredby the boarddepartment. 89 (2) Every person desiring to be examined for licensure as a 90 massage therapist shall apply to the department in writing upon 91 forms prepared and furnished by the department. Such applicants 92 areshall besubject tothe provisions ofs. 480.046(1). 93Applicants may take an examination administered by the94department only upon meeting the requirements of this section as95determined by the board.96 (4) Upon an applicant’s passing the examination and paying 97 the initial licensure fee, the department shall issue to the 98 applicant a license, valid until the next scheduled renewal 99 date, to practice massage therapy. 100 (8) A person issued a license as a massage apprentice 101 before July 1, 2020, may continue that apprenticeship and 102 perform massage therapy as authorized under that license until 103 its expiration. After completing his or her apprenticeship and 104 before July 1, 2022, a massage apprentice may apply to the board 105 for full licensure and the board must grant the application if 106 the applicant meets all other applicable licensure requirements. 107 Section 6. Section 480.042, Florida Statutes, is repealed. 108 Section 7. Subsection (13) of section 477.013, Florida 109 Statutes, is amended to read: 110 477.013 Definitions.—As used in this chapter: 111 (13) “Skin care services” means the treatment of the skin 112 of the body, other than the head, face, and scalp, by the use of 113 a sponge, brush, cloth, or similar device to apply or remove a 114 chemical preparation or other substance, except that chemical 115 peels may be removed by peeling an applied preparation from the 116 skin by hand. Skin care services must be performed by a licensed 117 cosmetologist or facial specialist within a licensed cosmetology 118 or specialty salon, and such services may not involve massage 119 therapy, as defined in s. 480.033(3), through manipulation of 120 the superficial tissue. 121 Section 8. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 122 477.0135, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 123 477.0135 Exemptions.— 124 (1) This chapter does not apply to the following persons 125 when practicing pursuant to their professional or occupational 126 responsibilities and duties: 127 (a) Persons authorized under the laws of this state to 128 practice medicine, surgery, osteopathic medicine, chiropractic 129 medicine, massage therapy, naturopathy, or podiatric medicine. 130 Section 9. Subsection (4) of section 480.034, Florida 131 Statutes, is amended to read: 132 480.034 Exemptions.— 133 (4) An exemption granted is effective to the extent that an 134 exempted person’s practice or profession overlaps with the 135 practice of massage therapy. 136 Section 10. Subsection (2) of section 480.035, Florida 137 Statutes, is amended to read: 138 480.035 Board of Massage Therapy.— 139 (2) Five members of the board shall be licensed massage 140 therapists and shall have been engaged in the practice of 141 massage therapy for not less than 5 consecutive years prior to 142 the date of appointment to the board. The Governor shall appoint 143 each member for a term of 4 years. Two members of the board 144 shall be laypersons. Each board member shall be a high school 145 graduate or shall have received a high school equivalency 146 diploma. Each board member shall be a citizen of the United 147 States and a resident of this state for not less than 5 years. 148 The appointments arewill besubject to confirmation by the 149 Senate. 150 Section 11. Subsection (14) of section 480.043, Florida 151 Statutes, is amended to read: 152 480.043 Massage establishments; requisites; licensure; 153 inspection; human trafficking awareness training and policies.— 154 (14) Except for the requirements of subsection (13), this 155 section does not apply to a physician licensed under chapter 156 457, chapter 458, chapter 459, or chapter 460 who employs a 157 licensed massage therapist to perform massage therapy on the 158 physician’s patients at the physician’s place of practice. This 159 subsection does not restrict investigations by the department 160 for violations of chapter 456 or this chapter. 161 Section 12. Paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (f), (g), (h), (i), 162 and (o) of subsection (1) of section 480.046, Florida Statutes, 163 are amended to read: 164 480.046 Grounds for disciplinary action by the board.— 165 (1) The following acts constitute grounds for denial of a 166 license or disciplinary action, as specified in s. 456.072(2): 167 (a) Attempting to procure a license to practice massage 168 therapy by bribery or fraudulent misrepresentation. 169 (b) Having a license to practice massage therapy revoked, 170 suspended, or otherwise acted against, including the denial of 171 licensure, by the licensing authority of another state, 172 territory, or country. 173 (c) Being convicted or found guilty, regardless of 174 adjudication, of a crime in any jurisdiction which directly 175 relates to the practice of massage therapy or to the ability to 176 practice massage therapy. Any plea of nolo contendere shall be 177 considered a conviction for purposes of this chapter. 178 (f) Aiding, assisting, procuring, or advising any 179 unlicensed person to practice massage therapy contrary tothe180provisions ofthis chapter or to department or boardaruleof181the department or the board. 182 (g) Making deceptive, untrue, or fraudulent representations 183 in the practice of massage therapy. 184 (h) Being unable to practice massage therapy with 185 reasonable skill and safety by reason of illness or use of 186 alcohol, drugs, narcotics, chemicals, or any other type of 187 material or as a result of any mental or physical condition. In 188 enforcing this paragraph, the departmentshall have, upon 189 probable cause, mayauthority tocompel a massage therapist to 190 submit to a mental or physical examination by physicians 191 designated by the department. Failure of a massage therapist to 192 submit to such examination when so directed, unless the failure 193 was due to circumstances beyond her or his control, constitutes 194shall constitutean admission of the allegations against her or 195 him, consequent upon which a default and final order may be 196 entered without the taking of testimony or presentation of 197 evidence. A massage therapist affected under this paragraph 198 shall at reasonable intervals be afforded an opportunity to 199 demonstrate that she or he can resume the competent practice of 200 massage therapy with reasonable skill and safety to clients. 201 (i) Gross or repeated malpractice or the failure to 202 practice massage therapy with that level of care, skill, and 203 treatment which is recognized by a reasonably prudent massage 204 therapist as being acceptable under similar conditions and 205 circumstances. 206 (o) Practicing massage therapy at a site, location, or 207 place which is not duly licensed as a massage establishment, 208 except that a massage therapist, as provided byrules adopted by209theboard rule, may provide massage therapy services, excluding 210 colonic irrigation, at the residence of a client, at the office 211 of the client, at a sports event, at a convention, or at a trade 212 show. 213 Section 13. Section 480.0465, Florida Statutes, is amended 214 to read: 215 480.0465 Advertisement.—Each massage therapist or massage 216 establishment licensed underthe provisions ofthis act shall 217 include the number of the license in any advertisement of 218 massage therapy services appearing in a newspaper, airwave 219 transmission, telephone directory, or other advertising medium. 220 Pending licensure of a new massage establishment pursuant tothe221provisions ofs. 480.043(7), the license number of a licensed 222 massage therapist who is an owner or principal officer of the 223 establishment may be used in lieu of the license number for the 224 establishment. 225 Section 14. Paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of subsection (1) 226 of section 480.047, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 227 480.047 Penalties.— 228 (1) It is unlawful for any person to: 229 (a) Hold himself or herself out as a massage therapist or 230 to practice massage therapy unless duly licensed under this 231 chapter or unless otherwise specifically exempted from licensure 232 under this chapter. 233 (b) Operate any massage establishment unless it has been 234 duly licensed as provided herein, except that nothing herein 235 shall be construed to prevent the teaching of massage therapy in 236 this state at a board-approved massage therapy school. 237 (c) Permit an employed person to practice massage therapy 238 unless duly licensed as provided herein. 239 Section 15. Section 480.052, Florida Statutes, is amended 240 to read: 241 480.052 Power of county or municipality to regulate massage 242 therapy.—A county or municipality, within its jurisdiction, may 243 regulate persons and establishments licensed under this chapter. 244 Such regulation shall not exceed the powers of the state under 245 this act or be inconsistent with this act. This section shall 246 not be construed to prohibit a county or municipality from 247 enacting any regulation of persons or establishments not 248 licensed pursuant to this act. 249 Section 16. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 480.0535, 250 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 251 480.0535 Documents required while working in a massage 252 establishment.— 253 (1) In order to provide the department and law enforcement 254 agencies the means to more effectively identify, investigate, 255 and arrest persons engaging in human trafficking, a person 256 employed by a massage establishment and any person performing 257 massage therapy therein must immediately present, upon the 258 request of an investigator of the department or a law 259 enforcement officer, valid government identification while in 260 the establishment. A valid government identification for the 261 purposes of this section is: 262 (a) A valid, unexpired driver license issued by any state, 263 territory, or district of the United States; 264 (b) A valid, unexpired identification card issued by any 265 state, territory, or district of the United States; 266 (c) A valid, unexpired United States passport; 267 (d) A naturalization certificate issued by the United 268 States Department of Homeland Security; 269 (e) A valid, unexpired alien registration receipt card 270 (green card); or 271 (f) A valid, unexpired employment authorization card issued 272 by the United States Department of Homeland Security. 273 (2) A person operating a massage establishment must: 274 (a) Immediately present, upon the request of an 275 investigator of the department or a law enforcement officer: 276 1. Valid government identification while in the 277 establishment. 278 2. A copy of the documentation specified in paragraph 279 (1)(a) for each employee and any person performing massage 280 therapy in the establishment. 281 (b) Ensure that each employee and any person performing 282 massage therapy in the massage establishment is able to 283 immediately present, upon the request of an investigator of the 284 department or a law enforcement officer, valid government 285 identification while in the establishment. 286 Section 17. Section 627.6407, Florida Statutes, is amended 287 to read: 288 627.6407 Massage.—Any policy of health insurance that 289 provides coverage for massage shall also cover the services of 290 persons licensed to practice massage therapy pursuant to chapter 291 480, where the massage therapy, as defined in chapter 480, has 292 been prescribed by a physician licensed under chapter 458, 293 chapter 459, chapter 460, or chapter 461, as being medically 294 necessary and the prescription specifies the number of 295 treatments. 296 Section 18. Section 627.6619, Florida Statutes, is amended 297 to read: 298 627.6619 Massage.—Any policy of health insurance that 299 provides coverage for massage shall also cover the services of 300 persons licensed to practice massage therapy pursuant to chapter 301 480, where the massage therapy, as defined in chapter 480, has 302 been prescribed by a physician licensed under chapter 458, 303 chapter 459, chapter 460, or chapter 461, as being medically 304 necessary and the prescription specifies the number of 305 treatments. 306 Section 19. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 307 627.736, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 308 627.736 Required personal injury protection benefits; 309 exclusions; priority; claims.— 310 (1) REQUIRED BENEFITS.—An insurance policy complying with 311 the security requirements of s. 627.733 must provide personal 312 injury protection to the named insured, relatives residing in 313 the same household, persons operating the insured motor vehicle, 314 passengers in the motor vehicle, and other persons struck by the 315 motor vehicle and suffering bodily injury while not an occupant 316 of a self-propelled vehicle, subject to subsection (2) and 317 paragraph (4)(e), to a limit of $10,000 in medical and 318 disability benefits and $5,000 in death benefits resulting from 319 bodily injury, sickness, disease, or death arising out of the 320 ownership, maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle as follows: 321 (a) Medical benefits.—Eighty percent of all reasonable 322 expenses for medically necessary medical, surgical, X-ray, 323 dental, and rehabilitative services, including prosthetic 324 devices and medically necessary ambulance, hospital, and nursing 325 services if the individual receives initial services and care 326 pursuant to subparagraph 1. within 14 days after the motor 327 vehicle accident. The medical benefits provide reimbursement 328 only for: 329 1. Initial services and care that are lawfully provided, 330 supervised, ordered, or prescribed by a physician licensed under 331 chapter 458 or chapter 459, a dentist licensed under chapter 332 466, or a chiropractic physician licensed under chapter 460 or 333 that are provided in a hospital or in a facility that owns, or 334 is wholly owned by, a hospital. Initial services and care may 335 also be provided by a person or entity licensed under part III 336 of chapter 401 which provides emergency transportation and 337 treatment. 338 2. Upon referral by a provider described in subparagraph 339 1., followup services and care consistent with the underlying 340 medical diagnosis rendered pursuant to subparagraph 1. which may 341 be provided, supervised, ordered, or prescribed only by a 342 physician licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459, a 343 chiropractic physician licensed under chapter 460, a dentist 344 licensed under chapter 466, or, to the extent permitted by 345 applicable law and under the supervision of such physician, 346 osteopathic physician, chiropractic physician, or dentist, by a 347 physician assistant licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459 or 348 an advanced practice registered nurse licensed under chapter 349 464. Followup services and care may also be provided by the 350 following persons or entities: 351 a. A hospital or ambulatory surgical center licensed under 352 chapter 395. 353 b. An entity wholly owned by one or more physicians 354 licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459, chiropractic 355 physicians licensed under chapter 460, or dentists licensed 356 under chapter 466 or by such practitioners and the spouse, 357 parent, child, or sibling of such practitioners. 358 c. An entity that owns or is wholly owned, directly or 359 indirectly, by a hospital or hospitals. 360 d. A physical therapist licensed under chapter 486, based 361 upon a referral by a provider described in this subparagraph. 362 e. A health care clinic licensed under part X of chapter 363 400 which is accredited by an accrediting organization whose 364 standards incorporate comparable regulations required by this 365 state, or 366 (I) Has a medical director licensed under chapter 458, 367 chapter 459, or chapter 460; 368 (II) Has been continuously licensed for more than 3 years 369 or is a publicly traded corporation that issues securities 370 traded on an exchange registered with the United States 371 Securities and Exchange Commission as a national securities 372 exchange; and 373 (III) Provides at least four of the following medical 374 specialties: 375 (A) General medicine. 376 (B) Radiography. 377 (C) Orthopedic medicine. 378 (D) Physical medicine. 379 (E) Physical therapy. 380 (F) Physical rehabilitation. 381 (G) Prescribing or dispensing outpatient prescription 382 medication. 383 (H) Laboratory services. 384 3. Reimbursement for services and care provided in 385 subparagraph 1. or subparagraph 2. up to $10,000 if a physician 386 licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459, a dentist licensed 387 under chapter 466, a physician assistant licensed under chapter 388 458 or chapter 459, or an advanced practice registered nurse 389 licensed under chapter 464 has determined that the injured 390 person had an emergency medical condition. 391 4. Reimbursement for services and care provided in 392 subparagraph 1. or subparagraph 2. is limited to $2,500 if a 393 provider listed in subparagraph 1. or subparagraph 2. determines 394 that the injured person did not have an emergency medical 395 condition. 396 5. Medical benefits do not include massage therapy as 397 defined in s. 480.033 or acupuncture as defined in s. 457.102, 398 regardless of the person, entity, or licensee providing massage 399 therapy or acupuncture, and a licensed massage therapist or 400 licensed acupuncturist may not be reimbursed for medical 401 benefits under this section. 402 6. The Financial Services Commission shall adopt by rule 403 the form that must be used by an insurer and a health care 404 provider specified in sub-subparagraph 2.b., sub-subparagraph 405 2.c., or sub-subparagraph 2.e. to document that the health care 406 provider meets the criteria of this paragraph. Such rule must 407 include a requirement for a sworn statement or affidavit. 408 409 Only insurers writing motor vehicle liability insurance in this 410 state may provide the required benefits of this section, and 411 such insurer may not require the purchase of any other motor 412 vehicle coverage other than the purchase of property damage 413 liability coverage as required by s. 627.7275 as a condition for 414 providing such benefits. Insurers may not require that property 415 damage liability insurance in an amount greater than $10,000 be 416 purchased in conjunction with personal injury protection. Such 417 insurers shall make benefits and required property damage 418 liability insurance coverage available through normal marketing 419 channels. An insurer writing motor vehicle liability insurance 420 in this state who fails to comply with such availability 421 requirement as a general business practice violates part IX of 422 chapter 626, and such violation constitutes an unfair method of 423 competition or an unfair or deceptive act or practice involving 424 the business of insurance. An insurer committing such violation 425 is subject to the penalties provided under that part, as well as 426 those provided elsewhere in the insurance code. 427 Section 20. Subsection (37) of section 641.31, Florida 428 Statutes, is amended to read: 429 641.31 Health maintenance contracts.— 430 (37) All health maintenance contracts that provide coverage 431 for massage must also cover the services of persons licensed to 432 practice massage therapy pursuant to chapter 480 if the massage 433 is prescribed by a contracted physician licensed under chapter 434 458, chapter 459, chapter 460, or chapter 461 as medically 435 necessary and the prescription specifies the number of 436 treatments. Such massage services are subject to the same terms, 437 conditions, and limitations as those of other covered services. 438 Section 21. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.