Did you receive your official message from the California Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC) regarding a $100 certification fee increase? CAMTC deceptively worded its email; ABMP would like to clarify CAMTC’s misleading information and offer you advocacy next steps.
Your Fee Increase
CAMTC’s correspondence states that “the Board approved a fee increase of $50 a year to be Certified” (emphasis added). The announcement is crafted to make the increase appear to be only $50, because you renew every two years. The full increase is $100, a 50 percent markup from the previous $200. With the new $300 renewal fee, CAMTC’s annual revenue from these fees will grow to $7 million.
Notably, the CAMTC email isn’t upfront and transparent about the fee increase. Rather, that information is only available after clicking the link in the following sentence: “Please go here for the current fee schedule: https://www.camtc.org/camtc-fee-schedule/.”
Your Next Steps—Contact Your Legislators
Now is the perfect time to contact your legislators before the California 2023 legislative session begins January 4, 2023, as it is unlikely that CAMTC will acknowledge your comments and concerns. Find your assemblyperson and senator by entering your address here. Your legislators are likely unaware of CAMTC’s actions and the financial ramifications. If you have already sent comments to CAMTC regarding its fee increase, forward those to your legislators, explaining how this affects you.
ABMP encourages you to contact your legislators if you think the $100 fee increase is unjust, believe the meeting process was poorly conducted, and feel CAMTC should take corrective action. This is an opportunity to advocate for yourself and your fellow massage therapists, to tell your story in your words about how this affects you, fellow California massage professionals, and ultimately massage consumers throughout the state. CAMTC’s action is a classic example of using market power to force through a 50 percent cost increase, thus adding to inflation, pushing you to increase charges for your services.
It is most efficient to fax legislators if you have access to a fax machine. If you do not have access to a fax machine, mail or email your legislators. Or, you can do all three. It takes a groundswell to get legislators interested in this issue. Be respectful of your legislative audience and thank them for their time.
Again, we ask that when writing legislators to also please copy gr@abmp.com. We appreciate your advocacy.