American Massage Therapy Association^®

AMTA Massage CPT Code Proposal to be Reworked

Evanston, IL (February 8, 2005) – The American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) has withdrawn its first proposal to the American Medical Association (AMA) requesting two new evaluation and re-evaluation insurance codes be added to the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code book. The chair of the Healthcare Professionals Advisory Committee (AMA HCPAC), recommended AMTA revisit the proposal, because it “did not demonstrate that the clinical efficacy of the service/procedure had been well documented.” Therefore, AMTA’s Special Committee on CPT codes will be developing an action plan to meet criteria for a revised recommendation to HCPAC.

“We recognize that the process for new CPT codes takes time,” said Whitney Lowe, AMTA’s representative to HCPAC. “This delays things, but doesn’t stop them. In many ways, the response indicates some respect for massage therapy,” he said.

The HCPAC approach is in keeping with a recent Institute of Medicine Report on CAM Use in the United States, released on January 12, 2005. The IOM report speaks to a set of principles that apply not only to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), but to all research. This has elevated the discussion of CAM beyond the advocacy and skepticism that has long hampered the evolution of CAM science. The conclusion that CAM research should be held to the same rigorous standards as conventional medicine will further the scientific investigation of this new field, increase its legitimacy as a research area, and ultimately improve public health, and, AMTA believes, be beneficial for massage therapists.

Specifically, the IOM stated:

“The committee recommends that the same principles and standards of evidence of treatment effectiveness apply to all treatments, whether currently labeled as conventional medicine or CAM. Implementing this recommendation requires that investigators use and develop as necessary, common methods, measures, and standards for the generation and interpretation of evidence necessary for making decisions about the use of CAM and conventional therapies.”

AMTA will continue its process of working for CPT codes specific for massage therapy, knowing that it will take time and patience to negotiate everything needed to develop a positive result for massage therapists.

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