AMTA Meets with VA and Medicaid Offices

Veterans Affairs Office of Research

In August, AMTA volunteer and staff representatives met with David Atkins, Veterans Administration Director of Health Services Research & Development and Stephen Marcus, of the Health Science Research & Development Service. They discussed the role of massage therapy in the VA hospital system, as well as how AMTA might assist in key areas, including:

• Helping to identify qualified massage therapists to serve as peer reviewers for VA research
• The role the association can play in providing resources for future research 
• How the association can assist in the ongoing implementation of integrative therapies throughout the VA system

The VA researchers discussed the realm of current research on a variety of services, and how to advance new massage therapy research so it is applicable to a wide range of patients.

Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission

AMTA also recently met with representatives Kate Kirchgraber, Policy Director, and Erin McMullen, Principal Analyst, of the Medicaid & CHIP Payment & Access Commission (MACPAC) in Washington, DC. They discussed the role of massage therapists, current research based on disease and condition, and the role of integrative approaches overall, as well as Medicaid specific information on coverage of massage therapy. The meeting opened the door for further discussion about massage therapy coverage in the future.