health care environments? Key Findings: · The health care industry is projected to become the largest employment sector of the US economy. · Ninety-six percent of massage therapists think that massage should be considered a part of health care. · Forty-nine percent of Americans who got a massage in the 12 months ending June 2020 got their last massage for a health or wellness reason. · Consumers are going to many different sorts of locations, even spas or massage franchises for pain relief/pain management issues. · Seventy-six percent of Americans would like their health care plan to cover massage. These questions will be answered: 3A. Is the health care industry growing? 3B. What do massage therapists think about health care integration? 3C. How are consumers using massage as part of an integrated approach to health care? 3D. What changes are occurring with massage and insurance? 47 3A. Is the health care industry growing?13 Health care continues to be the fastest growing segment of the U.S. economy. · Health care positions are expected to have the fastest job growth and add the most job growth between 2019 and 2029. Health care is projected to surpass state and local government during the decade as the largest employment sector of the US economy. · Between 2019 and 2029, nearly 1 in 4 new jobs will be in health care support occupations, health care practitioners, or technical occupations around health care. These sectors will add an estimated 2.4 million jobs to the economy in the coming years. · Consumer spending on health care increased 4.6% from 2018 to 2019, to $11,582 per person. Health care spending comprised 17.7% of Gross Domestic Product or GDP in 2019. Of all health care spending, 61% is hospital care, physician and clinical services, and prescription drug purchases.14 · Continued increases in both the overall size of the health care industry and in consumer spending on health care demonstrate increased demand for health care related products and services. These trends are expected to continue as the U.S. population ages, leading to a greater demand for all health care services. 48 3B. What do massage therapists think about health care integration? Massage therapists continue to support integration of massage therapy into health care7 Ninety-six percent of massage therapists think that massage should be considered part of health care. Therapists indicated the following as the most important ways to accomplish this integration. See Figure 32 for more information. Figure 32. Therapist preference for health care integration 33% 31% 15% 11% 7% 3% Integrating Massage into Health Care Part of healthcare team with other CAM practitioners Prescribed or referred by healthcare provider Part of healthcare team within hospital Massage available in hospitals Billed to 3rd party insurance Billed to cash clients Highlights from Figure 32 The most prevalent way therapists would want to see integration into healthcare is through being a part of a healthcare team with other CAM practitioners. Additionally, 58% of therapists believe that the massage therapy profession is respected by traditional health care providers, versus 22% who feel it is not respected. 49 AMTA support of integration of massage and health care AMTA continues to expand its relationships so that massage therapy is recognized as a significant contributor to the field of health care. The association’s efforts include public education on the efficacy of massage therapy and the professionalism of AMTA members; ongoing partnerships to advance massage therapy education and standards; expanding relations with a variety of health care associations/stakeholders to build respect for the profession; engaging state and federal government agencies and organizations to increase opportunities for continued integration of massage therapy into health care; and advancing massage therapy research through the association’s support of the Massage Therapy Foundation. Despite the challenges that 2020 presented, AMTA continued to move the needle in support and promotion of the integration of massage therapy as part of the healthcare system. AMTA’s efforts in 2020 to achieve these goals included the following measures: · In August, AMTA submitted a joint letter to the House of Representative’s Energy & Commerce Committee encouraging hearings on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Pain Task Force and adoption of legislation to promote massage as well as other integrative therapies. · In June, AMTA submitted a letter to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as part of a the CDC’s Request for Comment on Management of Acute and Chronic Pain addressing the efficacy of massage therapy as a non-pharmacological approach to pain management. · In May, on behalf of AMTA as a representative of the massage therapy profession, Massage Therapy Foundation President Doug Nelson served as a panelist at the Alliance to Advance Comprehensive Integrative Pain Management (AACIPM). In the virtual symposium, Nelson presented on the value of massage therapy in an integrative care environment. Additional presenters and attendees included the Veteran’s Administration, Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS), United Health Care, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and the