Below is a summary of the latest developments surrounding the CTA and the steps required for compliance:

As you may know, On December 3, 2024, U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant in Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction, temporarily halting the enforcement of the CTA. This injunction was granted on the grounds that the plaintiffs demonstrated a significant likelihood of success in their claim that the CTA violates the Tenth Amendment by infringing upon states' rights (Reuters). Following the decision, the U.S. Department of Justice filed an appeal on December 5, 2024, indicating its intent to challenge the court's decision.

On December 17, 2024, The National Small Business Association (NSBA) successfully secured a one-year delay in the implementation of the CTA’s Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting requirements. This postponement was achieved through a provision in a Continuing Resolution spending bill signed into law that day, funding the government through March 14, 2025.

On December 23, 2024, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the District Court's nationwide preliminary injunction. This decision reinstates the requirement to file Beneficial Ownership Information (B)I) reports. Businesses would have until January 13, 2025, to complete their filings.

On December 26, 2024, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated its earlier decision, reinstating the nationwide injunction. This decision effectively halts the enforcement of the CTA until further notice. 

Finally, on December 27, 2024, FinCEN announced that businesses are no longer required to file BOI reports at this time. While voluntary filings may still be submitted, mandatory compliance is suspended pending further guidance

Because the BOI reporting requirement seems to be changing, almost weekly, due to court challenges, WSMTA suggests that you sign up for alerts directly from FinCEN. Click the link below to see recent Alerts as well as sign up to receive alerts.

https://fincen.gov/boi

WSMTA is committed to Advocating for Massage Therapy in Washington State. To stay informed with essential news for this profession learn more here.

Yet another update to the required BOI reporting with FinCEN!

Updated January 6th, 2025 - In light of a December 23, 2024, federal Court of Appeals decision, reporting companies, with a few exemptions, are once again required to file beneficial ownership information with FinCEN.

Because the BOI reporting requirement seems to be changing, almost weekly, due to court challenges, WSMTA suggests that you sign up for alerts directly from FinCEN.

Please follow this link and you can see the recent Alerts as well as sign up to receive alerts.

https://fincen.gov/boi

This season, small business owners can breathe a sigh of relief (and maybe keep a little more cash in their pockets) thanks to a new federal filing update. Reporting companies are currently not required to file Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) with FinCEN, nor are they subject to liability for failing to do so while this order remains in effect.

On December 3rd, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction against enforcing the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). This ruling questioned the constitutionality of the CTA and highlighted its potential impact on small businesses. The Department of Justice, on behalf of the Department of the Treasury, filed a Notice of Appeal on December 5, 2024. 

Why Was FinCEN Started in the First Place?

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) was created in 1990 as part of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Its goal? To act as a bridge between law enforcement, financial institutions, and regulatory agencies. By gathering and analyzing financial information, FinCEN helps detect and prevent financial crimes like money laundering and terrorist financing, both within the U.S. and globally.

What Does the CTA Require of Businesses?

Under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), certain businesses—mainly corporations, limited liability companies (LLCs), and similar entities registered to operate in the U.S.—Were required to report Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) to FinCEN. This meant disclosing details about individuals who own or control the company.

While the CTA was designed to increase transparency and combat financial crimes, it has raised concerns, especially for small businesses. Many argued that the requirement imposed unnecessary administrative burdens and steep penalties for non-compliance, creating more stress for smaller entities trying to stay afloat. To be clear, there is no fee associated with filing unless a business chooses to hire someone to do the filing for them.

Temporary Relief for Small Businesses

Recently, a court issued an injunction that pauses the enforcement of these reporting requirements. This decision offers temporary relief, allowing small businesses to focus on their day-to-day operations without the added pressure of complying with the BOI filing rules—for now.

The pause gives businesses a breather, but it’s essential to stay updated on further developments, as the situation may change. Although it is not required businesses can voluntarily submit their Beneficial Ownership Information reports. 

What does this mean?

Therefore, the CTA, 31 U.S.C. § 5336 is hereby enjoined. Enforcement of the Reporting Rule, 31 C.F.R. 1010.380 is also hereby enjoined, and the compliance deadline is stayed under § 705 of the APA. Neither may be enforced and reporting companies need not comply with the CTA’s January 1, 2025, BOI reporting deadline pending further order of the Court.

To read the statement: https://www.fincen.gov/boi

WSMTA is committed to Advocating for Massage Therapy in Washington State. To stay informed with essential news for this profession learn more here.

Clinical Practices Program will be hosting a new support group. 

Practice Owners & Management Support Group

Starting Wednesday, November 20th, 7:00–8:30 PM.

Location: Zoom

We will meet every other month.

This support group offers a collaborative space for owners and managers of group clinics to discuss the financial sustainability of their practices, staffing challenges with LMTs, whether employees or independent contractors, and other operational issues.

Bring your questions, share successful strategies, and participate in meaningful discussions aimed at improving business practices. The group also provides a platform for mentoring, resource sharing, and reviewing contracts, helping us to streamline operations and foster growth.

Additionally, members will play a vital role in contributing practice data to support WSMTA's legislative efforts, including creating fair contracts with insurance carriers and advocating for appropriate reimbursement rates. These efforts will be part of the broader Contract Fairness Coalition in collaboration with AMTA-WA and other provider groups.

CE credits are available.

To join or learn more, please contact Susan Rosen at 360-790-9046, (if leaving voicemail, please provide your email address), or email srosen@mywsmta.org.

By: Elizabeth Jane Brooks, LMT, BCTMB

Recently, there has been some concern regarding whether or not non-participating spouses should be included when reporting at least 25% ownership of a business entity for FinCEN. Since WA State is a community property state, the assets acquired during the course of a marriage are generally acknowledged to be equally owned by both spouses. In light of FinCEN reporting, it is then likely that a spouse, even if they have no participation in a business entity, will need to report being a beneficial owner in the business entity. FinCEN has not yet specifically stated this to be the case, but it is implied and clarity is likely coming in the near future. Knowing this, you may want to include community property ownership as additional beneficial owners.

Full FinCEN Reporting article link from April 21, 2024

https://www.mywsmta.org/CPP-News/13346226

Are you looking for a way to give back to/promote the massage profession in Washington State (and make a few bucks on the side)? If you have skills in marketing, business administration, sales or school admissions, then WSMTA is looking for YOU. 

The WSMTA Board of Directors is looking for a Membership Program Director (see position description here, Volunteer Position Descriptions You will be able to help create WSMTA’s Membership Program from the ground up. You will be a primary “face” of the organization, interacting with massage schools, current members and potential members. When certain membership goals are attained there will be a financial benefit for you!

If you are interested in being our Membership Program Director contact Marybeth Berney, WSMTA President, at mberney@mywsmta.org.

If you are curious about joining our band of passionate volunteers in clinical practices, government relations, editing and social media or as a Director– please email info@mywsmta.org and put “volunteer” in the subject line.  

By: Elizabeth Jane Brooks, LMT, BCTMB

What is FinCEN?

Originally established in 1990, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury. Fundamentally, FinCEN is a network connecting law enforcement, financial, and regulatory agencies. Its purpose is to both gather and analyze financial information to fight against financial crimes (such as domestic and international money laundering, and the financing of terrorists).

FinCEN reporting went into effect on January 1, 2024 pursuant to the Corporate Transparency Act. It is important to consider whether your business must file this report regarding Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI).

What types of entities must file the FinCEN BOI report?

There are two steps in deciding whether or not a BOI report needs to be filed.

First, determine the type of entity of your business. Domestic companies that are required to report include corporations, limited liability companies (LLCs), professional limited liability companies (PLLCs), limited partnerships, or any other entity created which was filed with the secretary of state or a similar office. In addition, similar entities formed under the law of a foreign country and registered to do business within the United States are also required to file this report. Moreover, under some circumstances limited liability partnerships and business trusts need to file as well—for this, checking with your accountant is advised.

The second step is checking if your entity is one of the 23 types that are exempt from having to file, although the vast majority of massage practices will not qualify for these exemptions. (www.fincen.gov/boi-faqs). FinCEN provides a useful Exemptions Checker Tool to assess your qualification (www.fincenfetch.com/boi-report-exemptions/).

Important dates to c  onsider

If your company was created or registered prior to January 1, 2024, you will have until January 1, 2025, to file your initial BOI report. However, if your company was created or registered anytime in 2024, you will have just 90 days to file your initial report after receiving notice that your business entity is legally recognized. This is important as you may be liable for significant penalties (and possibly even jail time) when failing to comply with the registration requirements. This can include filing false information or filing incomplete information. If you have missed a deadline for filing you may be able to explain your reasons and get a reduced penalty.

Additional links:

For more information: https://www.fincen.gov/

To file your report online: https://boiefiling.fincen.gov/

Filing dates graphic: https://www.fincen.gov/sites/default/files/shared/BOI_Reporting_Filing_Dates-Published03.24.23_508C.pdf

A YouTube walkthrough for online reporting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xOsSiQI-C8

Elizabeth Jane Brooks, LMT, BCTMB

WSMTA Board Director

Clinical Practices Committee

Washington State Massage Therapy Association

Visit us at: mywsmta.org

We wanted to give you a heads up as the 2024 Legislative session grows closer (session begins 1/8/2024) that we will likely be reaching out to you to answer A Call to Action about one bill for sure.

The “for sure bill" is, HB1655 (and its Senate companion) An act relating to provider contract compensation. Informally this bill has been referred to as the COLA bill. If passed it would require health carriers to adjust reimbursements for those providers not affiliated with hospitals or their affiliates (think LMTs and Chiropractors as well as others) at the same level as the cost of living. To see more about the 2023 history of this bill click here. https://www.mywsmta.org/CPP-News/13245226

WSMTA works for YOU, licensed massage therapists in Washington state, Advocating for Massage Therapy as a Recognized and Respected Health Care Profession. Stay tuned!

A WSMTA Clinical Practices Committee member, Julie Johnson, conducted an all-volunteer audit of the Regence Provider Directory from all over Washington. We wanted to have a focused effort to confirm what we’ve been hearing for years from our members and clients/patients – the medical insurance directories are inaccurate. With seventeen LMT volunteers (THANK YOU!), we could only confirm 176 individual licensed massage therapists out of 1078 directory listings were actively taking Regence in November of 2022. To read about the audit, our findings and what the OIC said, check out our article Massage Therapy Insurance Provider Directory Audit (link to https://www.mywsmta.org/page-1075480)

Julie Johnson, LMT, ACOM
Clinical Practices Committee
jjohnson@mywsmta.org
 
Washington State Massage Therapy Association
Visit us at: mywsmta.org

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New LMT Support Group starting in November:

Many of us are working in isolation. Even in clinics with multiple practitioners, schedules usually leave little opportunity to connect with other therapists. WSMTA’s Clinical Practices Program will start offering monthly meetings to inform, discuss, vent, problem solve, and support each other. Meetings will happen on Zoom on the 1st Monday of each month, starting November 6th 2023, from 7 to 8:30pm.

Meetings are open to members, and non-members. Depending on topics, CE credits will be available for free to WSMTA members.  Non-members may join WSMTA to receive free credit as well.

Please email Dagmar Growe at dgrowe@mywsmta.org to receive the zoom link before the meeting. Due to a prolonged absence, expect to receive the zoom link the day before the meeting.

WSMTA Clinical Practices Program also offers “Best Practices”, a support group for therapists and clinic owners which takes place every other month Wednesday 8 - 9am. Please email srosen@mywsmta.org if you would like to be included on the invitation list. These meetings are held on Zoom.

By Dagmar Growe, LMT

When WSMTA was founded in 2015, two of our goals were to work with insurance companies toward making processes less cumbersome for LMTs and patients, and to work toward a badly needed increase in reimbursement rates. Most of our founding members had been around since the late 1990s when insurance companies sought out their advice on how to implement the new requirements to cover massage therapy and we were hoping to build on those relationships.

Almost immediately after our founding, we had to face some difficult facts, WSMTA learned that advocating for a rate increase as an organization would be a violation of antitrust law. We also learned that insurance companies were not at all interested in communicating with anyone to help solve problems with procedures. Provider reps changed frequently so we were not able to build consistent relationships. Supervisors made themselves unavailable. In fact, with some health insurance companies, it seemed that not resolving problems was part of a strategy to discourage enrollees from using benefits, and to encourage massage therapists to withdraw from networks.

WSMTA had to change strategies, so we started to focus on alternative payment options and the issue of provider network adequacy - or the lack thereof. We focused on the following:

• Educating massage therapists about accessing patient benefits and payment through their flexible health savings accounts.

• Encouraging massage therapists to do a cost analysis so that individual businesses could assess if being a provider for a health insurance company was economically viable for their business.

• Educating massage therapists about contract violations. For contracted providers, it will generally be a contract violation to deny appointments to insured patients while offering them to non-insured clients.  We encouraged massage therapists to choose between either honoring their contracts or canceling them in order to avoid violations.

• Encouraging massage therapists to have their patients complain to their HR Departments and the Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) if they were unable to obtain treatment in a reasonable timeframe.

• Conducting an audit last fall, with a handful of dedicated volunteers, of one insurance company’s massage therapy provider directory.  WSMTA found that the directory was inflated due to duplicate provider listings, listings of providers no longer contracted or not taking insurance any more, and retired LMT’s. We shared our findings with that insurance company, the OIC, and all legislative representatives on healthcare committees. And, we informed a number of other companies that we were planning on conducting similar audits of their directories.

And finally, this summer, everyone’s efforts have started bearing some fruit. After years of mainly decreasing rates, Kaiser announced a rate increase. Regence has also announced a rate increase, (although they moved all 3 CPT codes that LMTs were using to the same reimbursement level so therapists who were eligible to use and have been using 97112 will not see much of an increase). 

We are proud of this achievement which is shared by WSMTA and all massage therapists who did their own homework, said no to unsustainable rates and decided for themselves what worked best for their business. For many, this meant taking what could feel like a risky step by canceling their contracts rather than continuing to hold out in hopes that things might somehow get better on their own. Thank you also to massage therapy patients who lobbied their insurance carriers to increase treatment access. It is our hope that the remaining health insurance companies will realize that they cannot find providers unless they are willing to reimburse us at an acceptable rate.

These changes did not happen because insurance companies saw the light and wanted us to receive fair pay. It happened because LMT’s educated themselves and took action. Thank you to all of you who have worked behind the scenes for these changes. And, if you are not yet a member of WSMTA, I do encourage you to join today both as a member and a volunteer. Improvements happen, but they do not happen unless we are willing to fight for them!

• In the 2023 legislative session, the Washington State Chiropractor’s Association (WSCA) helped to initiate and heavily pursued HB1655, the Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) bill, which would require health insurers to include a COLA increase in provider fee schedules for those not attached to hospitals or hospital affiliates.
• When WSCA put out the call to action to its membership to get involved, WSMTA picked up on the information and passed it forward to massage therapists in our state, but it was too late in the process to provide any substantial support.
• Although the bill was well-received; there just was not enough grassroots support for it to move out of committee.
• In the 2024 legislative session, WSCA will be seeking a companion bill in the Senate to increase the chances of success for COLA as well as pursuing it again in the House.
• Currently, massage therapists are in a different place than chiropractors.  Recently, health insurance companies have made substantial improvements to reimbursement rates for massage therapy services.  However, chiropractors have not had any substantial change for about 20 years.
• Over the next several months we will keep massage therapists updated about COLA as well as to provide recommendations on what massage therapists can do to promote COLA with legislators.
• For information about the 2023 COLA bill, just click on this link:  https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1655&Year=2023