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Board committee opens review of ambiguous “Asian massage” term in acupuncture scope
Summary
At a California Acupuncture Board committee meeting, members and stakeholders pressed for clearer language and regulatory or legislative action after long-running confusion over the statutory phrase “Asian massage” and whether it aligns with modern terms such as manual therapy or Tui Na.
At a California Acupuncture Board licensing committee meeting, members of the public and professional groups urged the committee to clarify the statutory phrase “Asian massage,” saying the term confuses providers, payers and patients and hampers reimbursement and consumer understanding.
The discussion centered on whether the phrase in statute — which appears alongside examples such as tui na, shiatsu and acupressure — should be modernized or clarified by regulation or referred to the Legislature. Legal staff and the board’s executive officer said the board can clarify ambiguous terms through regulations but that the legislature sets the statutory scope of practice.
The committee’s chair, Dr. Amy Matecki, said the committee sought input from the profession. “We worked really hard, together, and we really need your input and the support, how we will work on clinical scope practice,” Matecki said. Executive Officer Ben Bodea pointed attendees to existing code language and to the regulatory citation in the materials, noting that the statute lists “Asian massage” and the regulations include manual therapies in education standards: “Asian massage is called out in the board statutes in Business and Professions Code 4937,” Bodea said during the item.
Stakeholders pressed for a modernization of the term. Neil Miller of CalAPMA told the committee he has repeatedly asked what “Asian massage” means and urged the board to work with the profession and the Legislature to replace archaic phrasing with modern terminology such as “manual therapy.” “What is Asian massage?” Miller asked the board during public comment. “Google it — all you get are sexualized images. We need terminology that communicates to other health professionals and patients.”
Marilyn Allen of the American Acupuncture Council said schools and professional stakeholders should be asked to provide a common definition or proposed language so the board can evaluate safety and educational standards before pursuing regulation or recommending statutory change.
Legal counsel and staff described the likely paths forward: regulations to clarify ambiguous statutory language and, where necessary, stakeholder-led legislative proposals to change statutory definitions. Staff reminded attendees that regulatory change requires formal rulemaking and likely interagency review before implementation, and that legislative change requires an author and the usual bill process.
The committee did not take formal action at the meeting. Members and staff repeatedly called for coordinated stakeholder engagement — including education providers, professional associations and public commenters — to develop proposed clarifications and priorities the board could consider for either regulation or supporting legislative sponsorship.
