OTTAWA,
ON, June 24, 2024 /CNW/ - According to a
recent survey conducted by Ipsos, almost all Canadians (96%) want
employee health insurance plans to cover a range of treatments.
Nine in ten would want to have access to Athletic Therapy if they
got injured (89%) and think Athletic Therapy should be added to the
options covered by employee health insurance plans (91%). The
Canadian Athletic Therapists Association (CATA) is launching a
campaign to help ensure that happens.
The Move Freely | Live Fully campaign is about increasing access
to Athletic Therapy, a form of physical therapy that focuses on
getting people who have been injured back to fully functional as
quickly as possible.
"Athletic Therapy is for everybody who has a body and needs to
use it. It's for everybody who wants to get back to fully
functional (at work, at home and at play)," says Mélanie
Levac, Executive Director of CATA. "Some people think of Athletic
Therapy as being for elite athletes, and it is, but it's also for
their moms, friends and neighbours. We think, and Canadians agree,
that Canadian employees should have access to Athletic Therapy as
part of a personalized treatment plan that is covered by their
employer benefit plan and can be claimed on their income
taxes."
Findings from the Ipsos survey:
- Almost half of Canadians (47%) say they have been injured in a
way that impedes or has impeded them from being fully functional at
work, at home or at play.
- Canadians are nearly unanimous that different forms of physical
therapy are important to maintaining or returning to good physical
health (96% agree).
- Roughly the same proportion agree that, when injured, it is
important that people can access a personalized treatment plan that
helps them recover from injury as quickly as possible (97%
agree).
- Canadians are nearly unanimous that it is important for
employer health plans to cover a range of treatments, so that
employees can access the treatment that works best for them (96%
agree).
- Once it is described to them,1 nine in ten say
Athletic Therapy should be added to the options available in
employer health insurance plans (91% agree).
- Nine in ten say people should be able to obtain a medical
expense tax credit for Athletic Therapy, just as they do for other
types of physical therapy (92% agree).
With its Move Freely | Live Fully campaign, CATA is seeking to
create equitable access to Athletic Therapy across Canada by advocating for its inclusion in
employee benefit plans and for the addition of Certified Athletic
Therapists to the Canada Revenue Agency's schedule of authorized
medical practitioners for the purposes of the medical expense tax
credit.
ABOUT THE CANADIAN ATHLETIC THERAPISTS
ASSOCIATION
CATA is the certifying and governing body for
Certified Athletic Therapists practicing in Canada. Established in 1965 by a group of ATs
working with professional hockey and football teams, CATA now
represents over 3000 members. CATA is dedicated to the advancement
and growth of the Athletic Therapy profession through advocacy,
education, and research.
Website: https://movefreelylivefully.ca/
CATA Website: https://athletictherapy.org/
IPSOS Findings:
https://www.ipsos.com/en-ca/majority-of-canadians-would-want-have-access-athletics-therapy-if-they-got-injured
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/movefreelylivefully
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MoveFreelyLiveFully/
LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/move-freely-live-fully/
X: https://x.com/MoveFreelyCA
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1 Athletic
Therapy is a form of physical therapy that is focussed on getting
people who have been injured back to fully functional as quickly as
possible. Athletic therapists adhere to the Sports Medicine Model
of care. They treat a wide range of patients, from kids with
concussions to seniors recovering from hip replacement surgery,
using various manual therapies, modalities, exercise prescription
and even bracing and taping. The treatment varies but the objective
doesn't: an Athletic Therapist's goal is to help clients return to
their usual activities, whether that means playing competitive
sports or walking to the mailbox and back.
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SOURCE Canadian Athletic Therapists Association