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My Challenge to the Massage Profession Defining Massage Therapy I am writing this to voice my concerns regarding the issues that are related to billing insurance companies for massage therapy services.Here in WA State we are allowed to become contracted providers with Health Insurance companies under the "Every Category Law" that was enacted by the insurance commissioners office in 1996. While we want our profession to be recognized by the medical profession, this has been a mixed blessing. As a result of being able to become providers, we have seen the following restrictions and effects of such a privilege:
The source of the problem stems in the way we define ourselves. There is no concrete definition that encompasses everything we do. The insurance companies are now deciding that for us because we have been to resistant to defining our work ourselves. The new "medical massage practitioner" that is also being created by training programs and associations is also threatening to further divide the profession. Relaxation massage and other therapies will be discriminated against and restricted from billing insurance companies. The problem is again in our definition of massage. If medical means the ability to work with insurance companies by proving medical necessity and showing results, we will be shooting ourselves in the foot if relaxation massage is not included in this category. One day we will need it when massage becomes part of wellness plans and is used in the preventative manner that we all know and believe in. The definition of Massage needs to include all touch therapies and related therapies. Just look at the different ways we have been defined by the various states. There is little consensus on what we do - which is allow the client/patient to feel. What we do no matter what technique we use is touch people. Limiting the definition of medical massage by the technique or training we have will take away the publics freedom of access of the many different therapies that are all beneficial. The truth is health insurance companies bottom line is to make money and attempt to provide a service to its members. If you have had to search for your own personal health insurance you will also see that the benefits are constantly being reduced and the fees increased. While they say they respect our work, they still are unable to show it by paying us what we charge. Do we even want to get involved in such networks and in the insurance world that is crumbling around us or do we want to stand up and really make a difference in the world by creating our own destiny and supporting clients health? My challenge for the profession is to create a definition of massage therapy that includes every different technique under the sun, so that none of our work will be lost to insurance companies and money. We have the opportunity to step out of the big box and work to co-create the direction of the profession. We don't need to play the insurance game.
Robert Calvert defines massage More on the every category law. American Medical massage defines massage.
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