Comments on: Medical Massage or Not http://thebodyworker.com/massage_blog/medical-massage-or-not/ Massage Therapy Research - The future of the massage profession. Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:42:28 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 By: JM http://thebodyworker.com/massage_blog/medical-massage-or-not/comment-page-1/#comment-1104 JM Sun, 11 May 2008 18:17:24 +0000 http://thebodyworker.com/massage_blog/?p=396#comment-1104 Giving up insurance companies is a fine personal choice if that's what works best for you; the industry as a whole, however, trying to remove ourselves from the system completely is exactly what most insurance companies want: if you're not a part of it, they don't have to pay you anything, and they keep more of the money to themselves. What we need more of is our professional organizations addressing these issues--with PAID governmental reps, instead of volunteers like the AMTA recently put out an ad (people with the five years of experience they require are very unlikely to apply.) We also need to make sure that massage therapy is covered under the governmental plans that are proposed as the starting point for Universal Health Care. Giving up insurance companies is a fine personal choice if that’s what works best for you; the industry as a whole, however, trying to remove ourselves from the system completely is exactly what most insurance companies want: if you’re not a part of it, they don’t have to pay you anything, and they keep more of the money to themselves. What we need more of is our professional organizations addressing these issues–with PAID governmental reps, instead of volunteers like the AMTA recently put out an ad (people with the five years of experience they require are very unlikely to apply.) We also need to make sure that massage therapy is covered under the governmental plans that are proposed as the starting point for Universal Health Care.

]]> By: David Scott Lynn http://thebodyworker.com/massage_blog/medical-massage-or-not/comment-page-1/#comment-1086 David Scott Lynn Thu, 08 May 2008 16:44:35 +0000 http://thebodyworker.com/massage_blog/?p=396#comment-1086 Hi Julie, GREAT ARTICLE! ... And Yes, I am yelling, too. Over ten years ago, I was teaching practice management seminars for massage therapists with my former partner, Linda Calandro, who was an extremely successful NMT practitioner as well as trainer for the St. John NMT Seminar System. Even back then, Linda had many TENS of THOUSANDS of dollars worth of money she could not collect from insurance companies, and she even knew the state-of-the-art techniques for collecting. But for every seminar or book on how to collect from insurance companies, there is AT LEAST one new seminar or book for the insurance companies showing them how to NOT pay you. We were warning massage therapists back then to not get seduced by the mirage of the money train from insurance, and to maintain their professional value on a cash basis. You know your real worth when people hand over cold hard cash for your services. More than a few chiropractors suffered greatly when insurance companies periodically changed the rules on them. Plus, being in the yoga therapy field as well as bodywork, I'm seeing that some yoga teachers inching toward the (downward???) spiral of being seduced by the same idea of insurance company riches. It is so easy to hide behind the idea that EVERYONE could afford massage or yoga if only insurance would pay for it. Well, if you understand the concept of insurance, you will know that it can only be used for severe or catastrophic illness to stay viable. When insurance is used for regular, routine and/or preventive health care, it is only a matter of time before the system becomes insolvent and self-destructs. ESPECIALLY if the government gets involved, which it is. For those who think that nationalized health insurance will solve their problems, all I can say is Good Luck. The problems you site, multiplied by a large number, will be the result. Just look at the quality of care our veterans get at the Veterans Hospitals. The treatment (or lack of it) many of our military service men receive should tell you a lot. (Ron Paul, a physician and congressmen, explains how it should work, and how to fix it.) Thanks for laying out how it currently works (or doesn't work). More people need to know this information, because I think staying out of the clutches of the insurance system (whether "private" or public -- but its almost all corporate now, which is a disastrous hybrid of pseudo-private and public) will help maintain the integrity of the massage profession and individual practitioners as well (and yoga too). It is amazing how human nature can be corrupted, a little bit here, a little bit there, even with the best of intentions. Take Care, David Scott Lynn Hi Julie,

GREAT ARTICLE! … And Yes, I am yelling, too.

Over ten years ago, I was teaching practice management seminars for massage therapists with my former partner, Linda Calandro, who was an extremely successful NMT practitioner as well as trainer for the St. John NMT Seminar System. Even back then, Linda had many TENS of THOUSANDS of dollars worth of money she could not collect from insurance companies, and she even knew the state-of-the-art techniques for collecting. But for every seminar or book on how to collect from insurance companies, there is AT LEAST one new seminar or book for the insurance companies showing them how to NOT pay you.

We were warning massage therapists back then to not get seduced by the mirage of the money train from insurance, and to maintain their professional value on a cash basis. You know your real worth when people hand over cold hard cash for your services. More than a few chiropractors suffered greatly when insurance companies periodically changed the rules on them.

Plus, being in the yoga therapy field as well as bodywork, I’m seeing that some yoga teachers inching toward the (downward???) spiral of being seduced by the same idea of insurance company riches. It is so easy to hide behind the idea that EVERYONE could afford massage or yoga if only insurance would pay for it. Well, if you understand the concept of insurance, you will know that it can only be used for severe or catastrophic illness to stay viable. When insurance is used for regular, routine and/or preventive health care, it is only a matter of time before the system becomes insolvent and self-destructs. ESPECIALLY if the government gets involved, which it is.

For those who think that nationalized health insurance will solve their problems, all I can say is Good Luck. The problems you site, multiplied by a large number, will be the result. Just look at the quality of care our veterans get at the Veterans Hospitals. The treatment (or lack of it) many of our military service men receive should tell you a lot. (Ron Paul, a physician and congressmen, explains how it should work, and how to fix it.)

Thanks for laying out how it currently works (or doesn’t work). More people need to know this information, because I think staying out of the clutches of the insurance system (whether “private” or public — but its almost all corporate now, which is a disastrous hybrid of pseudo-private and public) will help maintain the integrity of the massage profession and individual practitioners as well (and yoga too). It is amazing how human nature can be corrupted, a little bit here, a little bit there, even with the best of intentions.

Take Care,
David Scott Lynn

]]> By: Jody Hutchinson http://thebodyworker.com/massage_blog/medical-massage-or-not/comment-page-1/#comment-1085 Jody Hutchinson Thu, 08 May 2008 15:20:20 +0000 http://thebodyworker.com/massage_blog/?p=396#comment-1085 Medical Massage at first appears attractive as a specialty form of bodywork. There were even some massage educators that claimed "the sky is falling" if we don't all jump on the medical massage gravy train. Well, now a few years later we are seeing the veil pulled away and the reality that it isn't the best decision to "go medical." After a few years of billing insurance on my own, I gave up. More paperwork, less money, slow payment, and the worst part-not being at the head of the decision process for the client. Many PTs and MDs in my state-California-are getting out of the insurance game. Many are not even taking Medicare. Who would want to work at a job that get harder every year and pays less? Not me, thanks. The infighting over medical vs. relaxation massage is not uniting our profession. People selling classes to massage therapists only makes them money. Besides, the number of people without health insurance is growing and I can't see how this makes medical massage attractive. my 2 cents, Jody Hutchinson, nctmb Medical Massage at first appears attractive as a specialty form of bodywork. There were even some massage educators that claimed “the sky is falling” if we don’t all jump on the medical massage gravy train. Well, now a few years later we are seeing the veil pulled away and the reality that it isn’t the best decision to “go medical.”
After a few years of billing insurance on my own, I gave up. More paperwork, less money, slow payment, and the worst part-not being at the head of the decision process for the client.
Many PTs and MDs in my state-California-are getting out of the insurance game. Many are not even taking Medicare. Who would want to work at a job that get harder every year and pays less? Not me, thanks.
The infighting over medical vs. relaxation massage is not uniting our profession. People selling classes to massage therapists only makes them money.
Besides, the number of people without health insurance is growing and I can’t see how this makes medical massage attractive.
my 2 cents,
Jody Hutchinson, nctmb

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