There are some important questions to ask your insurance company. Contact a representative through the customer service number (usually on the back of your insurance card). Ask specific questions such as: 

*Does my plan cover massage therapy? 

*Will I need a doctor's referral note to receive massage therapy? 

*What kind of doctor can give this prescription/referral? 

*Does my prescription/referral for massage need to have a particular diagnosis (such as “back pain”) or diagnosis code number? 

*How many massages can I get per year? 

*Do I have any limitations on the number of visits per week or length of time for each visit (for example -60 min or 90 min) ? 

*If your insurance rep says each visit is limited to a certain number of “billing units”, ask what that means. Usually one billing unit is 15 minutes. 60 min massages are 4 billing units and 90 minutes = 6 billing units.  Some insurance companies will only pay for 30 min massages at 2 billing units. 

*Ask financially related questions like: Is there a co-pay (price paid at time of session by the client/patient to the therapist.) Is there a deductible in my policy, and how much? 

*If this is a Workman’s Comp or Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA) claim- is there an expiration date or end date on my claim? 

Say you’re having muscle pain and, based on your lifestyle, pain history and research, you think massage therapy is a reasonable option. Describe all of this clearly to your doctor. 

For example: “I have low back pain. I work very hard and I’m in pain all the time. My pain is limiting my activities of daily living (ADLs) like bathing, dressing, driving, brushing my hair, picking up my kids, walking, etc. and that the pain levels are constant and frequently very high (5+ out of 10). I’d like to try massage therapy based on what I’ve read about its benefits for acute and chronic pain, and I’d like a licensed massage therapist to help me figure out why it’s happening and correct it. If it doesn’t improve, then I’d like to talk about pain medication options. Would you recommend this for me?” 

Depending on your situation, your doctor likely will be open to prescribing massage. Licensed therapeutic massage is safe and non-addictive, and medical research consistently supports its effectiveness as a pain-management treatment. 

Ask your doctor to prescribe massage for the most general diagnosis possible and ask for a prescription that doesn’t specify the frequency and number of massages. 

A prescription of massage therapy for “muscle pain” allows a licensed therapist to adjust treatment to your problem more easily and quickly. For example, you may have pain in your left ankle, but it later turns out that your ankle pain resulted from lower back pain you’ve been compensating for over time. 

A less specific number and frequency of massages will give you and your therapist more time to discover the origins of your issues and ample treatment time to address everything from a holistic body perspective.

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**All workman’s comp and MVA claims will require a Dr. note/referral for treatment. Authorization time is very quick, however, so call today to be seen soon!