Seattle Massage News

Insurance companies continue to closely monitor reimbursements for massage treatments. I've got a couple of patients whose payments have been suspended until they file an appeal. All of these appeals (and other disputes/issues with insurance companies) keep coming back to the same issues: medical necessity and treatment plans. To help both my patients and me avoid bureaucratic hassles down the road, I will now require (in addition to the usual prescription or referral) a statement of medical necessity and a "formal, written treatment plan" (that's the language in most policies now) from your doctor before beginning medical massage treatments. The quickest way to take care of this is to have your doctor use the "Massage Therapy Referral / Prescription / Treatment Plan" form available on the Seattle massage referral info page my web site. This one form includes all three elements: prescription/referral, statement of medical necessity, and a treatment plan.