Massage Therapy FAQ

Bodywork offers a drug-free, non-invasive and humanistic approach based on the body's natural ability to heal itself. Massage therapy has physiological effects such as:

• Increased circulation allows for more oxygen and nutrients into vital organs and tissues.
• Relaxing and softening injured and overused muscles.
• Reducing spasms and cramping.
• Increasing joint flexibility.
• Releasing endorphins, the body's natural painkiller.

Please arrive at least ten minutes before your scheduled appointment time in order to ensure a full massage and/or personal training session.
• You may cancel your appointment without charge 24 hours before your appointment. • Same day cancellations will be charged 100% of the scheduled service price. A prepaid massage, personal training or group fitness session may be forfeited. • If you do not call to cancel your appointment or do not show up for your scheduled appointment, you will be charged full price for the scheduled service. • To cancel or reschedule and appointment please call the office at 810-844-1283. Social Media and Email is not an appropriate form of cancellation.

Special arrangements can be made if prepaying for a quantity of 5 or more. Price will be determined based on the service that is provided. This offer is not valid with any other special, of discount pricing. Volume packages will expire 90 days from time of purchase. A punch card will be given at time of purchase

TAB Massage and Fitness practices a safe and ethical business. We do not force any client to be fully nude. We leave the decision entirely up to the client. However, we do ask that you limit clothing to undergarments. The bodywork having the ability to work on bare flesh will enhance the effects and benefits of the massage experience. Our focus is to provide a safe, comfortable, relaxing environment for our clients.

Make yourself comfortable. Most people just close their eyes and drift off to sleep. Others like to talk during the session. It is entirely up to you, and please feel free to ask questions about massage therapy in general or about the particular technique you are receiving.

It is not uncommon to feel sore after a massage therapy session. We urge you to stretch, use a sauna, and get plenty of rest. It is also important to drink lots of fluid, water is recommended. This is to ensure that all the toxins that have been released will be flushed out. If for any reason, you have pain that is lingering from the massage therapy service that was rendered please consult with your therapist for any further information.

Tipping is entirely voluntary. It is considered to be an outward way of expressing inside gratitude. On average, tipping ranges from 15-20% of the service.

Will my Insurance Cover Massage Therapy?
If I had a dollar for every time I have been asked this question in my 13 years of practice, I'd be rich:
"Do you take insurance?"

The easiest response to this question is not whether we accept your insurance, it is whether your insurance covers massage therapy. It is easy for you to call your customer service phone number located on your insurance card and request information on massage therapy coverage. (Please see detailed explanation on verifying your benefits below) There are several different types of insurance. Each insurance company and each policy have different rules and conditions for if when and how they will pay for massage.
The types of insurances that may pay for massage are
Major Medical PPO (i.e.. Blue Cross, Aetna, Humana, etc.)
Auto Mobile Insurance (PIP)
Workman’s Comp

The a few providers that usually do not pay for massage are
HMO’s
Medicare and
Medicaid

Verifying Your Benefits

Q: How do I find out if I have coverage?
A: Phone the insurance company directly. And ask

• Do I have massage therapy benefits?
• Do I have a deductible? Have I met it yet? Is it per calendar year (ie: January-December)?
• Is there a limit to the number of visits I can receive?
• Is there a maximum dollar amount per year that my plan will pay towards this treatment?
• What percentage does my insurance cover?
• Do I have a co-pay for each visit?
• Do I need a prescription from my doctor or chiropractor to make the visit medically necessary?
• Do I need a referral from my doctor, or am I a part of a Preferred Provider Organization-PPO? (A prescription and a referral are NOT the same thing. There are very few insurance companies that do not require a prescription.)
• Do I have out-of-network benefits for massage therapy?

Knowing the answers to these questions can prevent any misunderstanding of your benefits and unexpected bills.

We will work with you determine if your insurance company will or will not cover your massage therapy treatment and give you two filing & submission options.

Two Options
1. You submit your own forms and paperwork

• You verify your benefits on your own
• You pay the regular price at the time of service - (even with your FSA or HSA money)
• We issue you a receipt
• You file the forms with your insurance company
• Reimbursement from your insurance company is usually less that what was paid
• This is for our regular massages

2. We submit your forms and paper work (a prescription from a Doctor may be required)

• We confirm your verification of benefits
• You pay the regular price at the time of service (even with your FSA or HSA money)
• You may need to provide us with a prescription from a Doctor or Chiropractor
• We fill out the forms and submit them to the insurance company
• We reimburse you when we are paid, typically for the full amount paid at the time of service.
• A prescription is usually required
• This is for our medical massage

Pre-approval
Once T.A.B. Massage has received the verification of benefits form you filled out, we will contact your insurance company and ask for pre-approval along with your insurance company's coverage guidelines.

The Prescription
If your policy requires a prescription or if you want us to submit the billing, you will need to have the following information on your prescription from your Doctor.

• Diagnosis codes
• Frequency of Treatments
• Total Number of Treatments
• Name and UPIN# (Doctor's ID #)
• State That Massage Therapy is Medically Necessary.
• Once we have received the verification of benefits form you filled out, we will contact your insurance company and ask for pre-approval along with your insurance company's coverage guidelines.

Financial Policy
The client pays T.A.B. Massage and Fitness, Inc at the time of service, and the client then submits the therapist's bill to the insurance company for reimbursement. Or the client pays T.A.B. Massage and Fitness, Inc at the time of service and we reimburse you when we receive payment from the insurance company. With either option payment is due at the time of service.
You CAN use your HSA (Health Saving Account) or FSA (Flex Spending Account) dollars here for your massage therapy

Q. What is medical massage?
A. Medical massage is clinical massage based on a physician's prescription, and performed with a specific goal for functional outcome. It is generally prescribed as a series of visits over a specified period of time - such as twice a week for six weeks, with work only to the diagnosed area. It is sometimes paid for by a third party, such as an insurance company.

EXPLANATION OF TERMS
Please read the explanations about the terms used and gain helpful advice in gathering information about your massage therapy benefits:
Deductible: The initial amount that must be paid out-of-pocket before insurance pays.

Co-Pay: An out-of-pocket fee to be paid to your service provider at the time of each service.

Coinsurance: After a deductible has been met, there is a coinsurance percentage. This number tells you what percent of the service your insurance company will pay for (up to an allowable amount). Many insurance plans will cover 100% after you've received a certain dollar amount in services (this is called a stop loss).

Allowable amount: This is a predetermined amount that your insurance is willing to pay for any given service.
Out-of-pocket expenses: This is a general term for anything left unpaid by your insurance company, including: deductibles, co-pay, and coinsurance.

Preferred Provider: This is what insurance calls their contracted providers. In order to become a preferred provider, health care practitioners must fill out an application and go through a rigorous screening process.

In-Network: This is another term for a preferred provider, meaning that the given provider is working in that insurance company's network.

Out-of-Network: This is a term for practitioners who are not preferred providers, or rather who have not been contracted your insurance company. Many insurance companies allow for their members to receive treatment from out-of-network providers under certain plans.

Explanation of Benefits (EOB): Whenever your provider bills your insurance company for a service, your insurance company will send you an explanation of benefits. This paper briefly explains what has been billed and how much was or was not covered and why.

PIP and Workman’s Comp.

In addition to insurance, we also bill for Personal Injury Protection (PIP) claims and Workman’s Comp claims. The process for these are a little bit different, but, again, we'll do all of the researching and billing for you. With a PIP and Workman’s comp claim, you'll have an adjustor assigned to your case. The adjustor is the person in charge of managing your claim, and whom we'll work with directly in order to make sure you get the paid treatment that you need. Most PIP and Workman’s comp claims will remain open until you've reached the dollar limit for treatment, you are no longer affected by your injuries, or your claim becomes dated.

We do offer in-home massage therapy services to qualified clients only. We ask that you come in for an initial interview and consultation and complete at a minimum two(2) sessions at our office. This is to ensure the safety of our therapists. We also require the service to be paid in full by credit card before the scheduled appointment. We will add an additional $20 on to each service for commute, set-up and tear down. Our in-home service area is 15 miles from our main office, 4336 E. Grand River, Howell, MI 48843. Anything outside of that 15 mile radius will incur $5.00 surcharge plus $.50 per mile.

Massage therapy and bodywork services are dependent on the severity of your ailment. Frequency could range from once a week to once every 3 months. As a basic recommendation, once a month would be beneficial to help keep your muscles structure in balance.

Massage therapy and bodywork services are taxing on your body. Muscles are manipulated at levels beyond normal daily activity. During your service, your body goes into a state of relaxation leaving your post service experience slightly disoriented. There are also toxins that are released into your blood stream as well during the massage service. These toxins can cause the groggy feeling, and should be flushed from your system by consuming 64-128 oz of water post service.

Yes, we do offer pre-natal massage therapy for expecting mothers.