Medical Insurance – Why I’m No Longer Taking It

In early 2018 I, and thus Bellingham Massage Clinic, stopped taking all major medical insurances (this does exclude PIP insurance which a person uses when they are in a car accident – I still bill this insurance!). It was a hard but necessary decision. For the previous few years the administrative work involved in billing …

Be Consistent and Patient

When healing from  injuries, it’s not uncommon to hit a point at which one’s patience runs out. Pain should be gone, soft tissue should be healed already! Feelings of frustration and impatience are normal. However, the reality is that the body needs time. This is especially true is you are healing from a repetitive strain injury. …

Get better sleep!

Most people have heard that sleep is important. In spite of this, many of us continue to survive on less than adequate sleep. If a problem isn’t immediately apparent, everything is fine right? Not necessarily. In June of this year Dr. Kirk Parsley M.D. spoke at TEDxReno, covering the importance of sleep. He touched on how …

Sitting – To worry or not to worry?

In the last few months there has been a lot of attention given to what a terrible effect sitting can have on your health. In fact, there were claims that it’s as bad for your health as smoking. Certainly, it makes sense that sitting for long periods without a break could be a problem. However, …

Massage Continuing Education – Recent research and massage therapy

Continuing education is an important part of being a healthcare provider. Just as important is keeping up on the most recent research in one’s field. I was lucky enough to be able to take a class on massage research in early April. The class was amazing! It was so fantastic that it didn’t matter that …

Changes in insurances

Billing insurance is a continual learning process. I have been lucky in that I haven’t had to deal with too many issues. However, there are some things to keep in mind if you are pursuing using your insurance for massage. As always it fully depends on your insurance company. Regence requires preauthorization for massage (and …

Insurance Billing – Part 3 – Insurances Rates

In Part 1 of insurance billing I mentioned a scenario where fictitious LMP, Sally, billed $120 per massage and the insurance only allowed $58 to be paid out by them and the patient. Why is there a discrepancy? Every insurance company decides what they are going to pay out for each covered service. They set …

Yoga in Bellingham – The Search Begins

I am a huge fan of yoga, I’ve been practicing at home for years. This summer however, I decided that I needed to go to an actual class, in part so I can better know where to send my clients and also for feedback on how I’m doing. Yup, the couple of classes I’ve tried …

Insurance Billing Game – Part 1

The Insurance Game: I know there is a lot of confusion around insurance. Can you can use your benefits? Are there discounts for paying at time of service, sliding scale, etc? This post is actually a lead up to a change I’m making – don’t worry I will still bill insurance, but I want to …