Did you know that you can use a flexible savings account (FSA) or health savings account (HSA), for your therapeutic massages? If these terms sound unfamiliar to you, now is the time to learn more, and save for 2017!
When an employer offers an HSA or FSA benefit, pre-tax funds are withdrawn with from your regular paychecks and put into a special account for you to use for qualified, non-insurance covered, expenses. Usually there is an end of year open enrollment in the fourth quarter when you can you can decide how much money you want or need to allocate for the next year’s medical expenses.
Therapeutic massage is an excellent use for these funds! The IRS say that covered medical expenses “must be primarily to alleviate or prevent a physical or mental defect or illness.” Examples of qualifying expenses include (but not limited to) : stress, anxiety, depression, pain management, arthritis, back pain, fibromyalgia, carpal tunnel syndrome, scoliosis, rotator cuff injury, whiplash, tennis elbow, etc.
Some insurance companies may require a doctor’s letter, prescription or a LOMN (Letter of Medical Necessity). Just let your doctor know that you would like to be able to have therapeutic massage as a covered medical expense for your FSA/HSA, and she can write the appropriate documentation for you. It just needs to include: 1. The medical need (ie: relieve stress or back pain), 2. How many sessions (ie: 2x/month) and 3. For how long (ie 12 months).
You do not need to bring a prescription or doctor’s note with you to your massage, but keep it on file in case your insurance company ever requests it. If you have an HSA/FSA debit card that you use for payment, you can simply use that to pay for your massages. If instead your insurance company sends you reimbursement checks, then we can give you a receipt at the time of service, and you can submit that to your insurance company.
If you have allocated money to an FSA or HSA for 2016, make sure to use it by the end of the year, as sometimes with FSA’s it’s a “use it or lose it” proposition.
If you’ve been putting off helping yourself feel better, now’s the time to use your health insurance benefit to benefit YOU, and get a massage! Call today (508) 788-7300, or book easily online!