Whether you accept it, avoid it or live somewhere in between, insurance coverage has become a defining issue for our profession. Patients increasingly expect to use their benefits, practitioners want to be compensated fairly for their time and expertise, and the system itself remains – at best – fragmented. The encouraging news is that coverage has expanded in meaningful ways. The challenging news is that reimbursement, across the board, remains inadequate.
Elaine Stillerman, LMT
Elaine Stillerman, LMT, has been a New York State licensed massage therapist since 1978, and began her pioneering work in prenatal, labor support and postpartum massage therapy in 1980. She is author of MotherMassage: A Handbook for Relieving the Discomforts of Pregnancy (Bantam, 1992), The Encyclopedia of Bodywork (Facts On File, 1996) and her latest work Modalities for Massage and Bodywork (Mosby, 2009), as well as numerous articles on prenatal massage therapy. She also is the developer and instructor of the professional certification workshop "MotherMassage®: Massage During Pregnancy." Visit www.mothermassage.net for more information.