Jubilee Healing Arts owner Jen Adams, LMT, is encouraging massage clients to get a prescription for massage therapy from a medical doctor (MD) or nurse practitioner (NP). “Talk to your doctor about it and see if you can navigate around some medications or surgeries with manual therapy first,” she says. An example of a prescription form can be found on her website.

Adams has encouraged clients to take this action for years, but when massage therapists were only able to serve clients with prescriptions during their first week of being re-opened, she put a greater emphasis on the recommendation. “Many of the prescriptions we currently get are from chiropractors, osteopathic doctors, functional medicine doctors and psychiatrists, but only prescriptions from MDs and NPs were acknowledged by the rules laid out by public officials,” she explains.

Other benefits of a prescription include being able to use flexible spending accounts and health savings accounts to pay for massage pre-tax, and massage may qualify as a necessary medical expense when filing taxes. Adams notes that while you can always file with insurance, massage usually won’t be covered. “But the more people demanding coverage,” says Adams, “the quicker Alabama will fall into line with other states where it is covered under insurance.”

For more information, call 251-616-4201, email [email protected] or visit JubileeHealingArts.com.