Ah, one of the most asked questions that is rarely voiced. Well here you will find out what Johnny Cochrane, LMT has to say about this touchy topic. So lets cut to the chase. The bottom line is, we’re talking about health care here. AAAhh, you say, but massage is a luxury. Well, INSURANCE DOESN’T PAY FOR LUXURIES. Do massage therapists accept insurance? Yep, some of them do. Is it a nightmare dealing with all that red tape and complexity? If you have insurance yourself, you know it is, and even more so from the billing end if you are a therapist who accepts insurance. I currently do not accept insurance, in an attempt to simplify my business and avoid the pitfalls of it as advised by notable teachers during massage school in Kalispell. Howeve, I can write you a receipt and you can bill them yourself!
In Montana, you now have to be licensed to be a massage therapist, which brings credibility to our field and allows us to work more closely with doctors, physical therapists, and chiropractors. However licensing also adds costs for me. Just like a doctor, I have to carry malpractice insurance, maintain my continuing ed credits, file taxes, and pay licensing fees. And all these expenses have to be passed on to the consumer or my business would be in the red and my family would go hungry.
There is a very big range in price when it comes to massage. Some places charge as little as $40 for an hour massage, whereas high end places will charge upwards of $100 for a 60 minute session. So what is the difference when it comes to these massages and what determines the price? Well, I really believe that you get what you pay for, to a certain extent.
The quality of massage differs from therapist to therapist. The good ones are worth every penny you pay him or her. You are paying for (1) the fact that this person invested a lot of their time and resources to learn to work safely and therapeutically with your individual body; (2) the physical space, equipment, liability insurance, licensing, and employment taxes; and (3) the physical demands put on the therapist. A good massage requires proper body dynamics in a properly cared-for body. The person who allows you to utterly abandon yourself for an hour is working extremely hard to give you that feeling. All the while you are zoned out, he or she is tuning in to you as though you were having a verbal conversation, except that the conversation is happening through touch and not words.
