I’m writing to you as a massage therapist in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Community Care Network (CCN). I provide medical massage therapy (MMT) to treat musculoskeletal and mental pain in veterans at a lower cost to the VA than other treatments. VA’s peer-reviewed research, which is confirmed by my own personal experience, shows that MMT reduces pain, eliminates or lowers dependence on opioids and other pain medications, increases sleep, improves mood, increases mobility, and allows veterans to perform simple tasks around the house more easily. Moreover, a majority of veterans report looking forward to a visit from the massage therapist as much-needed human and social interaction.
Unfortunately, the VA has been underpaying me and thousands of other massage therapists in the CCN by implementing inapplicable Medicare discounting and bundling rules that reduce reimbursement rates by 30-40%, depending on the zip code where the work is performed. It’s neither a fair wage nor a living wage for the effort expended and it’s generally below the cost to provide the treatment, especially when I travel to the veteran’s home to do so.
I urgently request that you reverse VA’s massively reduced payments for MMT, a critical non-opioid, non-surgical treatment for veterans in pain. Otherwise, the program cannot survive, veterans will lose care, and I will be forced to look for other work. Thank you in advance for your attention to this important matter.
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