Direct Billing Massage Therapy in Vancouver

Direct billing means we send your claim straight to your extended health insurer the moment your session ends. Most plans cover registered massage therapy. When yours does, the insurer pays us their share and you settle the rest at the desk before you leave. No claim form to fill out, no cheque to wait on.

We need three things to bill on your behalf: your insurance provider, your policy or group number, and your ID number. All three live on your benefits card or in your insurer's app. Bring them to your first visit. If your plan carries a deductible or caps massage at a set amount per visit, that gap is what you'll pay at the desk, and nothing more.

Every therapist here is a Registered Massage Therapist (RMT) regulated under CCHPBC. That's what makes your receipt eligible for extended health coverage: the credential, not the style of treatment. Therapeutic, deep tissue, sports, prenatal, relaxation: they all bill the same way. Not sure which plan you're on or how BC coverage fits together? Our guide to massage therapy coverage in BC lays out MSP, ICBC, WorkSafeBC and extended health side by side.

"Direct billing" is really an assignment of benefits: you're telling your insurer to pay the clinic directly instead of paying you back later. When you hand us your plan details at the desk, you're authorizing that assignment for the visit. We submit the claim electronically the moment the session ends, the insurer approves its share in real time, and that portion comes to us rather than landing in your bank account weeks later.

The practical upshot is you never front the covered amount. On a plan that reimburses, say, 80% of an RMT visit up to an annual cap, you'd pay only the remaining 20% at the desk, assuming you haven't hit your yearly limit. Most plans set the massage maximum per person, so if two people on the same family plan both have coverage, each generally has their own annual allotment to draw from. Either way, it's worth knowing roughly where your allotment stands before a run of appointments. We can tell you what the insurer approved on the spot, but we can't see your remaining balance. Your insurer's app or member line has that.

Whatever your plan doesn't cover is the shortfall, and that's what you settle at the desk. Three things create a shortfall: a co-pay percentage (your plan covers 70–90% and you cover the rest), a per-visit dollar cap (the plan pays up to a set amount and you cover anything above it), or an exhausted annual maximum (you've used your massage benefit for the year, so you pay the full rate). None of these are surprises we spring on you; the insurer's response tells us the number before you pay.

You always leave with a detailed RMT receipt showing the date, the therapist's name and registration, the fee and what was billed. Keep it. If a direct-billed claim is later adjusted, or you need to claim a shortfall against a second plan (a spouse's coverage, for instance), that receipt is what you submit. Coordinating two plans (yours pays first, your partner's picks up part of the remainder) is common, and the receipt is what makes it possible. When both plans are with the same insurer, we can sometimes direct-bill the secondary plan for the remainder at the desk too — let us know at reception and we'll check.

These are the extended health providers we direct-bill today. Don't see yours? You can still claim it back yourself using the RMT receipt we hand you; the FAQ below walks through how.

Hurt in a car accident? ICBC covers registered massage therapy under your Enhanced Care (Part 7) benefits, and we treat ICBC clients regularly. The one wrinkle: ICBC doesn't direct-bill at our clinic. You pay for the session at your appointment, we hand you a detailed RMT receipt, and you submit that to ICBC for reimbursement.

Bring your claim number and the date of the accident to your first visit. Your therapist documents each treatment in the format your claim file needs. ICBC sets its own caps on visits and rates, and those move, so check the current numbers on the ICBC website or ask your adjuster before you book. For the full picture (how many sessions ICBC pre-approves, what it pays and what happens when the block runs out), see our dedicated page on ICBC massage therapy in Vancouver.

We don't accept WorkSafeBC (WCB) claims. For a workplace injury, you'll need a clinic registered as a WorkSafeBC provider. That said, if you also carry extended health coverage or have an open ICBC claim, either of those still applies here. If you want to understand how WorkSafeBC-funded massage works in BC (the referral, the 8-week window, Form 83D516), our BC coverage guide explains it.

• Extended health: your benefits card or the policy number, group number and ID number from your insurer's app.
• ICBC: your claim number and the date of the accident.
• No coverage: nothing extra needed: you pay the full session rate at the desk.

Session rates are $84 (30 min) / $105 (45 min) / $136.50 (60 min) / $194.25 (90 min), all inclusive of GST. See our full rates and FAQs page for payment methods and cancellation policy.