Big Island Massage Network

Phone 808-557-8807

Fax 844-781-8303

Office@BigIslandMassageNetwork.com

Big Island Massage Network is a network of independent massage therapists that covers the entirety of Hawai‘i Island as well as a few therapists on other islands. Our goal is for no one to have to drive more than 30 minutes for a massage no matter where they live on the island.

click map for interactive version


Our member therapists are vetted for their skill to handle acute injuries and chaperoned by our office staff to make sure notes and reports are sent where they need to go in a timely manner.

A single referral naming the provider as “Big Island Massage Network” gives the client access to all of our therapists without the need for additional paperwork. This is especially useful if a therapist goes on vacation, is otherwise unavailable, or if the client simply wants to try someone else to see if they are a better “fit". Sometimes clients will choose to be concurrently treated by two different therapists who’s styles compliment each other and achieve even better results than a single therapist.

We accept:

  • Workers compensation

  • OWCP

  • No Fault Auto

We DO Not accept health insurance such as kaiser and HMSA.*

Please understand the limits of the scope of practice of LMT license in the state of Hawaiʻi and how it relates to the prescription. In accident claims, we are not allowed to diagnose or specify the treatment. We can only follow the doctors orders. The following needs to be spelled out by the doctor on ALL prescriptions:

  • clearly defined start and end date

  • clearly defined sessions per week and total number of sessions

  • diagnosis with ICD10 codes

  • please DO NOT SAY “treat as needed” without specifying all of the above.

NO FAULT REFERRALS

It is most practical to prescribe massage when there are PIP funds remaining to pay for it. Personal health insurance does NOT cover massage with our therapists, and cannot be charged for any overages when the PIP exhausts. If clients have had an ambulance ride, expensive ER visit, and expensive radiology, the PIP may be exhausted and most clients will not want to pay out of pocket for massage.

According to Hawai’i law, no fault prescriptions must be signed by a MD, DO, or PA. If signed by a PA, it must indicate supervising doctor.

Our suggested prescription is “1-2x per week for 12 weeks, 16 sessions total”. Please do not exceed 12 weeks or 16 sessions. We have surveyed various insurance companies and adjusters and this is the longest prescription that will be accepted across all insurance companies. It can, of course, be shorter at the doctors discretion.

For no-fault auto, you are welcome to use our referral form which contains all the information auto insurance companies want to see.

WORK COMP REFERRALS:

For workers compensation claims, please send us an approved treatment plan. We highly recommend using the Department of Labor’s work comp referral form to make sure you include all the necessary information required by law.

Search for the latest version of the “Hawaii’s Workers’ Compensation Treatment Plan” on this page: https://labor.hawaii.gov/dcd/forms/

It will ask you for estimated cost. As of July 2024, Our sessions are paid at $140.48 with tax and so a 15 session prescription would cost $2107.20. But, it is better to just to write “as per work comp fee schedule” so it will be valid even if the fee schedule changes.

Treatment in the first 60 days after the injury does not require approval and we can get started right away. The DOL referral form is less critical in this situation.

OWCP

With federal work comp, the process is a little different. You send us the un-approved plan, and we submit it to the federal government for approval. It usually takes less than a week to get approved if the patient is eligible. You do not need to use the department of labor form (but you can). Please make sure to include the following on your treatment plan:

  • Start Date

  • End Date

  • Total Number of Sessions.

  • Specific # of sessions per week (We cannot enter 1-2 sessions, it has to be 1 or 2)

  • Make sure the ICD10 codes you use are eligible for treatment on their claim.

  • Make sure treatment plans DO NOT OVERLAP. They are very difficult to make work in the OWCP system.

Please be aware, at the beginning of a federal claim, until it is accepted on a more ongoing basis, there is limited funds available to treat the patient ($1500 as of 7/2024). We cannot charge the patients health insurance if their work comp claim doesn’t pay so many patients will not get massage treatment for fear of out of pocket expenses. Once the claim is accepted long term their plan will be pre-approved and they can receive treatment without risk.

PERSONAL HEALTH INSURANCE

We DO NOT accept personal health insurance.

Many personal health insurance companies in hawaii (HMSA, Alohacare, Kaiser, etc) contract their massage care through a company called American Specialty Health. The best bet for a patient to find an ASH provider (as far as we can determine) is to call their member services department at 1-800-678-9133 ext 3.