Insurance
Direct billing, handled at the front desk.
Massage, acupuncture and manual osteopathy are commonly covered by extended health plans in Alberta. Where your insurer allows it, the clinic bills them directly and you pay only the balance. You can book any of the three directly. If your insurer needs a doctor’s referral to reimburse, that is between you and your plan, so it is worth confirming first.
Book directly
Check with your insurer if a referral is needed to claim
Wide insurer acceptance
No exclusions for massage or acupuncture
Five platforms
TELUS eClaims, Provider Connect, ClaimX Change, Sun Life and Blue Cross
Sorted on arrival
Bring your plan details to the first visit
How it works
Three steps, and the clinic submits the claim.
1
Bring your plan details
On your first visit, give the front desk your insurer, policy number and member ID. Before your appointment, check your coverage and eligibility with your insurer or through your insurance app. Coverage is private information between you and your insurer, so the clinic cannot check it for you.
2
The clinic submits the claim
At the end of the appointment the claim goes to your insurer while you are still at the desk. Most come back within seconds.
3
You pay the balance
Whatever the plan covers is billed directly. You pay the rest, and leave with a receipt. If the insurer will not accept a direct claim, you pay in full and submit the receipt yourself, which the desk can help you set up.
Insurers
If your insurer does direct billing, so does the clinic.
For massage therapy and acupuncture, Panda is not excluded by any insurance company. The only thing that decides it is whether your insurer supports direct billing at all, and whether your particular plan includes the treatment you are booking.
- Alberta Blue Cross
- Sun Life
- Canada Life
- Manulife
- Green Shield
- Medavie Blue Cross
- Desjardins
- Equitable
- Industrial Alliance
- Empire Life
- ClaimSecure
- GroupHEALTH
- GroupSource
- Johnston Group
- Maximum Benefit
- NexgenRx
- Simply Benefits
- TELUS AdjudiCare
- Beneva
- Co-operators
The full list, by platform
TELUS eClaims: AGA Financial Group, Beneva, BPA, Canada Life, Canada Life PSHCP, Canadian Construction Workers Union, Chambers of Commerce Group Insurance Plan, CINUP, ClaimSecure, Cowan Insurance Group, Desjardins Insurance, Equitable, First Canadian, GMS Carriers 49 and 50, GroupHEALTH, GroupSource, Industrial Alliance, Johnson Inc., Johnston Group, LiUNA Local 183, LiUNA Local 506, Manion, Manulife Financial, Maximum Benefit, MDM Insurance Services, People Corporation, RWAM, Simply Benefits, TELUS AdjudiCare, Union Benefits and UV Insurance.
Provider Connect: Green Shield, SSQ, Empire Life and Medic Construction.
ClaimX Change: NexgenRx, Co-operators and Global Benefits.
Sun Life: its own platform.
Blue Cross: its own platform, including Alberta Blue Cross and Medavie Blue Cross.
What is covered
What your plan is likely to cover
- Massage therapy is the most widely covered of the three. Nearly every extended health plan that covers anything covers registered massage therapy.
- Acupuncture is covered by many plans, often with its own separate annual limit rather than sharing one with massage.
- Manual osteopathy varies the most, because coverage depends on the association the osteopath belongs to. Olga is a member of NMOS, which has the fewest exclusions. Not covered: Industrial Alliance (IA), RWAM and Veterans Affairs. Covered but not direct billed, so you submit the claim yourself: Alberta Blue Cross, Medavie Blue Cross, Pacific Blue Cross and Empire Life. All other insurers are direct billed.
- Medical aesthetics Cosmetic procedures are not routinely covered by insurance. Medical uses of neuromodulators may be covered by your insurance provider. Patients are encouraged to check with their individual plan.
Annual limits, per-visit caps and whether a doctor’s note is required are all set by your plan, not by the clinic. Check what yours allows with your insurer or through your insurance app before your appointment.
Questions
The usual ones
How do I find out if my plan covers this?
Please check your own coverage and eligibility with your insurance provider or through your insurance app before your appointment. The clinic can submit the claim for you, but does not verify coverage, balances or reimbursement amounts, because that information is private between you and your insurer. Once you know what your plan allows, bring your insurer name, policy number and member ID to your first visit and the front desk will submit the claim.
Do I need a doctor’s note?
You can book directly. Some insurers ask for a doctor’s referral or prescription before they will reimburse a claim, so please confirm with your insurer whether yours does before your appointment.
What if my insurer is not on the list?
Call and ask. The list covers the insurers the clinic bills most often, not every plan it can submit to. For massage therapy and acupuncture, Panda is not excluded by any insurance company, so if your insurer supports direct billing the claim can usually go through. Osteopathy has a few exceptions, listed under what is covered.
Can both people on a couples booking claim?
Yes. Each person is billed separately, exactly as they would be for a single appointment, so each claim goes to the right plan.
Can I use my spouse’s plan as well as my own?
Coordination of benefits between two plans is common, and whether it can be done at the desk or needs a manual submission depends on the insurers involved. Check what each plan allows first, then bring both sets of details and the desk will submit them in the right order.
What about treatment after a car accident?
Motor vehicle accident treatment is handled differently from an extended health claim. Bring your claim number and the adjuster details and the front desk will set it up.
What if the claim is rejected at the desk?
You pay in full on the day and leave with a receipt showing everything your insurer needs. Rejections at the desk are usually a limit already reached or a detail that does not match, and both are solvable.
Visit us
Bring your plan details to the first visit.
- Address
1861 17 Avenue SW, Calgary, AB T2T 5W3
View on Google Maps - Phone
(587) 353-6698 - Hours
Wednesday to Sunday, 10:30am to 7:00pm - Parking
Free street parking on the surrounding streets, two hours or more
