The 1980s Physio-Massage Conflict Over MSP Funding.

Something that almost nobody talks about:

The 1980s Physiotherapy-Massage Therapy Conflict in BC over MSP funding.

In the 1980s conflict physiotherapists allegedly tried to discredit massage therapy training. Which may explain a lot about the professional dynamics we still see today.

The root issue: MSP money

In the 1970s–80s, BC had something unusual:

Massage Therapy was covered under the provincial Medical Services Plan (MSP).

Patients could use their limited allotment of treatments for either physiotherapy or massage therapy. That meant the two professions were literally competing for the same government healthcare funds.

At the time:

• Many RMTs depended heavily on MSP billing.

• The number of RMTs was growing quickly.

• Physiotherapists began seeing them as competition.

By 1986 there were about 400 RMTs in BC, and physiotherapists increasingly viewed them as a threat to the shared pool of MSP funds. That’s when things started getting political.

In 1987, Irene Ruel, a Physiotherapis and APMP Council member, wrote to the BC Trial Lawyers Association accusing RMTs of misrepresenting qualifications, creating negative publicity for the profession.

Massage Therapists responded with:

• public relations campaigns

• political advocacy

• formation of stronger professional organizations

The most concrete documented incident is the letter written by Physiotherapist Irne Ruel to the BC Trial Lawyers Association.

Legal counsel characterized the letter as “a deliberate trivialization of the qualifications of massage practitioners.”

The letter had substantial readership in the legal world of BC, circulating among trial lawyers who frequently referred patients to RMTs. It could have had significant reputational consequences for the profession.

Legal counsel for Massage Therapists suggested the motivation was competitive pressure related to MSP payments.

2003 marked the end of the widespread, traditional coverage of RMT services under MSP for BC RMTs.

Since then, MSP only covers a limited amount for "supplementary benefits" for individuals on premium assistance.

Today, most RMT visits are paid out-of-pocket or through private extended health benefit plans.