B.C. massage therapist admits to submitting false insurance claims

FILE: A massage table is seen in this undated photo. (Shutterstock)

A B.C. massage therapist has been suspended for 10 days for – among other things – submitting insurance claims for services she did not perform, according to the professional regulator.

Bethany Niedjalski entered into an agreement with the College of Massage Therapists of British Columbia, admitting to the misconduct last month and the decision was posted online this week.

The college’s inquiry committee launched two investigations after receiving a complaint in August of 2021 and found that Niedjalski submitted “a number” false claims to Pacific Blue Cross between December of 2019 and December of 2021. In some cases the claims were for services that were never performed, in others they were submitted “before a patient’s appointment time,” the agreement says.

Over the same period, Niedjalski also “failed to create treatment records for at least seven patients and she created incomplete treatment records for at least twenty-two patients,” the agreement continues.

In addition, Niedjalski admitted that she did not have professional liability insurance for a period of roughly two months in 2021, and that she made a “false declaration” about this when renewing her registration online.

These things constituted breaches of the college’s bylaws as well as the college’s code of ethics.

“In specific reference to Ms. Niedjalski’s submission of claims to Pacific Blue Cross for massage therapy that she did not perform, Ms. Niedjalski admitted to unprofessional conduct,” the inquiry committee said.

Niedjalski has agreed to “extensive remedial education on ethics and boundaries” and random audits of her practice for two years, according to the agreement.

“The Inquiry Committee is satisfied that the terms of the undertaking and consent agreement will protect the public interest,” it says.