Medicare Considers Covering Chiropractic Exams

Ever since Medicare first began paying for chiropractic services, the only services that Medicare Part B would pay for were the chiropractic adjustments themselves. Examinations are required by standards of care, but are not reimbursable by Medicare when performed by a chiropractor, requiring patients to cover the cost of examination themselves or have a secondary insurance company to do so.

But now comes some very exciting news for all Medicare beneficiaries, courtesy of Chiropractic Economics:

For the first time in more than 40 years, and following a 10-year effort by the American Chiropractic Association (ACA), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has taken a positive step toward expanding coverage for patients to include evaluation and management (E&M) services provided by doctors of chiropractic.

The agency's call for further information on this issue, included in the recently proposed 2014 Physicians Fee Schedule Update (CMS-1600-P), is a welcomed opportunity to provide pertinent research and data to demonstrate that establishing such coverage is appropriate.

Since the chiropractic demonstration program was included in the 2003 Medicare Modernization Act, ACA has been working with CMS and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to secure coverage of the essential services provided by doctors of chiropractic.

The profession has long believed that Medicare beneficiaries deserve this level of access. The ability to provide evaluation and management services as a covered Medicare benefit is an important first step in this direction.

As CMS has posed specific questions within the proposed rule, ACA will work with its Chiropractic Summit partners, senior citizens' organizations and other allies to ensure a coordinated message is prepared in support of this key patient benefit. For further information, please contact John Falardeau, ACA's senior vice president of government relations, at 703-812-0214 or jfalardeau@acatoday.org.

Source: American Chiropractic Association, acatoday.org