Yes – If you are a medicare beneficiary, and you want chiropractic care, you are in good luck. Medicare covers chiropractic in 2 different ways. First directly. It is covered by medicare. If you have a secondary insurance (such as AARP, Blue Cross, Aetna, United HealthCare, Cigna, Blue Shield, etc.), the secondary is supposed to cover your copay (unless your copay is higher than than the secondary – I know it is confusing sometimes). Many senior citizens use their medicare to help with their aches and pains, arthritis, back pain and headaches. If you have been in a car accident, you can usually bill the automobile insurance instead (either yours or the other drivers).

Chiropractic care is covered by medicare for conditions like headaches, back pain, neck pain, numbness and tingling, sciatica. Medicare even cover chiropractic treatment of disc problems like herniated discs and degenerative disc disease. The way medicare covers the treatment of these conditions is by determining if the are caused by misalignment of the bones in the spine. To find out if Medicare will cover your condition you will need to be seen by a chiropractor for an evaluation. If the chiropractor feels that the misalignment is causing the aches and pains he or she can then certify to medicare in the documentation that the care is necessary.

Medicare does pay for medically necessary Chiropractic Adjustments. They don’t cover other services provided by a chiropractor though. The Medicare deductible for 2011 is $162 (this is the amount you have to pay before Medicare will pay – sometimes this is covered by your secondary insurance). After your deductible is met, Medicare pays 80% for your Chiropractic Adjustment and you are responsible for 20%. This amount is called your copay. Sometimes, your copay is covered by your secondary insurance. To read the complete 2011 official US Government Medicare handbook click here.

Medicare is often contracted through regular insurance carriers like Kaiser, Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Aetna, United Health, etc. We are in network for all of the major carriers. No referral required.

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