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Thursday 8a-6p
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US Medicare System Expands
Chiropractic Coverage
News of a pilot program to expand chiropractic coverage
in Medicare was reported in the April 7, 2005 issue of
the Senior Journal. According to the report the Centers
for Medicare and Medicaid have announced the start of a
two-year demonstration to expand Medicare coverage of
chiropractic services in five states. The purpose of
this pilot program is to determine the impact on
satisfaction, use of services, and costs for Medicare
beneficiaries.
The states involved in the pilot program involve areas
in Maine, New Mexico, Illinois, Iowa, and Virginia. In
the areas of this pilot program, chiropractors are able
to offer Medicare Part B patients an expanded array of
services that they are allowed to provide by state law
to their entire list of patients, but that were not
previously paid for by Medicare.
Normally, only chiropractic adjustments are a covered
service under Medicare. In the pilot program the
services that will also be covered will include
diagnostic and therapy services, including extraspinal
manipulation or adjustment of a body part other than the
spine, x-rays, EMG and nerve conduction studies,
clinical lab tests, and certain additional procedures.
The program is designed to last for two years and
evaluate the possibility of expanding chiropractic
coverage in Medicare across the entire program. Centers
for Medicare Services Administrator Mark B. McClellan,
M.D., Ph.D noted, "Medicare currently only pays for a
limited number of services from doctors of chiropractic,
even though chiropractic services may be less costly
alternatives to other types of medical care." He
continued, "By expanding chiropractic coverage in this
demonstration, we are reducing out-of-pocket costs for
seniors who visit chiropractors, and we will learn
whether paying chiropractors for delivering these
additional services can help improve health outcomes and
keep Medicare costs down.”
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