Medicare recognizes two basic types of chiropractic visits: active treatment and maintenance care.
Active treatment visits refer to the initial phase of chiropractic care, where the chiropractor evaluates the patient’s condition, diagnoses any underlying issues, and develops a treatment plan. These visits typically involve hands-on adjustments, manipulations, or other therapeutic techniques aimed at alleviating pain, improving mobility, and promoting overall wellness. Active treatment visits focus on addressing acute or subacute musculoskeletal conditions that have a measurable therapeutic endpoint. Medicare covers a limited number of active treatment visits, usually up to 12 visits within a 90-day period.
On the other hand, maintenance care visits are designed to prevent the recurrence or exacerbation of previously treated conditions and to promote the patient’s long-term well-being. These visits occur after the acute or subacute phase has been resolved, and their purpose is to sustain the patient’s progress, manage chronic conditions, and optimize functional abilities. Medicare may cover a limited number of maintenance care visits for eligible beneficiaries, provided that certain criteria are met and the visits are considered medically necessary.
It is essential for chiropractors to document and justify the medical necessity of both active treatment and maintenance care visits in order to receive Medicare reimbursement. The documentation should include detailed records of the patient’s condition, treatment goals, progress measurements, and any other pertinent information. Additionally, chiropractors must comply with Medicare billing and coding requirements to ensure accurate reimbursement for the services provided. By adhering to Medicare guidelines, chiropractors can offer their patients the appropriate care while ensuring compliance with regulatory standards.
Does Medicare have a limit for chiropractic visits?
Medicare has no limit to the number of chiropractic visits covered but, again, it covers only medically necessary spinal manipulation to correct the subluxationsubluxationA subluxation is an incomplete or partial dislocation of a joint or organ. According to the World Health Organization, a subluxation is a “significant structural displacement” and is therefore visible on static imaging studies, such as X-rays.https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › SubluxationSubluxation – Wikipedia. It won’t cover regular maintenance or preventive chiropractic visits or chiropractic treatments to other parts of the body.Oct 4, 2022
What are the two types of chiropractic?
Traditional Chiropractic: General, often X-ray of entire body. Or unscientific “scans”. Evidence Based Chiropractic: Specific to your condition, looking at the area of pain and upstream and downstream of the pain to look at what may have caused the pain.
Does Medicare cover going to a chiropractor?
Medicare covers chiropractic manipulation of the spine to help a person manage back pain, provided they have active back pain. The program only funds chiropractic care that corrects an existing problem and does not cover spinal manipulations as maintenance or preventive services.
Can a lumbar X-ray show tumors?
X-rays of the spine, neck, or back may be performed to diagnose the cause of back or neck pain, fractures or broken bones, arthritis, spondylolisthesis (the dislocation or slipping of 1 vertebrae over the 1 below it), degeneration of the disks, tumors, abnormalities in the curvature of the spine like kyphosis or …
Will a spinal tumor show up on an X-ray?
The soft tissues in the body (like blood, skin, fat, and muscle) allow most of the X-ray to pass through and appear dark gray on the film. A bone or a tumor, which is denser than soft tissue, allows few of the X-rays to pass through and appears white on the X-ray.
Does a lumbar X-ray show the tailbone?
Lumbosacral spine X-ray. It takes pictures of the 5 bones of the lower back (lumbar vertebrae) and a view of the 5 fused bones at the bottom of the spine (sacrum). Sacrum/coccyx X-ray. It takes a detailed view of the 5 fused bones at the bottom of the spine (sacrum) and the 4 small bones of the tailbone (coccyx).
What can a lumbar spine X-ray show?
– Abnormal curves of the spine.
– Abnormal wear on the cartilage and bones of the lower spine, such as bone spurs and narrowing of the joints between the vertebrae.
– Cancer (although cancer often cannot be seen on this type of x-ray)
– Fractures.
– Signs of thinning bones (osteoporosis)
Does lumbar spine include tailbone?
The sacral spine is at the very end of the back, lower than the lumbar spine. There are two main bones of the sacral spine–the sacrum and the coccyx (tailbone)–both made of multiple fused bones.
