Due to its late introduction into the United States, acupuncture had not been integrated with our current healthcare system until recently. Its benefits have shown merit especially during the Opioid Crisis. Today, Medicare has realized that many working-class Americans require acupuncture most commonly for chronic lower back pain. The very cause of the Opioid Crisis is the unresolved issue of chronic pain among our fellow American people.
Relationship of Chronic Pain and Opioid Crisis
Patients have relied on addictive opioid-based medications for pain relief because of the lack of any alternative treatment methods for pain. This has directly caused the heroin addiction epidemic. Essentially, patients leave hospitals with unresolved pain and continue to depend on opioid-based medications. Without any clear way to treat pain effectively without side effects or addiction, the current healthcare system seemingly had no way out of the Opioid Crisis — until they found out about acupuncture.
Acupuncture vs Chronic Back Pain and Opioid Addiction
Acupuncture has been a method of healing since ancient times (at least 3000 years ago) and still remains one of the most commonly used forms of alternative medicine for back pain, gastrointestinal disorders, insomnia, emotional disorders, and fertility. It utilizes conduits within the body that transport substances that nourish, heal, and protect the body, by inserting sterile hair-thin filiform needles into the skin to stimulate these conduits and activate the nervous system's healing response.
Does Medicare Cover Acupuncture?
Acupuncture has been approved for Medicare coverage as of January 21, 2020. Here are the basic benefits and limitations:
- ONLY covers chronic low back pain
- 12 sessions in 90 days
- Additional 8 sessions for those patients with improvement
- No more than 20 sessions per year
Why Does it Only Cover Lower Back Pain?
CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) still considered acupuncture as subject to further research and study to fully understand the mechanisms behind its efficacy. Acupuncture can help with many disorders besides pain, including gastrointestinal disorders, insomnia, anxiety, depression, reproductive disorders, headaches, migraines, diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. We look forward to insurance coverage expansion for other acupuncture modalities, alternative medicine, and natural herbs.
What Steps Can You Take Now?
- Enroll in Medicare
- See your doctor if you have had chronic back pain
- Request that they initiate an authorization for acupuncture at one of our facilities
- Wait for approval then set up an appointment
