Medicare Changes And Chiropractic Care

[Aletha]

I decided I needed to find a Chiropractor the other day and started calling some my friends had recommended and found, to my shock, that Medicare had practically stopped paying for Chiropractic care. They will no longer pay for the evaluatiion, they will not pay for the x-rays, and they will only pay if you have had an accident or injury. They have pretty much made Chiropractic care out of the reach of those of us who wish to use alternative treatments. Bah!!!

 

[CrystalHugger]

That's not nice! They make decisions like that and then don't worry about the consequences of it on the people they govern. If Medicare is so great, I would love to see the Senators and Representatives have to use it when they retire. They have a comprehensive insurance which pays everything for them and their dependants.

 

[I<3Peppermint]

Medicare has to cut expenses. I know they have been considering a lot of different cuts but I have to wonder at some of them. They don't worry about how the cuts will affect someone, they just do it.

 

[btatro]

I decided I needed to find a Chiropractor the other day and started calling some my friends had recommended and found, to my shock, that Medicare had practically stopped paying for Chiropractic care. They will no longer pay for the evaluatiion, they will not pay for the x-rays, and they will only pay if you have had an accident or injury. They have pretty much made Chiropractic care out of the reach of those of us who wish to use alternative treatments. Bah!!!

My health insurance also does not cover chiropractic services. I have a hip that rotates slightly off that I used to get adjusted every now and again when I would start having back problems, but not I end up suffering through the back pain much longer due to the cost and not being able to afford it as often as it is probably necessary.

 

[racechick79]

Unfortunately there are many insurances that do not cover chiropractic care, or do not cover it well. What I would suggest is calling your chiropractor and asking if they can set something up for you. Both of the offices that I used to go to used to have a cash option that you could utilize such as $25 per visit. I know it seems like a lot, but it is much better than the full price. Just a thought.

 

[Irma]

I would never to a chiropractor. I have a friend who went to one because she had pain in her hip. After seeing the chiro, the pain was much worse. Turns out that she had osteoporosis and didn't know it, and he broke her hip!

 

[racechick79]

I would never to a chiropractor. I have a friend who went to one because she had pain in her hip. After seeing the chiro, the pain was much worse. Turns out that she had osteoporosis and didn't know it, and he broke her hip!

That is horrible that that happened to your friend. But I worked for a chiropractor and would definitely recommend it to many people. Most good chiropractors will do a few things that would prevent that; many will work with a primary care doctor, and for the most part they will do x-rays for any new patients or any patients that present with a new problem. Unfortunately it sounds as if this chripractor did not really follow a good protocol.

 

[Esperahol]

I would never to a chiropractor. I have a friend who went to one because she had pain in her hip. After seeing the chiro, the pain was much worse. Turns out that she had osteoporosis and didn't know it, and he broke her hip!

The fault will unfortunately have to be split between both your friend and the person she visited. Before seeking alternative medicine it is generally advised to see a doctor and be sure you are aware of everything you might have or that might be affecting you. If she had seen a physian then she would have known better then to see someone like a chiropractor.

On the other hand the first thing he should have asked her was whether she had seen a doctor before coming to him. If nothing else it saves on malpractice suits and something like this would not have happened.

 

[iampeebs]

Medicare has not paid those things for quite some time. I used to run an office and you would be shocked at how minimal the payments are from Medicare and Medicaid for an adjustment. Most offices are aware of this and if you have this insurance, will offer you some great cash rates in the $25 to $35 range depending on your area.

I think the horror stories are few and far between, but give Chiropractic a bad name and make people scared to try it. Before you buy into this, you can get a consultation for free generally and might want to consider this before discounting something that can really help you.