How Medicare announcing acupuncture coverage has changed the way other carriers pay for acupuncture

On Tuesday, January 21st, 2020, CMS announced their decision to cover acupuncture for chronic low back pain. They since posted their guidelines for coverage which has caused other carriers to adhere to the same rules. 

UHC has also published these guidelines and announced that they will only cover up to 3 units of acupuncture much like the Centers for Medicare have. Optum and Cigna have recently followed as well and it is only a matter of time before other carriers do the same as many have already begun to do so.

We encourage you to follow these guidelines and keep acupuncture treatments at the maximum allowance of 3 units to avoid denials in the future.

As always, we are only a phone call away to answer any questions about your acupuncture billing needs!