What Does Medicare Cover?

  For Chiropractic care, Medicare currently covers only treatment of the spine. So shoulder, knee, ankle, wrist, etc., problems aren’t covered. 

The Chiropractic profession is working on changing this---on getting Medicare coverage for the whole body---and hopefully, it will happen soon.

In the meantime, when I see Medicare patients, I make careful documentation of their spinal symptoms and treatment, and report these to Medicare on the required forms and according to the specific Medicare coding system. Medicare patients in my office pay my fee at the time of service. 

Typical allowances for Chiropractic patients in Santa Cruz County are between about $48.00 and $33.00 per visit, depending on the patient’s complaints and the concomitant treatment. 

        Of these allowances, Medicare will reimburse the patient 80%, and the typical Medicare supplement policy will cover the other 20%.  Allowances do change annually, but often by only a few cents.

Nerve Impingement in the Neck

 “Impingement” of a nerve simply means the nerve is somehow negatively affected. It might be pressure, abrasion, stretching, or other constriction, causing symptoms such as pain, numbness, tingling, burning, hyper- or hypoesthesia.

In the neck, nerves exit the spine and travel out into the shoulders and down both arms & hands. These nerves are called the “brachial plexus.” Impingement of the brachial plexus is called “thoracic outlet syndrome." 

There are several common sites of impingement of the brachial plexus, including between muscles on either side of the neck, and between the clavicle and the first rib. The patient may complain of pain or numbness or tingling in the arm(s) or hand(s).

This can be due to, among other causes, poor posture, trauma such as whiplash, over-exercising or imbalanced exercising, stress, or unaccustomed activities--often some kind of work with the arms over the head.

Once I identify the site(s) of impingement, I make precise, directional adjustments with the Activator instrument and give the patient ergonomic and home care counseling and appropriate stretches.