The topic of insurance and the chiropractic industry comes up rather often. A lot of patients believe chiropractic care is an alternative form of health care and therefore is not paid for by most major health insurance carriers. While this policy may change from practice to practice, the general rule of thumb is that yes, chiropractor clinics do take insurance.
Health Insurance at the Chiropractor
When you make an appointment with your chiropractor, begin by asking the office which forms of insurance they take. If they do in fact take health insurance, be sure your existing plan is covered.
Alternatively, before making an appointment, contact your insurance provider (either by phone or online) and find out which practices take your insurance. Most major insurance carriers across the country will have a list of which providers take their insurance for chiropractors and other healthcare needs.
Finding a Policy that Covers Chiropractic Care
If one of the staples of your insurance policy needs to cover visits to the chiropractor and your current policy does not, it’s time to find coverage that properly fits your needs. Because most chiropractic care is offered in three treatments, it’s important to find a plan that will cover these visits. You’ll need a plan for initial visits and x-rays, ongoing adjustments and followup. If your insurance carrier isn’t able to offer a plan to meet these needs, you will be billed out of pocket for followup care.
When To Change Healthcare Coverage
Open enrollment is the ideal time to make adjustments to your health insurance plan. Typically in November and December, the open enrollment period will allow you to change your medical, dental and vision plans to suit your needs. This could mean adding another person to the plan, adjusting your monthly premiums, changing the plan to cover more healthcare providers, etc. Making changes to your healthcare plan throughout the year (outside of the open enrollment period) is not advised and will require significant life changes to do so.
What About An HSA?
You may also wish to sign up for an health savings account (HSA). These plans typically have lower monthly premiums, but you put the monthly savings into a dedicated account to be used anytime you need to pay for something your healthcare plan does not cover. In the case of chiropractic care, you would be able to use the saved funds anytime you had a visit that was not covered by your existing insurance policy.
Next Steps
If you’re in pain and you know you need to see a chiropractor for one reason or another, it’s important to make sure your insurance covers it. If you can’t find information online or over the phone for your carrier, try reaching out to your local insurance agent or the agency that works with your employer. They should be able to tell you what is covered or what changes are needed to your existing plan.