Acupuncturist Insurance Benefits

Acupuncturists do enjoy reimbursement from medical insurance companies but not at the rate that MDs, nurses, physical therapists, and PAs enjoy. Also, they often are required to have referrals from MDs to get reimbursement. In addition, some plants reject reimbursement for acupuncturists for acupuncture but accept acupuncture claims from MDs with little or no training in the field of acupuncture.

Recently, California's then Gov. Schwarzenegger removed acupuncture from the Medi-Cal system. Also, efforts to get acupuncture reimbursement from Medicaid and Medicare have not passed despite efforts for over ten years. This, despite the cost effective nature of acupuncture and its proven efficacy in reducing the need for surgical procedures and medications. The NCCAM has published numerous reports supporting acupuncture as a supplement to our health care system.

Acupuncture Healthcare

Perhaps the next step is inclusion of acupuncture into the Medicare system. This is formal recognition of the profession. Prior to this, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics must recognize acupuncturists as professionals. Currently, this is not the case. Rather, acupuncture is a procedure and not part of a profession but official government tracking.

Human suffering is never desirable. Unfortunately, the health care crisis is often perceived as a health insurance crisis. Rather, it is access to care that is paramount. For example, if a person has a serious disorder, he must see a qualified specialist in a timely fashionl. It is not uncommon for a patient with robust health insurance coverage, to wait a month prior to seeing a specialist and even longer to receive test results. Acupuncturists can help to serve as primary health care physicians on the front line by providing immediate access and screening for prioritization of emergency cases.