Insurance Coverage of Preventive Care

Insurance has traditionally paid for sickness and accidental injury.  While there has been a trend toward coverage for preventive care in recent years (e.g., diabetic care), preventive chiropractic care is still not covered by most insurances.  Medicare describes preventive care as “maintenance care” and defines it as a “[t]reatment plan that seeks to prevent disease, promote health and prolong and enhance the quality of life; or therapy which is performed to maintain or prevent deterioration of a chronic condition.”  Medicare says that this care is “not medically necessary” and therefore is not covered.  In other words, Medicare will pay to get you better but will not pay to keep you better.  The responsibility for maintaining one’s health then rests with the individual.  In order to help people maintain their health, I provide preventive chiropractic care as well as nutritional supplement and lifestyle recommendations.