Rep. Greg Steube is leading a rare bipartisan effort in Congress, one that will help Medicare recipients have more access to chiropractic care.
The Sarasota Republican was among more than two dozen lawmakers from both parties to introduce the Chiropractic Medicare Coverage Modernization Act. Steube’s office said the bill will ensure Medicare patients have access to chiropractic care as a non-drug alternative for pain management.
“Medicare enrollment in my district has grown every year in the past decade. The 4.8 million Floridians enrolled in Medicare deserve access to all chiropractic services without burdensome red tape,” Steibe said in a statement when the bill was introduced last week.
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“I’m glad to introduce legislation that will provide Medicare beneficiaries with more flexibility in their treatment options and will help lower the risk of individuals turning to opioids for pain management.”
According to Steube’s office, Medicare has provided beneficiaries access to chiropractic care since 1972. But that only included reimbursements to doctors for “medically necessary” treatment and includes burdensome red tape requirements.
The bill proposed by Steube and the others would expand Medicare coverage to include access to all chiropractic care.
Medicare does not permit practices like joint mobilization, physiological therapies, soft tissue massage techniques, and other treatments, even though those are routinely covered by private health insurance plans and some government systems like the Department of Veterans Affairs.
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This bill aligns Medicare’s chiropractic coverage with that of the VA, the Defense Department, the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program, and private insurers.
Supporters also maintain it would provide Medicare recipients pain-management treatments for spinal pain without the risk of opioid addiction.
The American Chiropractic Association has endorsed the bill.
Michael Martin, the group’s president, said in a statement, “The strong bipartisan support for this bill reflects the undeniable need of Medicare beneficiaries to have increased coverage and access to non-drug options for pain and other musculoskeletal conditions in the wake of the ongoing opioid crisis.”
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