Part B Insider (Multispecialty) Coding Alert
Chiropractors Aren't Eligible to Order/Refer Services to Medicare Beneficiaries, CMS Says
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Plus: CMS makes it easier for you to determine the source of Medicare payments. As if Medicare's ordering/referring guidelines aren't murky enough, CMS has added another change to the process that could affect your Part B practice. According to an email that CMS distributed on Aug. 17, chiropractors are not eligible to order and refer items or services to Medicare beneficiaries. Noting that chiropractors were "incorrectly included" in previous lists of physicians and practitioner types that can order and refer, CMS pointed out that the Social Security Act and other documents previously included the phrase, "doctors of chiropractic medicine are not eligible to order and refer," so CMS is revising documents to reflect this. "Medicare coverage extends only to treatment by means of manual manipulation of the spine to correct a subluxation," CMS explains in the email. "All other services furnished or ordered by chiropractors are not covered."
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