Does Chiropractic take insurance to cover you for your care?
Chiropractic care can be an excellent option for people seeking support for a range of musculoskeletal problems. One question we regularly receive is: does health insurance cover chiropractic care?
The answer is that chiropractic care can be covered by health insurance in the UK, depending on your insurer and the terms of your individual policy. Some healthcare cash plans allow you to pay for treatment and claim some or all of the cost back, while private medical insurance may include chiropractic care within its musculoskeletal cover.
If you’re about to start a chiropractic care plan, or you’re thinking about booking a consultation with us here at Relief, this guide explains how health insurance for chiropractic care works, the different types of cover available and what you need to know before making a chiropractic insurance claim.
How does health insurance for chiropractic care work?
There are two common ways chiropractic treatment may be covered: through a healthcare cash plan or private medical insurance. The type of cover you have will affect whether you pay for treatment first and claim the money back, or whether your insurer needs to approve your chiropractic care before treatment begins.
The first step to knowing how to make a claim is to fully understand the different types of health insurance that covers chiropractic and how they work. There are two types of health insurance and these are, Cash Plan health insurance and Private Medical insurance.
Cash Plan health insurance
If you have a cash plan insurance policy, you can see any practitioner of your choice, as long as their services are covered by your policy and they have the relevant qualifications. When you choose Relief, you will pay us directly and you can claim back what you can from your insurance company. This is a very simple process and in these cases, we’ll provide you with invoices to allow you to claim your money back from your insurance provider.
Private Medical Insurance
If you have private medical insurance, you will need to raise a claim for your condition and your insurance company will provide you with a list of registered providers, along with the exact procedures that have been approved. You can request to see the practitioner of your choice, so if they approve you for chiropractic care you can pick one of our registered chiropractors.
How to check if you have health insurance that covers chiropractic
Unlike claiming on a cash plan insurance policy, using private medical insurance to pay for your chiropractic care can be quite confusing. Here is everything you need to know about making a claim with your private medical insurance at Relief.
You will need to call your insurance company in order to raise a claim for your condition. They will then let you know if you are approved for chiropractic and how many sessions they have approved. It is best to make sure you are approved for your sessions before you come in for a consultation, or your request may be declined.
Chiropractic will fall under the MSK or musculoskeletal option within your insurance policy so we advise checking you have this option before you make a claim for chiropractic care.
In order to process a claim on your behalf, we will need a few details about your insurance policy and your claim. Your insurance provider will be able to confirm these details so do call them if you are unsure. Here’s what we need from you:
- Your insurance provider
- Your policy or membership number
- Your claim or authorisation code
- The limits of your claim
- Details of any excess or shared responsibility payments
- Card details: for any shortfall payments owed to us
We are contracted to provide chiropractic services on behalf of your private medical insurance company. As we don’t have access to the full details of your policy, we will only be able to give you limited advice about what your policy covers. Therefore, we rely on the information provided by you and any communication you have with your insurance provider.
Understanding excess and shared responsibility on your insurance
Some private medical insurance policies offer an annual excess amount or shared responsibility payment options to your policy, and it’s important to understand what happens in terms of payment for your treatment if you have any of these options.
If you have added the annual excess option to your policy, payments will work as followed:
If have opted for shared responsibility on your policy, payments will work as followed:
It’s important to note that if you have any of these payment options on your policy, you will be asked to pay this directly to us if you make a claim for chiropractic care.
If you attend our clinic for any other appointments that aren’t approved by your insurance company, for whatever reason, you will be liable for direct payment for those visits. If there are any shortfall payments as a result of your claim, your insurance provider will inform you and our clinic and we’ll charge these payments to your saved card on our file.
In all cases, there will be a limit for your claim, and this can either be a maximum number of visits, total amount your insurance provider will contribute, or an annual allowance. If and when you reach this maximum limit for your claim, you will be liable to pay our clinic directly for your chiropractic care. It will be at this point, we’ll advise you on the payment options available to you.
Does my insurance cover chiropractic care?
Whether your insurance covers chiropractic care will depend on your individual policy. Before booking treatment, check whether chiropractic or musculoskeletal care is included, whether you need prior authorisation and whether your insurer requires you to use a recognised or registered chiropractor.
Patients usually want to know about specific insurance companies, for example ‘does Aviva cover chiropractic care?’ or ‘does AXA cover chiropractic care?’ The answer is that most private medical insurance companies cover chiropractic under their musculoskeletal services. We work with many insurance providers and our chiropractors are recognised and registered with a variety of private medical insurance companies, including Aviva and AXA. Amongst our team we have the following:
- Bupa registered chiropractor
- AXA registered chiropractor
- Vitality registered chiropractor
- Cigna registered chiropractor
- WPA registered chiropractor
- Healix registered chiropractor
What does chiropractic health insurance usually cover?
Chiropractic health insurance cover varies between providers and policies. Your insurer may set a maximum number of appointments, a financial limit or an annual allowance for chiropractic treatment.
Some policies may also require you to pay an excess or contribute towards the cost of treatment. This is why it’s important to confirm the details of your chiropractic insurance coverage directly with your provider before beginning treatment.
If your insurer approves chiropractic care at Relief, make sure you understand the amount of treatment authorised and whether there are any costs you will need to pay yourself.
Can you get a Chiropractor on Private Health insurance?
To summarise; Yes! You can get private health insurance that covers chiropractic. More specifically you can get a Relief Chiropractic chiropractor on private health insurance because our chiropractors are registered with private medical insurance companies. If you choose to make a claim through your private medical insurance for us, it’s important to note that not all services we provide will be covered by your policy. We’re not registered with insurance companies to provide X-ray or sports massage therapy.
The reason for this is that insurance companies don’t accept massage therapists as registered practitioners, and only accept hospital facilities for X-Ray. This means we can’t submit these invoices on your behalf and you will be asked to self-pay for them.
Some insurance providers may say you can have a massage, which means the massage can be provided by a registered practitioner, such as a chiropractor or physiotherapist, as part of their service. At Relief, our chiropractors don’t provide massage therapy, which is why it’s not available at our clinic.
This may also be a similar situation with X-rays – you may be told they are covered, but this is only by a registered hospital facility, which our clinic is not.
Can you see a chiropractor on the NHS?
Chiropractic treatment is mainly provided privately in the UK, although NHS availability can vary depending on the services offered in your local area.
If you’re looking for NHS treatment for back, neck, joint or other musculoskeletal problems, your local NHS services may offer other forms of musculoskeletal support. If you specifically want to see a chiropractor, it’s worth checking what is available locally.
You do not need health insurance to see a chiropractor privately. If your policy does not cover chiropractic treatment, you can still arrange and pay for your care directly.
Get in touch to find out more
Every policy is different and it’s important to understand what you’re covered for. If you’re unsure about anything at all, ensure you check over your policy documents or speak to your insurance provider. Make sure you fully know where you stand before you start or continue with your care.
If you have any questions about chiropractic care or any other of our services, get in touch with us today and we’ll be happy to help.
