Are Medicare Recipients Required To Have Annual Chiropractic Exams?

[Jimaz]

We received a letter from the chiropractor stating "Medicare requires a yearly exam and x-rays to be taken on all Medicare recipients."

I know little about Medicare but that sounds mighty suspicious to me. Is he implying that patients' Medicare coverage terminates unless they see a chiropractor annually?! Or is he saying Medicare requires the chiropractor to give an exam annually to continue collecting payments?

We don't anticipate needing his other services.

[Margarite]

My husband has been on Medicare a whole lot of years and he's never even seen a chiropractor. Maybe it only applies to people that are currently seeing a chiropractor?

[Jimaz]

Thanks, Margarite.

I know it sounds like a silly question. It was a remarkably brazen statement for a chiropractor to make. I don't like to see the elderly misled.

[jcole]

My husband is also on Medicare and he hasn't been to a chiropractor in years. As to them preying upon the elderly, I walked out of one's office when I heard him telling an elderly man that he had to buy a copper bracelet to 'cure' his arthritis. May he rot.

[Ray1936]

Wife and I on medicare since '01, no chiropractors. Knuckle crackers is all they are, anyway.

[Blueidone]

I hate to say this...but I was told many years ago that most of the training chiropractors receive has to do with ways to separate patients from their money. Remember the old flyers that used to say that Dr So-And-So could treat gall bladder disease...and every other ailment known to man by manipulating your spine? No matter where you lived, the same flyer came in the newspaper...the only thing different was the name of the doctor.

Sounds to me like this is just another in a long list of things that chiropractors [[as I call them "quackerpractors" claim.

[Crystal]

Medicare does not require a yearly exam and x-rays to be taken on all Medicare recipients.

Sounds like fraud. If I knew whom to contact, I would turn the chiropractor in so they could be investigated for fraud. I don't recall for sure what percent, but I believe it's like 20% of Medicare payments are for fraudulent claims or expenses.

[Jimaz]

Thanks to all for the responses.

As far as fraud goes, I think he left himself enough legal wiggle room by not explicitly stating that the patient is the one being required to get examined. It may well be that the chiropractor is required to perform an annual examination if there are to be any ongoing insurance claims. Or it may be that Medicare requires an annual examination by either an MD or chiropractor [[patient's choice). I don't know. Neither applies in this case since the patient requires no ongoing chiropractic treatment and is continuing to receive annual MD examinations.

It really is annoying to see how often the elderly are targeted by scammers though. It's not just chiropractors either. But that subject could fill another thread.

I don't think we'll be responding to this chiropractor anytime soon.