MassHealth and Acupuncture – how to be covered

So, after almost half year of working with MassHealth and different MassHealth subsidized health plans, here is what I have come out with so far.

There are two MassHealth subsidized health plans that cover acupuncture done by independent acupuncturists, Celticare Health Plan and UnitedHealthcare. You can follow the links to their website to learn about these two health insurance companies. Independent acupuncturists are those acupuncturists who owns a small clinic and not affiliated to any hospital or doctor. If you have MassHealth, and if you would like to enjoy routine acupuncture session, and if you aren’t not in one of these two health plans, you should call 1-877-623-6765 to find out if you can switch to one of these two health plans.

If you tell MassHealth that the reason to switch is to have access to acupuncture care, they might tell you that it is not necessary to switch because acupuncture is covered, but for MassHealth and other MassHealth subsidized health plans, acupuncture can only be done by “physicians” or licensed acupuncturist under the supervision of physians. In America, physician can only be referred to Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) and Doctor of Medicine (MD). Those are more for hospital settings.

Celticare Health Plan is great for those with CarePlus plan from MassHealth. Simply speaking, it offers the unlimited acupuncture treatment for pain or anything that is medical necessary. Although this company is new in compare to other health insurance company, but it is growing fast and stable. I have a few patients with this plan, and I have been receiving payments so far. I have spoke with one of the representative from Cealticare Health Plan. According to her, it is very valuable for their members to have access to the health care providers frequently. It is usually difficulty to schedule an appointment with the medical doctors (MD), and it just happens that acupuncturists are trained to work with all kinds of health issues and refer the patients to hospital if it is emergency. Recently, I have treated a patient with bell’s palsy with Celticare Health Plan. I was able to treat him almost daily, and he was able to recovered fully twice to three times quicker than my other self-pay patients with the same symptom who come about once or twice a week. I highly recommend Celticare Health Plan for those who would like to receive weekly or more acupuncture treatments.

Senior Care Options from UnitedHealthcare plan is designed for those with both Medicare and Medicaid. It provide additional benefits for those who are over age of 65 and also eligible to have MassHealth. So far I had good experience with this health insurance company. UnitedHealthcare covers 20 acupuncture visits per year, although it is not unlimited, but 20 is usually good enough for a whole year. And, if it is medical necessary to have more visit, I can always write in request for additional visits.

I am currently accepting both plans. For those who are eligible, here is the link to schedule appointment.