At this time there are a large and ever-increasing number of health insurance plans offering benefits to cover acupuncture as part of the plan holder’s coverage. Whether or not a particular plan offers coverage and just what that coverage might be depends on the plan. Many people have health care coverage through their employer. There are a growing number of enlightened employers who desire their employees to have optimal health and not just remedial or catastrophic health care coverage and these people are likely to offer acupuncture coverage to their employees. 

One of the first such groups of employers were those Japanese manufacturers such as Nissan and Toyota who had personal experience and knowledge of the benefits of Oriental Medicine. Many older employer or professional membership plans have offered coverage for years as well. Usually these plans will cover a set number of treatments, for example 15 to 20 treatments on a yearly basis. Occasionally a plan has almost unlimited coverage. 

Some examples of plans offering coverage for acupuncture are: Motion Picture Health and Welfare; Screen Actors Guild; Director’s Guild; ILWU; Teamsters; United Airlines; Delta Airlines; CIGNA PPO and California Workmen’s Compensation. Of course the best way to find out is to simply call and ask your insurance company if you have coverage. Alternately, we will be glad to take care of that for you. Just call our office and ask Casey or one of my other assistants to check with your insurance company. You will be asked for your plan number and certain other pertinent questions and we will call for you.

There is usually a yearly deductible which must be met before plan coverage kicks in and there may also be a minimal co-pay amount for which the patient is responsible. At this time, unfortunately, there are no known plans which offer coverage (similar to prescription coverage) for herbal treatment.

Dr. Kinnane is a preferred provider for some major 
insurance companies as well.