Chiropractic Offers Effective, Low Cost Treatment for Medicare Patients

Researchers at the National University of Health Sciences evaluated the health care costs of Medicare beneficiaries experiencing chronic low back pain who received chiropractic care as compared to their peers who received medical care.

Reimbursements for over 72,000 patients over a 6 year span were reviewed.  Total health care costs as well as per-episode cost for Medicare Part A, Part B and Part D were calculated.  

Patient’s records were divided into 4 groups for comparison.

·         patients who received chiropractic manipulative therapy only

·         patients who received chiropractic care followed by conventional medical care

·         patients who received conventional medical care followed by chiropractic care

·         patients who received conventional medical care only

Results showed the highest reimbursement costs were accrued by the patients who received conventional medical care only.  Reimbursement cost was lower for those who received both conventional medical care and chiropractic.  There was not a significant difference based on the order. 

While patients who received chiropractic care only had higher rates of healthcare usage, the treatment per episode cost was lower due in part to lower rates of back surgery through the following year.  In fact, patients who received chiropractic care only had the lowest increase in cost in almost all Medicare expenditure categories.

This study shows that chiropractic care is a successful, and cost-effective option for older patients with chronic low back pain.  The records review demonstrated Medicare patients who received chiropractic care had “had lower overall costs of care, shorter episodes, and lower cost of care per episode day than patients in the other treatment groups.”  This supports the use of chiropractic care for chronic low back pain for the elderly.

SOURCE: The Association Between Use of Chiropractic Care and Costs of Care Among Older Medicare Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain and Multiple Comorbidities article in Journal of Manipulative Physiological Therapy, February, 2016.