Does Medicare Cover Massage Therapy?

No, Original Medicare (Part and Part B) will not cover massage therapy, unless considered medically necessary. Medicare Advantage plans can cover benefits not included in Original Medicare, but specific coverage will depend on the plan.

Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans do cover other medically necessary therapy services, such as physical therapy and occupational therapy.

What therapy services are covered by Original Medicare?

Original Medicare (Part A and Part B) only pays for therapy services that are considered medically necessary.

If a therapy service is considered medically necessary, Medicare Part B typically pays 80 percent of the cost for the service and you pay 20 percent (after you pay your Part B deductible). In 2023, the Part B deductible is $226 per year.

If your therapy service is not medically necessary, your therapy provider must give you a written notice called an Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage (ABN) before providing the service.

The ABN enables you to choose whether you want the therapy service. If you choose to get a service that is not medically necessary, you are responsible for 100 percent of the costs.

Medicare Advantage may offer other benefits

Medicare Advantage plans (Medicare Part C) are sold by private insurers as an alternative to Original Medicare. 

In 2019, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) wrote a letter to all Medicare Advantage programs that included an encouragement for Medicare Advantage plans to offer therapeutic massage as a benefit in their 2020 plans.¹

Every Medicare Advantage plan must provide at least the same hospital and medical benefits as Medicare Part A and Part B, and many Medicare Advantage plans provide other benefits.

Medicare Advantage plan benefits can vary widely from plan to plan, but it may be possible to find a plan that helps cover massage therapy or other therapy services not covered by Original Medicare.

A licensed insurance agent can help you compare plans and get you enrolled in one that provides the benefits that are most important to you.

Or call 1-800-557-6059 1-800-557-6059 TTY Users: 711 24/7 to speak with a licensed insurance agent.

About the author

Christian Worstell is a senior Medicare and health insurance writer with MedicareAdvantage.com. He is also a licensed health insurance agent. Christian is well-known in the insurance industry for the thousands of educational articles he’s written, helping Americans better understand their health insurance and Medicare coverage.

Christian’s work as a Medicare expert has appeared in several top-tier and trade news outlets including Forbes, MarketWatch, WebMD and Yahoo! Finance.

Christian has written hundreds of articles for MedicareAvantage.com that teach Medicare beneficiaries the best practices for navigating Medicare. His articles are read by thousands of older Americans each month. By better understanding their health care coverage, readers may hopefully learn how to limit their out-of-pocket Medicare spending and access quality medical care.

Christian’s passion for his role stems from his desire to make a difference in the senior community. He strongly believes that the more beneficiaries know about their Medicare coverage, the better their overall health and wellness is as a result.

A current resident of Raleigh, Christian is a graduate of Shippensburg University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.

If you’re a member of the media looking to connect with Christian, please don’t hesitate to email our public relations team at Mike@tzhealthmedia.com.

 

 

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