If you have Medicare, there are covered options to help you manage pain safely and effectively.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Medicare covers prescription pain medications under Part D. In addition,\u00a0Medicare Part B (medical insurance) helps pay for services that may help you manage your pain with less reliance on drugs, such as:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Physical therapy;
\n\u2022 Occupational therapy;
\n\u2022 Manual manipulation of the spine (when medically necessary);
\n\u2022 Behavioral health services.<\/p>\n
Part B\u00a0helps pay for\u00a0medically necessary outpatient physical therapy and outpatient occupational therapy. And Medicare no longer limits how much it pays for medically necessary outpatient therapy services in one calendar year, so beneficiaries can get the number of visits they need.<\/p>\n
Medicare doesn\u2019t cover other services or tests ordered by a chiropractor, including X-rays, massage therapy, and acupuncture.<\/p>\n
(If you think your chiropractor is billing Medicare for chiropractic services that aren\u2019t covered, you can report suspected Medicare fraud at\u00a0https:\/\/www.medicare.gov\/forms-help-resources\/help-fight-medicare-fraud\/how-report-medicare-fraud.)<\/p>\n
Besides a yearly depression screen, Medicare can also cover behavioral health integration services like psychiatric collaborative care, and chronic and complex care management.\u00a0Inpatient treatment and professional services can be provided by physicians, clinical psychologists, clinical social workers, nurse practitioners\/specialists, and physician assistants.<\/p>\n
Prescription opioids like hydrocodone and oxycodone can be used effectively to help relieve moderate-to-severe pain. Your doctor may prescribe opioids following surgery or an injury, or for certain chronic health conditions.<\/p>\n
These medications are an important part of treatment but they carry serious risks. If you\u2019re using opioids for chronic pain, ask your doctor if you might also need a prescription for naloxone, an overdose-reversing drug that is covered by Medicare. Before starting or while taking opioids, talk with your doctor about all of your pain treatment options. Your doctor should tailor treatment according to your personal needs.<\/p>\n
Some Medicare Part D drug plans have certain rules to help you use opioids safely. You can get more information on drug plan coverage rules at\u00a0https:\/\/www.medicare.gov\/drug-coverage-part-d\/what-medicare-part-d-drug-plans-cover\/drug-plan-coverage-rules.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re in a Part D drug plan and take medications for different medical conditions,\u00a0you may be eligible for a free Medication Therapy Management program. This program helps you and your doctor make sure that your medications are working to improve your health.<\/p>\n
For most Medicare-covered pain management services, you pay 20 percent of the Medicare-approved amount for visits to\u00a0your doctor or other healthcare provider to diagnose or treat your condition. The Part B deductible ($185 in 2019) applies.<\/p>\n
If you get your services in a hospital outpatient clinic or hospital outpatient department, you may have to pay\u00a0an additional copayment or coinsurance amount to the hospital.<\/p>\n
For more information on safe and effective pain management, visit: <\/p>\n
\u2022 Medicare: https:\/\/www.medicare.gov\/coverage\/pain-management\u00a0or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). TTY users can call 1-877-486-2048.
\n\u2022 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:\u00a0https:\/\/www.hhs.gov\/opioids\/prevention\/pain-management-options\/index.html.
\n\u2022 U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:\u00a0https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/drugoverdose\/patients\/options.html.
\n\u2022 Administration for Community Living:\u00a0https:\/\/acl.gov\/programs\/addressing-opioid-crisis<\/p>\n
Greg Dill (Special to the Saipan Tribune)<\/strong> If you have Medicare, there are covered options to help you manage pain safely and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-312221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opinion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=312221"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312221\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=312221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=312221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=312221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nGreg Dill is Medicare\u2019s regional administrator for Arizona, California, Nevada, Hawaii, and the Pacific territories. You can always get answers to your Medicare questions by calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"