Chiropractic care is often an integral part of the recovery process for many injured workers in North Carolina. For this reason, the state recognizes chiropractic care as a compensable course of treatment and requires insurance companies to cover the cost of it should it be medically necessary to a workers’ recovery.
According to the North Carolina Industrial Commission, North Carolina workers’ compensation law does cover chiropractic care, and for an insurance company or employer to claim otherwise would be misleading and false. If your employer or its insurance company routinely denies you this type of care, the Industrial Commission may impose monetary sanctions. If you submit a request for chiropractic care to your employer and the insurer, and if either fails to refer you to a physician, you may visit the physician of your choice.
You do not need to obtain an authorization-to-treat slip if the chiropractor is the initial treating physician. You may continue to visit the chiropractor up to 20 times without authorization. Only if your injury requires more than 20 chiropractic visits must you obtain authorization.
Though you have the right to elect for chiropractic treatment, the insurer or employer has the right to request that another physician evaluate your condition. Regardless of what that physician determines, you have the right to continue to visit the chiropractor for up to the initial 20 visits. The employer, its insurer or a third-party administrator may not terminate your chiropractic treatment during that initial 20 visits.
To ensure reimbursement for your care, the chiropractor must perform an assessment to determine if you will benefit from chiropractic treatment. The chiropractor must prove that your condition has the potential for restoration and devise a treatment plan that is specific to your injury.
This article is for educational purposes only. You should not use it as legal advice.
