PTs Cannot Provide Manipulation Under Medicare

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently issued a new policy directive that, under Medicare, physical therapists cannot provide manual manipulation of the spine to correct a subluxation. In a recent revision to an Operational Policy Letter originally issued in 1994, Medicare's Center for Beneficiary Choices writes: "The (Medicare) statute specifically references manual manipulation of the spine to correct a subluxation as a physician service. Thus, Medicare+Choice organizations must use physicians, which include chiropractors, to perform this service. They may not use non-physician physical therapists for manual manipulation of the spine to correct a subluxation."