Does Medicare Cover Pain Management?
- January 12, 2024
- Reviewed by John Krahnert
Medicare may help cover pain management services or treatment, depending on your specific situation.
A Medicare Advantage (Part C) would also help cover pain management services if they would otherwise be covered by Medicare Part A hospital insurance and/or Part B medical insurance.
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How much does Medicare pay for pain management?
There isn’t one standardized way in which Medicare covers pain management. Chronic pain can be caused by several different conditions or injuries that require varying types of treatment.
Some treatment options related to chronic pain that Medicare may help cover include, but aren’t limited to:
- Physical therapy
- Medical procedures
- Pain medication (under Medicare Part D)
Does Medicare cover physical therapy?
Physical therapy can help ease chronic pain by targeting specific areas of weakness in the way your body works.
Medicare Part B sometimes pays for physical therapy when it is considered medically necessary and ordered by your doctor. There is typically an annual cap on the amount Medicare will cover in a single year.
Check with your doctor to find out if your physical therapy is covered by Medicare and how much you could potentially pay out of pocket.
If you have a Medicare Advantage plan, check with your plan carrier to find out if your plan offers any additional benefits related to physical therapy that aren’t offered by Original Medicare.
Does Medicare cover pain management medical procedures?
Medicare Part B covers a list of certain pain management services if the procedure is considered medically necessary.
Typically, Medicare Part B covers 80 percent of the Medicare-approved amount for covered doctor services. You typically pay 20 percent of the Medicare-approved cost after you meet your Part B deductible.
In 2024, the Part B deductible is $240 per year.
If your procedure is considered an inpatient procedure and requires a hospital stay, your hospital costs may be covered by Medicare Part A.
If your procedure is covered by Part A, your potential out-of-pocket costs include:
- Part A deductible: $1,632 per benefit period in 2024
- Part A coinsurance:
- Days 1-60 spent in the hospital: $0 coinsurance for each benefit period
- Days 61-90: $408 coinsurance per day of each benefit period in 2024
- Days 91 and beyond: $816 coinsurance per each lifetime reserve day after day 90 for each benefit period in 2024
- Beyond lifetime reserve days: you pay all costs
Does Medicare cover pain medication?
Original Medicare does not cover most prescription drugs, including medications to help with chronic pain.
If you’re enrolled in Medicare Part A and Part B and need coverage for prescription drugs, you typically have two options:
- Enroll in a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan (Medicare Part D)
- Enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan (Medicare Part C) that includes Part D prescription drug coverage
Part D plans are stand-alone plans that are sold by private insurance companies to help cover some prescription drug costs.
Medicare Advantage plans are sold as an alternative to Original Medicare and combine your Part A, Part B together in one convenient plan.
A standalone Part D plan or Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage will each include a drug formulary. This is a list of medications your plan will cover. If you take prescription medications for chronic pain, consult the plan formulary to see if it will be covered.
Some Medicare Advantage plans also offer additional benefits.
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.
