Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!yale!bunker!hcap!hnews!290!5!Dan.Payne
From: Dan.Payne@f5.n290.z1.fidonet.org (Dan Payne)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Re: Medicare
Message-ID: <10334@bunker.UUCP>
Date: 22 Feb 90 21:35:13 GMT
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[This is from the Chronic Pain Conference on Fidonet]

 
 RE>in here had problems with getting MEDICARE to pay for PAIN CLINIC 
 RE>treatments? 
 RE>  
 RE>I've had my physician try to get me into several of the pain 
 RE>control clinics, 
 RE>have called several myself, and all of them say the same thing, 
 RE>MEDICARE 
 RE>will NOT cover it...I could pay for it, and submit my claim to 
 RE>MEDICARE for 
 RE>reimbursement...uh uh, did that before and got burnt. 
 RE>  
 
O.K....here goes....My wife works for the local MEDICARE intermediary and here
is what she has to say on the subject... 
 
The Medicare guidelines regarding coverage of pain clinics are extremely strict
and rigid.  Coverage is available for specific conditions and treatments.  The
best this you can do is contact your local Medicare office and ask for a copy
of the Medicare guidelines regarding pain clinics.  If the local office has
a restriction on sending that information to a beneficiary, have your doctor
or clinic ask for the information.  The clinic may also have the information
available in their Medicare handbook.   
 
Since interpretation of the guidelines may vary from region and intermediary,
I cannot offer detailed information, but if I can help with general information,
or provide direction on getting information, let me know. 
 
Hope that helps...... Anyhow let me know if we can help... 
 
later 
 
dan & deb Payne 
 

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