Yesterday, the California Department of Health Care Services
announced that acupuncture services will be restored as Medi-Cal
benefits, effective for dates of service on or after July 1, 2016. The announcement and likely rates were posted to the DHCS/Medi-Cal site. While reimbursement for acupuncture has been restored, rates remain low across the full spectrum of Medi-Cal benefits, including acupuncture. A recent report by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute ranked California as the 47th lowest state for fee-for-service reimbursement. Acupuncture was eliminated as an optional benefit under Medi-Cal during 2009 budget cutting. |