Can you bill Medicare, the VA and insurance? Eight questions, one minute.
The answer shows on this page. Nothing is sent anywhere unless you choose to send it.
Do you hold an active state acupuncture license?
Every payer checks this first. A lapsed license stops Medicare, the VA and insurance alike.
Are you board certified by NCCAOM, now NCBAHM?
Required for the VA and for Medicare. Same organization, newer name.
Is your degree a master’s or doctorate from an ACAOM-accredited school?
ACAOM is now ACAHM. Medicare requires it. The VA and insurers do not. This one answer decides whether Medicare is on the table.
Do you have, or could you sign with, a Medicare-enrolled supervising provider?
A physician, PA, NP or clinical nurse specialist who sees the patient first, supervises, and bills. Acupuncturists cannot bill Medicare directly. You find and sign your own; the course gives you the shortlist method, the script and the agreement, and 7-0 does not supply one. In Florida, billing in your own practice’s name also means an AHCA clinic license, which the course walks through, or the provider’s practice bills and pays you.
Do you see, or could you attract, patients 65 and over with back pain lasting 12 weeks or longer?
That is the only patient group Medicare pays for.
Are you in network with any insurance plan today?
Where you already are decides where we start.
Do you want to treat veterans through VA Community Care?
The VA pays in full for the care it refers. Board certification is required.
Are you paying for Google or Meta ads right now?
Ads before approvals fill a schedule you cannot bill.
You can go after all of it.
License, board certification and an accredited degree are in place, and a supervising provider is in reach. Medicare, the VA and insurance are all open to you. The full eight-module path applies.
One honest caveat: Medicare pays for chronic low back pain only, up to 20 visits a year. Run the calculator on the home page with your own numbers before you commit. That is Module 1 of the course.
Medicare is off the table. The VA and insurance are not.
Without an ACAOM-accredited master’s or doctorate, or without a supervising provider, you cannot bill Medicare. Plenty of board-certified acupuncturists build a full schedule without it. You start at Module 6: the VA Community Care Network and the insurer networks that credential acupuncturists.
Want Medicare too, later? The supervising-provider arrangement and the accredited-degree route are both in the course, and we map out your route on the call.
Something has to happen before a payer will approve you.
Every payer checks the license and the board certification. Until both are active, Medicare, the VA and insurance are closed. That is fixable. The items below, in order, then the course the moment you are eligible.
Now book the call. Thirty minutes, and you leave with a plan.
- Which payers are open to you and what each is worth at your local rate, not the national average
- The exact first step, in the order that gets you paid fastest
- Whether the course is right for you, and which module you would start on
Not ready to talk? Send me my result in writing instead.
Press A, B or C to answer. Nothing about your health, nothing about patients. A practice-readiness screen, not legal advice.
What this checks
The questions come from the eligibility rules in the CMS coverage decision for acupuncture, the NCCAOM certification requirements, and the VA and insurer network rules.
- Everyone needs
- An active state acupuncture license and national board certification.
- Medicare also needs
- A master’s or doctoral degree from an ACAOM-accredited school, and a Medicare-enrolled supervising provider who bills.
- Medicare covers
- Chronic low back pain only, with a strict patient definition and yearly visit limits.
- The VA and insurers need
- License and board certification. No accredited degree required. Applications go through each network’s gatekeeper and each plan.
Rules change. This is operational guidance, not legal advice.
What each answer means
- Your license
- Every payer checks it first. A lapsed license stops Medicare, the VA and insurance alike, so renewing it comes before anything else.
- Board certification
- NCCAOM, now NCBAHM. Required for the VA and for Medicare for chronic low back pain. Insurers vary.
- Your degree
- A master’s or doctorate from an ACAOM-accredited school, now ACAHM. This one answer decides whether Medicare for chronic low back pain is on the table. The VA and insurers do not require it.
- A supervising provider
- Acupuncturists cannot bill Medicare for chronic low back pain directly. A Medicare-enrolled physician, PA, NP or clinical nurse specialist sees the patient first, supervises and bills. You find and sign your own; 7-0 does not supply one.
- Your patients
- Medicare pays for chronic low back pain only: patients 65 and over with back pain lasting 12 weeks or longer, up to 20 visits a year.
- Insurance and the VA
- Where you are already in network decides where to start. VA Community Care requires board certification.
- Ads
- Ads before approvals fill a schedule you cannot bill, so marketing comes after the approvals are in.
See the full Medicare and insurance course, read who we are, or book a strategy call.
After the check
The result gives you one of three paths: Medicare, the VA and insurance all open; the VA and insurance with Medicare off the table for now; or the steps to get eligible first. Each path names where to start in the course and what comes first.
If Medicare for chronic low back pain is open to you, the first step is Module 1: run the calculator with your own numbers, because Medicare pays for chronic low back pain only, up to 20 visits a year. If it is not, you start at Module 6, which works for any board-certified acupuncturist.
Either way, nothing about the check commits you to anything. Read the price and refund promise, see what to do if you are not eligible yet, or get a free marketing breakdown for your practice.
Questions about the check
What acupuncturists ask about the one-minute check.
Is anything sent when I answer?
No. The result shows on this page. Nothing is sent anywhere unless you choose to send it.
How accurate is the result?
It follows the published rules for Medicare for chronic low back pain, the VA and insurance. It is a starting point, not legal or billing advice.
What if Medicare is off the table for me?
The VA and insurance usually are not. The course has a path for that, starting at Module 6.
Can I bill Medicare for chronic low back pain without a supervising provider?
No. Acupuncturists cannot bill Medicare directly; a Medicare-enrolled supervising provider bills.
Do I need a clinic license in Florida?
Billing in your own practice’s name in Florida also means an AHCA clinic license, which the course walks through, or the provider’s practice bills and pays you.
How many visits does Medicare cover?
Up to 20 visits a year, for chronic low back pain only.
What does the course cost?
$1,500, one time. See what is included.
Who built this?
7-0 Marketing, a marketing company in Fruitland Park, FL. The course was worked out at Cheshire Integrative Medicine, a practice that bills it every week.
Can I take the check again?
Yes, as often as you like. Change an answer and the result updates on the page.
What if I am not sure about an answer?
Pick the closest one, then read what each answer means above. A strategy call can settle the rest.
What happens to my answers if I send them?
They come to 7-0 so we can reply, and nothing else. See the privacy policy and the course refund policy.
Is the check the same as the course evaluation?
It is the short version. The course evaluation goes deeper and tells you exactly which module to start with and what to do first.
Want the detail for your practice?
Thirty minutes with the person who wrote the course. Which payers are open to you, what they are worth at your local rate, and which module you start on.