No, You Can’t Just Not Take Medicare: What Every Chiropractor Needs to Know
By Wade Emmert
A growing number of chiropractors are moving away from insurance panels in favor of cash-pay practice models built around direct-pay patient relationships. The appeal is understandable—simplified billing, transparent pricing, and greater clinical autonomy. But this shift has created a widespread compliance problem that many chiropractors do not realize they have: an obligation to Medicare that persists regardless of how they choose to bill.
The assumption among many cash-pay chiropractors is straightforward: “I don’t take Medicare, so Medicare rules don’t apply to me.” That assumption is wrong. If any patient in a chiropractor’s practice is a Medicare beneficiary, the chiropractor is subject to federal Medicare enrollment requirements—regardless of whether the practice bills Medicare, regardless of what services are provided, and regardless of what financial arrangements the patient has agreed to.
Chiropractors Cannot Opt Out of Medicare
Under the Medicare Claims Processing Manual, a defined list of provider types—including physicians, podiatrists, optometrists, and psychologists—are eligible to formally opt out of Medicare and enter into private contracts with beneficiaries. Chiropractors are not among them. They fall squarely within the category of providers for whom opt-out is prohibited. This prohibition derives from the Social Security Act and is not subject to exception or workaround.
No mechanism exists—not ABN forms, not patient waivers, not financial agreements—that allows a chiropractor to circumvent this requirement. There is no “cash practice exception” to Medicare enrollment. The only lawful way to avoid enrollment is to refrain from treating Medicare beneficiaries entirely.
Common Workarounds and Why They Fail
Despite the clarity of the rule, chiropractors routinely attempt workarounds that do not hold up under scrutiny. Some take the position that because they provide only maintenance care—which Medicare does not cover—they are exempt from enrollment. Others rely on the fact that they offer only non-covered services such as exams, x-rays, shockwave therapy, or extremity adjustments, reasoning that if Medicare would not pay for the service, the enrollment requirement does not attach. A third common approach involves having patients sign an Advance Beneficiary Notice and then collecting cash for all services, treating the ABN as though it functions as a private contract.
None of these approaches satisfy the law. The Medicare enrollment obligation is triggered by the treatment of Medicare beneficiaries—not by whether a particular service is covered. The nature of the service is irrelevant. If the patient is a Medicare beneficiary, the provider must be enrolled.
Enforcement Consequences
Treating Medicare beneficiaries without proper enrollment constitutes a violation of federal Medicare regulations. CMS and the Office of Inspector General actively enforce these requirements, and the consequences are substantial: financial sanctions, audit exposure, exclusion from federal healthcare programs, and in serious cases, criminal prosecution. These are not theoretical risks. They are the documented outcomes of non-compliance, and they apply to providers who may have genuinely believed they were operating within the rules.
The Compliant Path: Non-Participating Enrollment
Chiropractors who prefer a cash-oriented practice model have a clear, lawful option: enroll in Medicare as a non-participating (non-PAR) provider. Under this arrangement, the chiropractor does not accept assignment. Instead, the chiropractor collects the full “limiting charge”—115% of the non-PAR fee schedule amount—directly from the patient at the time of service. The chiropractor then submits a non-assigned claim to Medicare. Medicare reimburses the patient directly for its portion, and the chiropractor has already been paid in full.
To illustrate, consider a 98941 (spinal manipulation, three to four regions) under the 2026 Texas locality 99 fee schedule. A participating provider accepts $37.61, with the patient responsible for 20% coinsurance of $7.52. A non-PAR provider collects $41.09—the full limiting charge—from the patient upfront. Medicare then reimburses the patient $30.08 (80% of the PAR rate after the deductible), resulting in a net out-of-pocket cost to the patient of approximately $11.01. The difference to the patient is roughly $3.50 per visit. The chiropractor receives payment at the time of service, and the arrangement is fully compliant.
A related question arises for chiropractors who perform only non-covered services, such as spinal decompression. Even in that scenario, enrollment is required. The chiropractor is not necessarily obligated to submit claims for non-covered services, but the underlying enrollment obligation remains. The type of service provided does not eliminate the need to enroll.
Medicare Advantage Considerations
The same enrollment requirement applies to Medicare Advantage patients: a chiropractor must be enrolled in Original Medicare (Part B) before treating them. One practical distinction exists, however. If a Medicare Advantage patient carries an HMO plan with no out-of-network benefits and the chiropractor is not in-network, there are no benefits to bill. In that situation, the chiropractor must still be enrolled in Medicare, but may treat the patient on a cash basis because no billable benefit exists. Proper practice requires verifying benefits in advance, confirming zero out-of-network coverage, and documenting that verification.
For Medicare Advantage PPO plans that include out-of-network benefits, the chiropractor may be required to submit claims as a non-PAR provider. As a practical matter, however, the majority of Medicare Advantage enrollees carry HMO plans, making the cash arrangement the more common scenario.
Conclusion
A cash-pay practice model and Medicare compliance are not mutually exclusive. The non-PAR enrollment pathway allows chiropractors to collect payment at the time of service, maintain the direct-pay relationship they value, and operate within the boundaries of federal law. The process is not burdensome, and it closely mirrors the financial workflow most cash practices already follow.
What chiropractors cannot do is ignore the requirement. Treating Medicare beneficiaries without enrollment is a federal compliance violation with serious consequences—consequences that are entirely avoidable through a straightforward enrollment process.
Three Takeaways
- Chiropractors cannot opt out of Medicare. Unlike physicians and certain other provider types, chiropractors are explicitly prohibited from opting out under the Medicare Claims Processing Manual. No waiver, ABN form, or patient agreement can change this. If you treat Medicare beneficiaries, you must be enrolled.
- Non-PAR enrollment supports a cash-focused practice within the law. By enrolling as a non-participating provider, chiropractors can collect the full limiting charge at the time of service and, for covered services, submit a non-assigned claim while Medicare reimburses the patient directly. For non-covered services, enrollment is still required, but claims need not be submitted unless the patient requests it or a secondary policy requires it.
- The cost of non-compliance far exceeds the burden of enrollment. Treating Medicare beneficiaries without enrollment exposes a chiropractor to federal audits, financial penalties, program exclusion, and potential criminal liability. The enrollment process is straightforward, and the non-PAR model aligns naturally with how most cash-pay practices already operate.