Lack of Insurance Coverage

Unfortunately, prolotherapy is not covered by insurance. Although many years of research and good evidence support the fact that prolotherapy injections are helpful for myofascial pain, ligament pain, joint pain, and tendon pain this is not been readily adopted in medicine. At Tulane, we are doing research to support the efficacy of dextrose prolotherapy. In the meantime, we have tips to try to help save money if you choose to proceed with dexterous prolotherapy treatments.

  • Check with your insurance company: Give your insurance company a call and inquire about dextrose prolotherapy for treatment. Changes in insurance coverage are made all the time and there may be a chance that your company may cover prolotherapy treatments. Some patients have had success in paying upfront for prolotherapy and getting reimbursed by the insurance company. We are happy to provide any documentation that can support your case.

  • Flexible Spending Account (FSA): An FSA is a type of account that you put money into to pay for certain healthcare costs that are not covered by insurance. This is taken out of your paycheck before taxes were taken which means you are saving an equal amount of the taxes you would have paid on the money that you set aside. If you are interested in prolotherapy treatments we highly suggest that she set up a flexible spending account as this can help me save money in the long-term not only for prolotherapy but for other healthcare expenses that you may have in the year.

  • Health Savings Account (HSA):A health savings account is money that you set aside to pay for qualified medical expenses. Pre-tax money can be used to pay for copayments other insurance deductibles and prolotherapy. The difference between a health savings account and a flexible spending account is that you can  you can only use a health savings account if you have a high deductible plan. If you do have a high deductible plan it is recommended that you look into investing in a health savings account to pay for prolotherapy and other medical expenses. A health savings account can be opened up by your company or a bank/financial institution.

  • Tax write-off: You may be able to claim expenses while doing your taxes. For qualified medical expenses that are uncovered, you may be able to deduct a portion of this from your adjusted gross income. The laws change year-to-year, in the year 2022 you are able to deduct anything that is more than 7.5% of your gross adjusted income. This can include prolotherapy. It is important to keep receipts of your medical expenses and discuss write-offs with your tax advisor.

Resources

Nerdwallet: Claim Medical Expenses

Healthcare.gov: HSA