Acupuncture

Yes. Acupuncture is a covered service under New York State No-Fault insurance when medically indicated for injuries resulting from a motor vehicle accident. Coverage is subject to medical necessity documentation — the treating acupuncturist must document objective clinical findings supporting the need for treatment, the specific treatment provided, and the clinical response. MAIC's acupuncture documentation is designed to meet No-Fault medical necessity standards. No-Fault also covers acupuncture for workplace injury patients when appropriately documented.

At MAIC, acupuncture is used to treat several common post-accident conditions: myofascial pain syndrome (chronic muscle pain with trigger points), post-traumatic headache, cervical and lumbar pain from sprain/strain injuries, radicular pain that is not adequately controlled by conservative treatment, and post-concussion symptoms including headache and sleep disturbance. Acupuncture is particularly effective as an adjunctive treatment alongside physical therapy and pain management procedures for multi-modal chronic pain management.

Both acupuncture needles and trigger point injections target myofascial trigger points, but they work through different mechanisms. Trigger point injections use a hollow needle to inject local anesthetic (with or without steroid) into the trigger point, producing immediate chemical disruption of the trigger point. Acupuncture uses thin solid needles inserted at specific points to stimulate endogenous pain modulation pathways and produce local tissue effects. The two treatments can be complementary — many PI patients benefit from both modalities as part of a comprehensive pain management approach.

Acupuncture under No-Fault typically requires prior authorization after the initial evaluation and first few visits. MAIC's PI coordination team manages all prior authorization for acupuncture, submitting documentation to the carrier that meets the applicable medical necessity criteria. When authorization is denied, our team manages the appeal process with documentation of the clinical findings and treatment response.

Yes. All acupuncture at MAIC is performed by New York State licensed acupuncturists (LAc) who have completed the required educational program (typically a 3-4 year Master's or Doctoral program in acupuncture and Oriental medicine) and passed the NCCAOM certification examinations. NY state licensure requires 60 graduate-level credit hours in acupuncture and Oriental medicine, plus supervised clinical hours. Our acupuncturists are integrated into the MAIC clinical team and coordinate with treating physicians and physical therapists on patient care.