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Labor and Industry Acupuncture Pilot Project, join the listserv to stay informed

Posted over 6 years ago by Nancy Lawton

The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) will soon be undertaking an Acupuncture Pilot Project.  While the project is underway, L&I will pay qualified providers participating in the pilot project to deliver acupuncture treatment to injured workers with low back pain related to an accepted condition on an open workers’ compensation claim. The details of this pilot, including restrictions and payment mechanisms, can be found on the L&I Acupuncture pilot webpage.

http://lni.wa.gov/ClaimsIns/Providers/TreatingPatients/ByCondition/Acupuncture/default.asp

L&I will use the pilot rulemaking process to allow and pay for acupuncture services during this pilot (RCW 34.05.313 Feasibility studies – Pilot projects). The exceptions to allow payment for acupuncture are effective throughout a two-year pilot period or as otherwise specified and will apply only to pilot participants. The CR-102 will be filed when there is sufficient data to assess and evaluate the provision of acupuncture treatment within the workers’ compensation setting. At that time, pilot program results will be considered in developing proposed rule language, medical coverage decisions and/or payment policy.

To stay tuned on the progress of the pilot project, please join the L&I Acupuncture Pilot Project listserv (http://lni.wa.gov/Main/Listservs/LNI-Acupuncture.asp). When L&I is ready to begin enrolling acupuncture providers into the pilot project, it will be announced on the L&I acupuncture listserv (please note that enrollment in the listserv does not constitute enrollment in the pilot). If you want to learn more, to be prepared to apply to be an acupuncture provider in the L&I pilot project, or to follow this work, please join the acupuncture listserv. 

Please direct any questions that you may have to the following L&I staff: