Does Anthem cover pain management?
Yes. Interventional Pain Consultants accepts Anthem plans at our Georgia and Tennessee pain clinics, and Anthem Medicare Advantage is on our accepted list as its own entry.
Yes, we accept Anthem
Anthem is on our accepted list, and Anthem Medicare Advantage is listed separately as its own entry. However your Anthem coverage reached you — through an employer, the marketplace, or a Medicare Advantage enrollment — bring the card and we verify the specific plan.
Our accepted list also carries Blue Cross Blue Shield as a separate entry. Whichever name is printed on your card is the plan we verify — you do not need to work out the relationship between them before you call.
What Anthem plans typically cover for pain management
Most Anthem health plans cover interventional pain management when it is medically necessary. In practice that means the work our clinics do every day: evaluations, image-guided injections such as epidural steroid injections, facet joint injections, and procedures like radiofrequency ablation for conditions such as back pain, sciatica and spinal stenosis. Your plan's own documents control the details, which is why verification comes first.
Employer, marketplace or Medicare: three kinds of Anthem plan
An employer plan, a marketplace plan and a Medicare Advantage plan can all carry the Anthem name while following different rules for referrals, authorizations and costs; verification establishes which rules yours follows.
Prior authorization
Some Anthem plans require prior authorization for certain procedures — most often the implanted and radiofrequency treatments. If yours does, our team finds out during verification and handles the request with your plan directly.
What you can expect to pay
Copays, deductibles and coinsurance differ from one Anthem plan to the next, even within the same employer. When we verify your benefits we tell you what your plan pays and what you can expect to owe, in plain numbers, before you are seen.
How we verify your Anthem benefits
Request verification with your name and phone number, have your Anthem card handy, and our insurance team will confirm your coverage directly with your plan and call you back before your first visit.
Where you can be seen
Once your coverage is verified, you can be seen at our Georgia clinics in Dalton and Ringgold, or at Cleveland, Farragut and Oak Ridge. Procedures that are better done in a dedicated surgical setting may be scheduled at our ambulatory surgery centers in Dalton or Cleveland — your care team will tell you if that applies to you.
Common Anthem questions
Is Anthem the same as Blue Cross Blue Shield here?
They are separate entries on our accepted list, and we verify whichever one is printed on your card.
Do you take Anthem Medicare Advantage?
Yes — it is on our accepted list as its own entry, and it has its own page covering how Advantage rules work here.
Do I need a referral to be seen?
Many Anthem plans let you come to us directly; some require a referral from your primary doctor. We check your plan's rule when we verify your benefits, so you find out before your visit rather than at the front desk.
Does Anthem cover epidural injections?
Anthem plans generally cover medically necessary interventional procedures, including epidural steroid injections, under their own coverage criteria. Verification confirms how your plan applies them.
Check your Anthem coverage before your first visit.
Send your name and number and our insurance team will verify your Anthem benefits and call you back with what your plan covers. Or call us and we will run the same check over the phone.