Cupping Therapy · September 1, 2026
Muscle tightness and soreness can affect everything from your workouts to how well you sleep at night. At Complete Chiropractic Sports & Wellness in Durham, many of our patients turn to cupping therapy for relief. But one question often comes up before booking: Is cupping therapy covered by insurance?
In this post, we’ll walk you through the most important facts about cupping insurance coverage, what most plans include (and don’t), how to use flexible spending tools, and what to ask your provider before starting care — so you can book with confidence.
What Is Cupping Therapy?
Cupping is a soft-tissue modality that uses small cups — traditionally glass, though silicone and pump-style versions are common today — placed on the skin to create suction. That suction draws blood flow toward the treated area, which is why patients notice a temporary mark afterward.
In our office, we use both flame-heated glass cups, which form a vacuum as the air inside cools, and modern pump models that generate suction mechanically.
There are two techniques we use most often:
- Static cupping, where the cups stay in place for several minutes to ease circulation and long-term muscle tension
- Sliding (dynamic) cupping, where we glide the cups across the skin — closer to a deep-tissue massage than a stationary technique
The practice traces back to traditional Chinese medicine, where it’s used alongside acupuncture to support circulation and energy flow. Most patients booking with us today want relief from muscle tightness or sports recovery rather than a diagnosis rooted in that tradition.
Is Cupping Therapy Covered by Insurance?
The short answer: rarely on its own, but sometimes yes as part of a broader treatment plan. Whether it’s reimbursed depends heavily on your diagnosis, your provider’s license type, and how the visit gets coded.
We’ve watched two patients with nearly identical symptoms get very different answers from their carriers.
1. There’s No Dedicated CPT Code
This is the root of almost every insurance headache we run into. Unlike spinal manipulation, cupping doesn’t have one universally accepted code.
In our billing experience, it gets processed one of a few ways depending on technique:
- Sliding cupping is what we typically code as 97140 (manual therapy techniques), since it requires continuous hands-on manipulation the entire time
- Static cupping technically falls under 97039 (unlisted physical medicine modality) when nothing else fits, and most insurance carriers deny unlisted codes outright
- Some offices use 97016 (vasopneumatic device application), though we’ve found payer acceptance to be inconsistent
Because there’s no single dedicated code, we don’t promise coverage until we know exactly how a patient’s specific plan handles each of these. We confirm the code with the front desk before a new patient’s first appointment.
2. When It’s Part of a Covered Visit, It May Be Reimbursed
When this service is performed by a licensed professional — a chiropractor, physical therapist, acupuncturist, or physician — as one component of a documented treatment plan, we’ve observed a meaningfully better chance of reimbursement than when it’s billed as a stand-alone service.
In our claims experience, approval is more likely when:
- It’s tied to a specific musculoskeletal diagnosis we’ve documented — not general wellbeing
- It’s coded as 97140 with clear documentation of technique and time spent
- It’s combined with other covered services, like chiropractic manipulation or therapeutic exercise, in the same visit
Cupping Therapy CPT Codes
- 97140 — Manual therapy techniques (what we typically use for the sliding/dynamic version)
- 97039 — Unlisted physical medicine modality (used for static work; frequently denied in our billing experience)
- 97016 — Application of a modality using a vasopneumatic device (sometimes used here)
We always tell patients to ask their provider directly which code they plan to use, then check it against their plan’s benefits before the visit. It takes five minutes and saves a lot of confusion later.
3. Medicare and Medicaid
Does Medicare cover cupping therapy? No, and this isn’t a gray area: we’ve never once seen it reimbursed in our practice.
It isn’t a recognized benefit under Medicare Part B, and it falls outside the narrow list of chiropractic services Medicare pays for, which is limited to spinal manipulation coded as 98940–98942. Medicare specifically excludes modalities and manual therapy techniques delivered by a chiropractor, even in the same visit as a covered adjustment.
Medicaid varies by state, and North Carolina Medicaid doesn’t list this service as a covered benefit.
4. PPO and Employer-Sponsored Plans May Offer More Flexibility
Patients with PPO plans or employer benefit stipends sometimes see partial reimbursement in our practice, especially when the visit is:
- Documented as medically necessary for a specific condition
- Delivered by an in-network provider
- Coded as 97140 alongside other covered manual therapy or chiropractic services
We’ve also had patients discover their employer’s flexible benefit program will reimburse it directly as an alternative-medicine perk, entirely separate from major medical coverage. It’s worth a look at your benefits portal.
How Much Does Cupping Cost Without Insurance?
Here’s what we typically charge, and what we see charged industry-wide, when a plan won’t pay:
- Per-session cost: $30–$80 as a stand-alone service
- Added onto a chiropractic or massage visit: often $15–$40 as an add-on to an existing appointment
- Package pricing: many offices, including ours, offer multi-session packages in the $150–$400 range
Costs vary by region, session length, and whether it’s paired with other soft-tissue work like myofascial release or trigger point work. We recommend asking your office for a comprehensive breakdown of pricing before booking.
Can You Use HSA or FSA Funds to Pay for It?
Often, yes — and this is one of the most practical workarounds we recommend to patients whose plan won’t touch it directly.
Cupping therapy is generally eligible for payment through a:
- Health Savings Account (HSA)
- Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
- Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA)
To qualify, we typically need to document:
- Medical necessity tied to a diagnosis — not general wellbeing
- The specific condition being treated
- An itemized receipt showing the service and date, which we provide automatically at checkout
Some FSA administrators request a Letter of Medical Necessity for alternative therapies. We write these for patients regularly, so just ask if your plan requires one.
What to Ask Your Insurer Before Starting Care
Before your first visit, we recommend asking directly:
- Is cupping therapy covered under my plan, and under which CPT code?
- Does it need to be paired with a covered service, like chiropractic manipulation?
- Do I need a referral or pre-authorization?
- Is my provider in-network for hands-on care services?
- Can I use HSA/FSA funds if my claim is denied?
These are the same five questions we walk patients through at intake.
Is It Covered the Same Way as Acupuncture?
Not in our experience, and it’s a distinction patients ask about often since the two are frequently offered by the same practitioner. Acupuncture has its own dedicated CPT codes (97810–97814) and, since 2020, limited Medicare coverage for chronic low back pain — a pathway cupping simply doesn’t have.
Even when the same practitioner performs both in the same visit, insurers typically treat them very differently.
If you’re seeing a licensed acupuncturist for traditional Chinese medicine sessions alongside cupping, ask specifically which service falls under which code. We’ve seen reimbursement odds differ significantly between the two, even on the same claim.
Is It Safe, and Who Should Perform It?
This is a low-risk modality when performed by licensed professionals, but it’s worth knowing what to expect. Because the suction draws blood toward the surface of the skin, a temporary circular mark at the treatment site is normal and typically fades within a week to ten days.
We walk every new patient through this before their first session so it isn’t a surprise.
Every provider on our team is licensed by the North Carolina Board of Chiropractic Examiners, and our practice carries professional liability coverage for every service we offer. We’d recommend confirming that any provider you’re considering is similarly licensed and insured.
Personal Care vs. Medical Treatment
Not every session is intended as medical treatment. Plenty of patients book it purely for stress relief, muscle recovery after a workout, or as an add-on to a massage visit — and that’s a perfectly reasonable way to use it.
In those cases, we treat it as a personal care choice rather than something we’d bundle into an insurance claim, since general relaxation rarely meets the “medically necessary” bar carriers apply.
Cupping Near Me
If you’re looking for cupping therapy near you in Durham, NC, we’re conveniently located to serve patients throughout the Triangle, including Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Cary, and surrounding communities. We offer:
- Cupping as a stand-alone service or paired with chiropractic care
- Transparent, itemized pricing for covered and self-pay patients
- Free consultations to assess your condition and options
How We Help at Complete Chiropractic Sports & Wellness
We’ve built our booking and intake process around this exact question. Here’s how we make it easier:
- We check your benefits and explain your options clearly before your first visit
- We provide detailed receipts and CPT codes for HSA/FSA reimbursement
- We accept HSA and FSA payments directly
- We offer transparent, comprehensive package pricing if you’re paying cash
- We never surprise you with hidden fees
Final Thoughts
Cupping therapy can be a valuable part of recovery and pain management — we’ve seen it help plenty of our own patients. But insurance coverage is inconsistent because there’s no single dedicated code for it.
In our clinical and billing experience, treatment tied to a documented diagnosis and combined with covered manual therapy has the best shot at partial reimbursement. Otherwise, HSA/FSA funds and straightforward cash pricing make it accessible either way.
If you’re in Durham and wondering whether this fits your recovery plan and your budget, schedule a free consultation today.