Medicare coverage patterns favor non-invasive and minimally-invasive treatments of knee osteoarthritis compared to temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis.

Objective: To compare Medicare coverage patterns for treatments of knee osteoarthritis (OA) to those of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) OA.

Methods: The International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10 codes were used to identify knee OA, TMJ OA, and related diagnoses. The AAPC Coder was utilized to search for Medicare insurance coverage by state/district for the indicated CPT codes. The coverage for treatments of TMJ OA and knee OA was analyzed by Fisher's exact test.

Results: There was a statistically significant difference in the coverage of physical therapy, massage therapy, and arthrocentesis for TMJ OA and knee OA. The current study showed that arthrocentesis was covered 100% in all states/districts for knee OA and 0% for TMJ OA.

Conclusion: Medicare covers TMJ OA treatments to a lesser degree than knee treatments. Documentation of this discrepancy serves as an important first step in advocating for improvements in coverage, and subsequently, in access to care.