Is Hypnotherapy or Reiki Covered by Insurance?

Will your plan pay? Only your insurer can answer that, and the answer depends on the plan, the provider and the reason for treatment. What you can do is ask the right questions before your first appointment, keep records and know which tax-advantaged accounts might help if insurance does not.

What does federal guidance suggest you ask?

The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health recommends contacting your insurance provider directly if you do not know whether a complementary approach is covered. Its page was last updated in June 2016, but the questions remain the practical ones:

Is this approach covered for my health condition?
Does it need to be preauthorized, prescribed or referred?
Do I have to see a practitioner in the network, and what if I go out of network?
Are there limits on the number of visits or the amount paid?
How much will I pay out of pocket?

The page also suggests keeping records of every contact with your insurer, including notes on calls and copies of bills, claims and letters, in case of a dispute. If you are choosing a new plan, ask whether complementary approaches need a special rider, and note that your state insurance department may be able to tell you which insurers cover specific approaches.

Does it matter who provides the treatment?

It can, because the questions an insurer asks are about your condition and the provider. Ask the practitioner as well as the insurer:

Do you accept my plan, and do you file the claims?
What has your experience been with my plan’s coverage for people with my condition?

Those questions come from the same NCCIH guidance. It is also worth asking how the practitioner would describe the service on a claim, and for which condition.

How common is partial coverage?

For some complementary approaches, NCCIH reports what earlier national data showed. In an analysis of 2012 National Health Interview Survey data on acupuncture, chiropractic and massage, coverage among people who had insurance was more likely to be partial than full. That analysis did not cover hypnotherapy or Reiki, and it is now more than a decade old, so treat it as a reason to ask about limits, not as a prediction.

Can a health savings or flexible spending account help?

Possibly. NCCIH notes that flexible spending arrangements and health savings accounts may help cover the costs of some complementary health approaches.

The rules for what counts are set out in IRS Publication 502, the guide to medical and dental expenses (the current edition is for 2025 returns). It defines medical care expenses as those primarily meant to alleviate or prevent a physical or mental disability or illness, and excludes expenses that are merely beneficial to general health. It lists, among others:

amounts paid to a psychologist for medical care;
therapy received as medical treatment;
programs to stop smoking;
weight-loss programs only when they treat a specific disease diagnosed by a physician.

The publication does not mention hypnotherapy or Reiki by name. Whether a particular service qualifies depends on what it is for and how it is documented, so check with your plan administrator or a tax professional before you count on it.

What about outside the United States?

Rules differ by country. A 2024 review in Frontiers in Psychology notes, for example, that in Germany an e-health application for irritable bowel syndrome, overseen by the federal institute for drugs and medical devices, can be prescribed by physicians, with the cost reimbursed by statutory health insurance.

A rule before you book

Get the answer in writing before the first session: covered or not, for which condition, with which provider, and with what limits. If you cannot get a clear answer, plan the cost as out of pocket, and treat any reimbursement that follows as a bonus.

This article is general information, not medical or psychological advice; talk with a licensed clinician about your own situation. Check coverage with your insurer and tax questions with a tax professional.