Does Workers' Comp Insurance Cover Chiropractic Care in Centennial, CO?

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By Butler Family Health Center · Published 2026-11-04 · Last updated 2026-11-04

Yes, workers' comp insurance covers chiropractic care in Centennial, CO, when the chiropractor is an authorized provider on your claim. Colorado law requires your employer to provide the treatment a work injury reasonably needs, and the state's referral rule counts chiropractors as physicians.

What decides your case is how the chiropractor joins the claim: through the provider list your employer gives you, the route you use to choose care, and the treatment guidelines the insurer uses to approve visits.

Below are those rules in order, plus a first-week checklist for Centennial workers. When you are ready to be seen, our work injury chiropractor in Centennial page explains how care at Butler Family Health Center starts.

How Colorado Workers' Comp Pays for Chiropractic Care in Centennial

Colorado workers' comp pays for chiropractic care in Centennial the way it pays for other care on a claim: the employer or its insurer covers treatment reasonably needed for the injury, for as long as the disability lasts. The Division of Workers' Compensation's Rule 16 defines "physician" to include chiropractors.

The bill goes to the insurer at the Division's fee schedule. Once liability is admitted or a final order is entered, the statute says a provider "shall under no circumstances seek to recover such costs or fees from the employee." Charges above the fee schedule without approval are unenforceable as a debt, so share any bill you receive with the adjuster.

These are state rules. A city employee at the Centennial Civic Center on East Arapahoe Road and a hangar worker at Centennial Airport, in Arapahoe County, fall under the same statute.

How Soon Do I Need to Report the Injury and File the Claim?

Report a work injury to your employer in writing within ten days (ten working days for self-insured employers and public entity pools). Late reporting can cost up to one day's compensation for each day missed, unless your employer already knew or you show good cause.

The claim must be filed with the Division within two years of the injury, or within three years with a reasonable excuse if the employer is not prejudiced. If your employer knew but never reported the injury to the Division, that clock waits.

The Provider List a Centennial Employer Has to Hand Over

After your employer has notice of a work injury, it has seven business days to give you a list of providers that includes the insurer's contact information. You pick your treating physician from it. Under C.R.S. 8-43-404, at least one listed choice must be at a separate location with no common ownership.

The length depends on how many willing providers practice within 30 miles of the employer. Division Rule 8 sets the numbers:

Willing providers within 30 miles of the employer	Providers the list must include
Three or fewer	One
At least four but fewer than nine	Two
Nine or more	Four

The 30 miles are counted from the employer, not your home, so a list for someone at the Inverness Exchange or in the Denver Tech Center is built around that worksite. If a chiropractor is on it, choosing that chiropractor is the most direct route to chiropractic care.

What If My Employer Never Gives Me a List?

If your employer skips the list or hands over one that falls short, Rule 8 says "the injured worker may select an authorized treating physician or chiropractor of their choosing." The statute adds that when no physician is offered at the time of injury, "the employee shall have the right to select a physician or chiropractor."

That holds for a worker at IKEA Centennial and a driver on Arapahoe Road (State Highway 88) alike. Note the day you reported and the day the seven business days ran out, then call Butler Family Health Center with those dates.

Six Routes to Chiropractic Care on a Colorado Work Injury Claim

A chiropractor joins a Colorado work injury claim through one of six routes.

Your situation	The rule	What you do
A chiropractor is on the list	You select from the list (C.R.S. 8-43-404)	Choose the chiropractor
No list, or one that falls short	You may choose a physician or chiropractor (Rule 8-2(E))	Tell us what you received and when
Your treating physician refers you	Referrals come from the physician managing the claim; the payer cannot alter their scope (Rule 16)	Ask for a chiropractic referral
One-time change of physician	Within 90 days of injury, before maximum medical improvement, to a listed provider, in writing (Rule 8-5(A))	File the Division form in time
Your personal chiropractor	Written request; no answer within 20 days waives objection (C.R.S. 8-43-404)	Send it and keep proof of service
Refusal or discharge for a nonmedical reason	Insurer names a new physician within 15 days of written notice, or you choose (C.R.S. 8-43-404)	Give written notice

• If you were hurt this week on a home-service job in Castlewood or Southglenn and no list has come, report in writing today and call Butler Family Health Center for a same-day exam.
• If you already see a listed doctor and your back or neck is not improving, ask that doctor for a referral to Dr. Butler.
• If Dr. Butler is already your chiropractor, send the written personal chiropractor request now.
• If you work for Cherry Creek Public Schools or Littleton Public Schools and are unsure which route fits, call us before the 90 days run out.

How Many Chiropractic Visits a Colorado Work Injury Claim Covers

The number of chiropractic visits a Colorado work injury claim covers comes from the treatment guidelines and the insurer's authorization. No single number fits every claim. Rule 17 requires providers to use the Division's Medical Treatment Guidelines, and payers review bills against them. Rule 16 lets the payer limit its first approval to the number or duration the relevant guideline lists.

Colorado's statute also ties chiropractic payment to the first 90 days or 12 treatments, whichever comes first, unless the chiropractor holds Level I accreditation, a Division program with a course and an exam.

Care beyond the guidelines needs prior authorization, and the payer must answer a prior authorization request in writing within 10 days. A denial for medical reasons comes with a written explanation, and when care goes past the guidelines, the provider gives you and the payer a written explanation of medical necessity. Keep copies of every letter.

The same guidelines apply to a strain at the Broncos training facilities in Dove Valley and a stiff neck from a desk in Greenwood Village. Your own visit count depends on your exam and how you respond, so Dr. Butler sets the plan after examining you.

How It Works in Centennial: Your First Week After a Work Injury

1. Get emergency care first when you need it. Go to the ER for numbness or weakness that spreads, loss of bladder or bowel control, chest pain, or a serious fall or crash.
2. Report the injury in writing within ten days and keep a dated copy.
3. Watch for the provider list within seven business days and save the insurer's contact information.
4. Pick your route from the table above.
5. Call or text Butler Family Health Center at (303) 741-2444. Same-day appointments and walk-ins are available at Peakview Center, 6500 S Quebec St #250, for workers coming from Littleton or Highlands Ranch.
6. Bring your claim details: claim number, insurer contact, the list or referral, your written report, and a note of the date, time and task when you were hurt.
7. Keep every paper. The two-year claim deadline runs from the injury date.

Why Centennial Workers Call Butler Family Health Center After a Job Injury

Butler Family Health Center accepts workers' compensation cases, along with auto accident, personal injury and slip and fall cases. Dr. Christopher Butler, D.C., trained at Cleveland Chiropractic College and has been a chiropractor since 1996.

He treats the injuries jobs tend to cause: back and neck pain, sciatica, herniated discs, shoulder pain and carpal tunnel symptoms. Care starts with an exam. When the findings support them, the plan may include shockwave therapy, Class IV laser therapy or spinal decompression. Results depend on your injury and your exam.

Same-day appointments and walk-ins put your exam notes close to the injury date. Patients rate the practice 4.9 stars on Google; one wrote, "From the very beginning, I felt listened to, cared for, and never rushed." Peakview Center has on-site parking and a wheelchair accessible entrance, and the practice serves Englewood, Cherry Hills Village and the Denver Tech Center.

The Bottom Line

Colorado workers' comp covers chiropractic care in Centennial when the chiropractor is authorized on your claim, and the insurer pays at the state fee schedule. Your way in is the employer's list, a referral, the one-time change, a written request for your personal chiropractor, or your right to choose when no compliant list arrives.

Report the injury in writing within ten days and keep every letter. Then call or text Butler Family Health Center at (303) 741-2444 to book a same-day exam with Dr. Butler, our work injury chiropractor in Centennial.