Red light therapy is not covered by most health insurance plans. Medicare has a national coverage determination explicitly classifying infrared therapy devices as “not reasonable and necessary,” and most private insurers follow a similar position, labeling the therapy experimental or investigational for the vast majority of conditions people seek it for. There are a few narrow exceptions, but if you’re hoping to get sessions reimbursed for pain, skin concerns, or general wellness, you’ll almost certainly be paying out of pocket.
What Medicare and Medicaid Cover
Medicare’s position is clear and has been in place since 2006. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services determined that infrared and near-infrared light therapy, including monochromatic infrared energy devices, is non-covered for treating diabetic and non-diabetic peripheral neuropathy, wounds, ulcers, and pain arising from those conditions. Before that national ruling, local Medicare contractors had already been denying claims, stating there were “no indications for which these devices have been demonstrated to have any therapeutic effect.”
This means Medicare won’t reimburse for red light therapy sessions at a clinic, and it won’t cover home red light devices as durable medical equipment. Medicaid programs vary by state but generally follow Medicare’s lead on coverage determinations like this one.
Private Insurance Policies
Major private insurers treat red light therapy similarly. Aetna’s clinical policy bulletin lists a long roster of conditions for which low-level infrared light therapy is considered “experimental, investigational, or unproven.” That list includes back pain, neck pain, osteoarthritis, chronic wounds, migraines, diabetic neuropathy, traumatic brain injury, tendinopathy, and many others. Aetna does consider infrared treatment medically necessary in two narrow situations: as a heat modality during physical therapy (essentially using it as a fancy heating pad) and for infrared coagulation of grade I or II internal hemorrhoids.
Other large insurers, including UnitedHealthcare and Cigna, maintain comparable policies. The common thread is that insurers require strong clinical evidence before classifying a treatment as medically necessary, and most have concluded the evidence for red light therapy doesn’t meet that bar for the conditions people typically want it for.
The One Notable Exception: Oral Mucositis
The clearest case where red light therapy does get covered is the prevention of oral mucositis, the painful mouth sores that develop during chemotherapy, radiation, or stem cell transplantation. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island, for example, covers low-level laser therapy for patients undergoing cancer treatment who are at increased risk for oral mucositis, stating the evidence is “sufficient to determine that the technology results in a meaningful improvement in the net health outcome.”
This is a specific clinical application performed in a medical setting, not the kind of red light panel session most people are searching about. But it demonstrates that coverage can exist when a well-defined use case has enough supporting evidence. If you’re a cancer patient dealing with mucositis, ask your oncology team whether your plan covers this.
Why the FDA Factor Matters
A major reason insurers won’t cover red light therapy is the gap between FDA clearance and FDA approval. Many red light devices on the market received 510(k) clearance, a regulatory shortcut that allows a device to be sold if it’s substantially similar to something already on the market. Some of today’s devices trace their clearance back to devices originally classified as electric heating pads in the 1990s. CMS has pointed out that no red light or infrared devices have received full FDA approval for treating or managing disease, which would require formal clinical studies and a pre-market approval process. Without that higher standard of approval, insurers have little incentive to cover the therapy.
Using Your HSA or FSA
Even though insurance won’t cover red light therapy in most cases, you may be able to use pre-tax dollars from a Health Savings Account or Flexible Spending Account. The IRS defines eligible medical expenses as costs for “diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease” and includes “devices used in diagnosing and treating illness and disease.” The federal FSA program (FSAFEDS) explicitly lists phototherapy and light therapy as eligible expenses when used for a medical condition, provided you have a detailed receipt.
The key distinction is purpose. The IRS does not allow reimbursement for expenses that are “merely beneficial to general health.” If you’re using red light therapy to treat a diagnosed condition like joint pain or a skin disorder, it can qualify. If you’re using it for general wellness or anti-aging, it likely won’t. Keep your receipts and, ideally, documentation from a provider linking the therapy to a specific medical condition. A letter from your doctor explaining the medical purpose can help if your claim is questioned.
What You’ll Pay Out of Pocket
Professional red light therapy sessions typically run $50 to $150 per session at dedicated therapy studios, with prices varying based on session length, equipment quality, and location. Med-spas and physician offices that bundle red light with other treatments can charge $200 to $400 per session. Since most conditions require multiple sessions per week over several weeks, costs add up quickly. A typical course of 10 to 20 sessions could range from $500 to $3,000.
Home devices offer a lower long-term cost. Full-body panels from reputable manufacturers generally cost $500 to $2,000 upfront, with no ongoing per-session fees. Smaller targeted devices start around $100 to $300. If you plan to use red light therapy regularly, a home device often pays for itself within a few months compared to studio pricing. Just remember that the same HSA/FSA rules apply to device purchases: eligible if used for a medical condition, not eligible if used purely for wellness.
How to Check Your Specific Plan
Insurance policies vary, and new coverage decisions do happen. To check your own situation, call the member services number on the back of your insurance card and ask specifically about “photobiomodulation” or “low-level laser therapy” for your diagnosed condition. These are the clinical terms your insurer will recognize. Your provider’s billing office can also run a pre-authorization check using the relevant procedure codes before you commit to a treatment plan. Getting a denial in writing can be useful if you want to appeal or if coverage policies change later.
If your provider bills red light therapy as part of a broader physical therapy session using the heat modality classification, there’s a better chance of partial reimbursement than if the red light therapy is billed as a standalone treatment. This is worth discussing with both your provider and your insurer before your first appointment.