Active care includes relief, correction, and stabilization of a condition. This care requires frequent visits that reduce in frequency as the patient improves. In addition to the chiropractic adjustments, treatment during this phase of care usually requires additional services such as therapeutic modalities as well as physical therapy rehabilitative exercises. A doctor-prescribed treatment plan is necessary during this care phase and treatment intervals typically do not exceed 2 weeks. This is the only type of care that is considered by the insurance industry to be "medically necessary" and potentially covered by any insurance benefits.
Maintenance care is meant to prevent future relapses and maintain the condition after active care has been completed. This is also known as wellness or preventative care. This care requires periodic check-up visits in order to prevent future relapses and/or maintain the health status that was achieved during active care. Maintenance care visits are usually anywhere from 2 weeks intervals to 3 month intervals, although most patients would ideally benefit from monthly chiropractic check-ups to stay in optimal health and wellness. The insurance industry considers maintenance/wellness/preventative chiropractic care to be "not-medically necessary" and therefore does not cover these types of visits - similar to your car insurance not covering oil changes and tune-ups which are required for proper vehicle maintenance.