I know it is not covered by Medicare. I know two persons that had partial coverage from private insurance, in that the number of sessions was limited. I paid completely out of pocket, and it was about $3000 at the time back in 2005. For me, this was a lot of money, but my life was totally limited by pain and inability to sleep. I was willing to take the risk and that's a hard decision for folks like me who have limited income. Looking back, I'm so glad I took the risk. My back pain was caused by a herniated disc. I would guess that today's cost for the same number of treatments might be about what you estimate. (It depends on how many sessions you might need, also). I hope this helps you make a good decision.