Occipital Nerve Injections and Ablation (Including Occipital Neuralgia and Headache) – Commercial and Individual Exchange Medical Policyopen_in_new

UnitedHealthcare covers greater occipital nerve blocks (local anesthetic ± steroid) and occipital nerve neurolytic ablation only for pain from head/neck malignancy, and explicitly considers GONB for non‑malignant occipital neuralgia/headache, neurostimulation (including ONS), occipital neurectomy, rhizotomy, radiofrequency ablation/denervation, and surgical decompression unproven and not medically necessary for diagnosing or treating occipital neuralgia or headache disorders. Coverage requires documentation of the malignant head/neck diagnosis (appropriate ICD‑10), detailed procedure/operative notes and immediate outcome, application of IHS/cervicogenic diagnostic criteria when relevant, pre‑RFN diagnostic blockade and imaging to exclude other etiologies, documentation of prior conservative therapy where applicable, and informed consent; some neurostimulation uses remain limited to research or special‑arrangement settings per guideline/FDA/NICE conditions.