by Dan Ritchey
I set out to find out how many healthcare providers are accepting CAM as a legitimate treatment option. I found an interesting article from the Center For Advancing Health. The article states that doctors and nurses use complementary and alternative medicine—for themselves—more than workers in other fields. It also said that three-fourths of health care workers use complementary and alternative
medicine, compared with 63 percent of the general working population. The researchers used data from the 2007 National Health Interview
Survey, analyzing responses from 14,329 working adults. Their findings
appear online in the journal Health Services Research.
Although these practices are becoming more accepted by doctors, most insurance companies have not jumped on board with the idea. According to the National Institute of Health, "treatments that are more commonly covered by insurance include
chiropractic, acupuncture, and massage. However, health insurance
companies still regard most alternative techniques with uncertainty.
Treatments that are not included in most traditional health plans
include herbal therapy, homeopathy, applied kinesiology, and
naturopathy. Though these procedures may not be covered, alternative
healthcare costs could be reduced if policyholders better understood
insurance policies and options."
Sources:
Dawson, M. (2011, August 19). Doctors, Nurses Often Use Holistic Medicine for Themselves | Center for Advancing Health. Doctors, Nurses Often Use Holistic Medicine for Themselves | Center for Advancing Health. Retrieved October 23, 2013, from http://www.cfah.org/hbns/2011/doctors-nurses-often-use-holistic-medicine-for-themselves#.UmhIjCRJjfg
Valles, M. (2013, February 27). Alternative Medicine and Your Health Insurance: How to Get More Out of Your Plan. The Simple Dollar. Retrieved October 23, 2013, from http://www.thesimpledollar.com/healthinsurance/alternative-medicine/
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