As Complementary & Alternative Medicine Becomes More Popular, Should Insurers Pay for CAM Procedures and Therapy?

Alpharetta, GA (PRWEB) August 04, 2011

More doctors are learning about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) as part of their medical training, and more patients are drawn to health care professionals who practice holistic medicine, according to two articles published in the most recent edition of the Jackson & Coker Industry Report. But this raises a key question: Should insurers pay for medical therapy and procedures that some question as scientifically unproven?

“There’s no doubt that complementary and alternative medicine has made inroads in gaining acceptability in the medical profession,” mentioned Jackson & Coker president, Sandra Garrett. “But it remains to be seen what direction third-party payers will take in reimbursing for these popular – though, in some cases, controversial – integrative approaches to patient care.”

An article contributed by health care consultant Taylor Walsh discusses the growing influence of integrative medicine in U.S. medical school education over the last several decades. Entitled “The Evolving Role of CAM Integrative Medicine in American Medical Education,” the article points out:

    46 of the nation’s premier medical schools offer curricula in integrative medicine.

    The National Institutes of Health has created an Office of Alternative Medicine to explore the impact of these therapies on U.S. health consumers.

    In 2000, the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy recommended increased coordination of institutional proponents of CAM.

    In 2002, joining UMass, Duke and Arizona medical schools, eight academic health centers created the Consortium of Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine (CAHCIM).

    In 2005, a National Educational Dialogue convened involving stakeholder organizations from across the nation’s integrative practice and medical education spectrum to advance even greater multidisciplinary approaches to medical education.

    Launched in 2003, the Integrative Medicine Fellowship in Residence is a four-year program funded in part by the U.S. Dept. of Education with the goal to “educate family physicians who practice medicine in an integrative manner.”

The Special Report in the same issue of the JCIR entitled “The Mainstreaming of Complementary, Alternative, and Integrative Medicine” mentions the amount of money that patients favoring holistic medical treatment spend annually. The cost for CAM treatments and procedures is estimated to exceed $ 33 billion. Specifically, medical “self-care” (CAM products and health improvement classes) accounts for 65% of dollars spent; while visits to CAM practitioners account for the other 35%.

According to the same report, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCAM) asserts that private health insurers more readily cover traditional CAM therapies like massage, acupuncture, biofeedback, and chiropractic treatment–but on a limited basis.

Some major insurers, though, regard these modalities as experimental or unproven, and thus are reluctant to pay for them.

On the other hand, there appears to be a trend among some payers that offer “a special policy rider for CAM coverage.” As the article discusses, oft times patients who receive CAM treatment are hit with higher deductibles and copays, must abide by certain referral requirements from primary care physicians, encounter restrictions to a small network of providers, and face an annual limitation to doctor visits.

With passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), it appears that greater emphasis will be placed on alternative and integrative medical practice as an acceptable practice model. Under the Act, the report notes, the Secretary of HHS “will establish a program that provides grants to Interdisciplinary Community Health Teams which may include ‘licensed complementary and alternative medicine practitioners.’”

Click here to access the two articles on CAM: http://www.jacksoncoker.com/physician-career-resources/newsletters/Monthlymain/May/2011.aspx.

About Jackson & Coker

Jackson & Coker (http://www.jacksoncoker.com), a prominent physician staffing firm, believes that all hospitals, clinics, physician practices, and patients should have access to a physician whether for a day, a lifetime, or any of life’s changes in between. For over three decades, Jackson & Coker, a leader in locum tenens recruiting, has been uniting physicians and hospitals to ensure that all patients’ needs are met by providing physicians for as little as a day and as long as a lifetime. The firm specializes in doctor opportunities for physicians at any stage of their professional career.

Headquartered in metro Atlanta, the physician recruitment firm has earned a reputation for placing exceptionally qualified candidates in commercial and government practice opportunities. Recruiters work in two divisions of the company: Permanent Placement, which places providers in over 40 medical specialties in permanent placement jobs, and locum tenens, a staffing model that recruits medical providers (physicians and CRNAs) for temporary vacancies.

The company has earned a “Gold Seal” designation as a “Certified Health Care Staffing Service” by the Joint Commission and is affiliated with a credentials verification organization (JH CVO) that has received certification by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) in ten out of ten credentialing services. Additionally, Jackson & Coker participates in social media networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter—including managing Twitter websites focused on major specialties.

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