In general, if you are paying for health insurance, there is the expectation that the insurance will cover the health care that you require. Many Americans (including myself), are using some form of alternative medicine, either instead of traditional medicine, or in addition to it. There is a growing push to require health insurance companies to cover acupuncture and massage treatments.
I just started having acupuncture treatment in an attempt to improve my chronic allergies. Now, I don’t have health insurance, at all, so I went in completely aware that I would be paying for all of my treatments out of pocket. If I had health insurance, I would be expecting it to cover at least part of the cost of my medical care.
In Colorado right now, there is a bill that is waiting for approval so it can be made into law. This law would require health insurance companies that already cover acupuncture treatments to accept claims from licensed acupuncturists. Right now, some of these insurance companies are only accepting acupuncture claims if they come from a chiropractor or a physician. They aren’t accepting claims regarding acupuncture treatment that come from licensed acupuncturists, which seems rather strange to me.
Of course, even if that particular law passes in Colorado, it won’t solve everything. There is no law requiring health insurance companies cover acupuncture treatments, at all. I cannot help but wonder if the passing of this law will cause all the health insurance companies to suddenly decide to stop covering acupuncture treatment altogether.
According to the National Institute of Health, 38% of adults are using some form of alternative medicine. This group spends about $33 billion out of pocket each year for supplements and treatments. Very few insurance companies will cover things like acupuncture and massage treatments.
A study by the Massage Profession Research Report, which was recently released by the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA), showed that 58% of Americans want their health insurance plan to cover massage therapy. We will all have to wait and see if this interest in alternative medicine is going to be something that is taken into account as the health care laws and regulations are being shaped. It would be really nice if someday, I could find affordable health insurance that would actually cover the kind of medical care that is finally helping me to become healthy.
Image by Victoria Garcia on Flickr