Insurance companies limit healthcare but they don’t have too!
A key aspect to quality healthcare is prevention. Therapeutic modalities like acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, massage, chiropractic and many other alternative practices are underutilized yet hold the keys to maximizing health and prevention. Insurance companies are not providers of healthcare. Medical professionals who spend the face to face time with their patients are the providers. What’s the bottom line? Insurance companies limit healthcare to protect their bottom line. Let’s get personal – I find this upsetting. I have a passion for helping my patients get well and stay healthy. I know I can help but their health insurance limits their access to my services. The following is one scenario that shows how insurance companies can protect their bottom line and also optimize a patients health. My hope in telling this story is to expand the perception of prevention and access to best alternative practices.
I see several patients who have very challenging health problems. They have been chronically ill for years with little help from conventional medicine. Chronic pain is the typical complaint. When they get a severe flareup they head directly to the emergency room. Based on what I’ve seen in my clinic this can occur a few times per month. Now the cost of an ER visit is extremely high – several hundred to several thousand dollars. The copay alone for some patients could cost $150! Not getting much help from conventional medicine they seek out my services as an alternative. With acupuncture treatment they experience less pain and less visits to the ER. Their chronic health problems remain challenging but they become less challenging when accessing acupuncture as a routine and supportive therapy. Now do the math. Scenario 1. a patient with chronic pain visits the ER 3 times per month. The insurance covers the cost and pays out $500 per visit – that’s $1500 for the month. Scenario 2. alternatively a patient with chronic pain has weekly acupuncture treatments at $65 per visit (4 visits per month = $260) and goes to the ER 1 or 2 times per month. In the last scenario the insurance company saves money and the patient is experiencing better care. Hello?
I know these scenarios are limited and not a consistent experience but insurance companies could track the costs, the past visits and present outcomes to realize the benefits…and that’s my rant!
