Insurance coverage is money in the bank.
In December 2008, the National Health Interview Survey showed that about 38 percent of American adults and around 12 percent of kids are treated with complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) of some sort. Kaiser says that at least 75 percent of adults have at least tried it. Some people receive treatments such as massage and acupuncture to complement their conventional medical care, while others rely solely on such therapies as alternative medicine .
Based on conversations I’ve had with my clients, I believe that a much larger percentage of the population would try—and regularly seek—alternative medical assistance and preventative care if insurance companies were willing to cover more of it.
The good news is that insurance companies are starting to see the light when it comes to covering CAM. Because consumers’ interest in CAM coverage has increased dramatically in recent years, insurance companies have started to offer coverage for treatments like chiropractic, massage therapy, acupuncture and sometimes even naturopathy and biofeedback.
You owe it to yourself to find out if your insurance plan covers massage therapy or other CAM treatments. At the risk of sounding like a Geico advertisement: A few moments could save you lots of money on complementary and alternative medicine. Here’s how to do it…
Just look at the details of your insurance plan by scanning your insurer’s website, reading the handbook you were given, or calling a knowledgeable agent. If you find that a CAM treatment is covered, investigate what limits are in place. For example, find out if there is a cap on how many visits you can make to a chiropractor and decipher how much you can spend. Know that even if your plan doesn’t cover a treatment, it may offer a discount on certain CAM treatments.
If your insurer is riding with the times, congratulations! Here comes the tricky part. When it comes to actually getting things covered, you will need to:
- Have a reason to go. Even if your insurance company does cover something, a caveat is that you probably won’t get it covered unless you have a legitimate medical reason to need treatment. Is your back giving you problems because you aggravated it at work? Could chiropractic care and massage therapy potentially prevent you from needing costly surgery in the future?
- Find a doctor willing to refer you to an alternative practitioner. Your primary care physician may be willing to help you out.
- Find an in-network provider that “counts” on paper. For example: I, a massage therapist, can perform 30-minute massages covered and coded as “trigger point massage” under some insurance plans because I work for a chiropractor who works with many insurance-covered injury cases. However, if I were working for Massage Envy, chances are slim at this point (2009) that your insurance would cover a massage from me.
- Run it all by your insurance provider before you jump on the table (massage, chiropractic, or otherwise.) Better safe than sorry.
If your insurer is still a bit behind the times, you aren’t necessarily doomed. Directly ask your insurer to give you reasons why a particular CAM treatment isn’t covered. A representative may mention something regarding lack of scientific evidence. Now’s your chance to shine: Visit this website and do some research of your own. You may be able to find sound evidence that a certain treatment is effective. If you do find that evidence, cite it and dispute a denied claim.
Even if your individual attempt doesn’t end up working in the short-term, your efforts will not have been in vain. When enough people bring complaints and supporting evidence to the table, insurers will begin to change their minds about what gets covered.
Take a stand and be part of a revolution!
