Originally published February 20 2005
Alternative health care proponents want better insurance coverage for the treatments
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Practitioners and patients alike swear by many of today's popular alternative health care methods. They just wish insurance companies would provide better coverage for the services. Massage therapy and acupuncture are increasingly being recognized as helpful for wide variety of ailments, but few insurance plans offer substantial coverage for the treatments. The plans that do cover alternative therapies offer just small discounts on the services or put sometimes prohibitive restrictions on the coverage.
Thousands of people, including children, are participating in alternative therapies, including Reiki, Kinseology, acupuncture and Feldenkrais.
Stevens, who runs Acupuncture, a Westport, Mass.-based business that provides acupuncture sessions, said the very moment a needle entered her skin something changed her forever.
Acupuncture, developed by the Chinese and used for 3,000 years, involves using needles at different points in the body, often in the wrists and feet, to release tension and pain and boost energy.
Some clients use the sessions to fight depression, anxiety or alleviate pain.
Some insurance providers do cover acupuncture, one of the more mainstream of alternative therapies.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island has a complementary and alternative medicine discount program for members of massage therapy, acupuncture and registered dieticians, as well as discounts through their store, www.healthyroads.com.
She herself doesn't accept insurance at her practice because oftentimes she is not reimbursed.
She also said she thinks its disrespectful as a practitioner to receive $24 for an hour and a half of her time, education and services, less than half of what her sessions cost.
Feldenkrais, for instance, is a therapy used to improve a person's quality of life and is not used for only the ill.
Mr. Rogers said people who practice the method do it for different reasons.
For some, it's a matter of health, and for others it's a way to improve movement.
Christa Johnson, MD, a staff physician at Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River, will present a workshop on mind/body medicine and meditation for stress reduction at The Healing Co-Op in Middletown, Rhode Island's only free-of-charge non-profit center dedicated to the support of women with cancer and their families.
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml