Data suggest that Americans are increasingly willing to pay
out-of-pocket for acupuncture, chiropractic, or massage care that isn't
covered by health insurance, reports a new study led by the National
Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. The study was released
by the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The researchers compared data from two years (2002 and 2012) of the
supplement on complementary health approaches of the National Health
Interview Survey (NHIS). In 2002, about 31,000 U.S. adults responded to
the survey; in 2012, the number was about 34,500.
The type of health insurance that people have is known to be
associated with their use rates for complementary health approaches.
However, how insurance coverage relates to the use of individual
complementary approaches has been much less studied. This report offers
the first new national findings of this type in about 20 years.
The researchers analyzed NHIS data on the three most commonly
licensed complementary approaches delivered by practitioners:
acupuncture, chiropractic, and massage. Among the questions respondents
were asked include whether, in the past 12 months, any costs of seeing a
practitioner for a therapy had been covered by health insurance, and,
if so, whether those costs were partially or completely covered.
View the full spotlight and major findings.
|