Peter McCarthy CTN
Chair Texas Health Freedom Coalition
Government statistics reveal that one in four Texans used complementary and alternative health care services (CAM) as part of their personal health care plan in 2007 the latest year such data is available. The over 1200 CAM professions include such specialties as clinical nutrition naturopathy homeopathy and Reiki.
These 6.25 million Texans spent over $2.67 billion out of pocket since CAM is generally not covered by most major health insurance plans. Even more remarkably in the same period over 3 million Texans paid over 28 million visits to CAM practitioners most of which are unlicensed.
There is potential for huge systemic health care cost savings by embracing complementary and alternative health care as an integral part of our health care system. For example the final report of a 2006 Lewin Group study commissioned by the Dietary Supplement Education Alliance (DSEA) shows that over a five year period appropriate use of select dietary supplements would improve the health of key populations and save the state of Texas over $1.87 billion in health care cost avoidance.
Additionally a recent pilot study conducted by a major state level health care insurance carrier employed CAM practitioners (chiropractors) as primary care providers for a large test group. Medical insurance claims from the group dropped by 50 over two years and in excess of 70 over the remainder of the study.
The U.S. insurance industry explicitly recognizes the safety of CAM. In contrast to the tens of thousands of dollars some licensed health care professionals must spend annually for malpractice insurance unlicensed CAM practitioners spend a fraction of that amount. For example a practitioner working part time under the insurance category of Allied Health Professional Nutritionist" can purchase a comprehensive liability policy ($3 million total coverage and $1 million per incident) for a premium of less than $200 annually.
The Department of State Health Services has already gone on record that individually licensing each of the hundreds of CAM professions which are practiced in Texas is fiscally prohibitive" said state Rep. John Garza author of HB 1716 the CAM services bill. At the same time there are currently no uniform guidelines available which allow Texas consumers of CAM services to exercise informed consent for those services" Garza added.
Garzas bill HB 1716 and its companion bill SB 1084 authored by Sen. Jeff Wentworth offers a no-cost framework to establish these guidelines and set clear boundaries on what unlicensed CAM practitioners are allowed to do. They would be specifically barred from activities such as diagnosing illness prescribing drugs and performing surgery. The bills also provide protection to CAM practitioners who remain within these guidelines. Both bills are currently in committee awaiting hearings.
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