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Ed. Note: The following
story is a press release from American Specialty Health.
April 12, 2005
American Specialty Health (ASH), the nation's leading complementary health
care organization, is debuting new health plan coverages here that allow
Arkansas employers to offer insurance benefits for complementary health
care. This makes popular treatments such as chiropractic/manual
manipulation, acupuncture, massage therapy, dietetic counseling, and
vitamins and minerals more accessible and affordable for employees.
Employers with 51 or more employees are able to purchase these benefits as
a supplemental group benefit rider, similar to purchasing vision, dental,
or behavioral health coverage. The benefits are offered by American
Specialty Health Insurance Company (ASH Insurance), a subsidiary of ASH,
and are available for both in-state and out-of-state employees.
Employers are increasingly eager to offer complementary health care
coverage because of growing evidence that it can help reduce employee
medical utilization as well as the overall costs of health care, according
to George DeVries, president and chief executive officer of ASH. In a
recent study in the 'Archives of Internal Medicine,' employees with
chiropractic insurance coverage had 41 percent fewer hospitalizations for
back pain than employees without chiropractic coverage. They also had 32
percent fewer back surgeries and significantly lower utilization rates for
CT/MRI scans and X-rays than employees without chiropractic insurance.
Employers also are interested because of employee demand for complementary
health services. According to a recent Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention study, 36 percent of consumers use some sort of "complementary
and alternative" therapy.
"With the growing consumer demand for complementary health care and
employers' increasing needs for cost-effective health coverages, our
company is stepping in to meet a need that is often unfulfilled by
mainstream insurers," said DeVries. "As a result, coverage is becoming
easier for employees to get." According to a new Kaiser Family Foundation
study, employees covered by acupuncture health benefits increased from 33
percent in 2002 to 47 percent in 2004, while employees with chiropractic
coverage increased from 79 percent of workers in 2002 to 84 percent in
2004.
Cindy Beemer, DC, a Springdale-based chiropractor, believes the
availability of complementary health care coverage is becoming
increasingly important to patients because it offers a broader choice of
wellness and treatment options.
"Many patients today are sophisticated users of health care services,"
said Dr. Beemer. "They know that complementary care providers will
approach their treatment in a different way than traditional providers,
and they want the option to make that kind of choice. This is especially
important for patients who have a history of chronic health conditions or
chronic pain that has not been resolved through traditional medicine or
has not been improved by taking prescription drugs."
Employees covered by ASH Insurance can access a state network of more than
425 contracted providers. Insureds who travel also have access to a
national provider network of more than 22,000 contracted acupuncturists,
chiropractors, dietitians, massage therapists, medical doctors, and
osteopathic physicians. In many cases, ASH Insurance may also cover
employees residing in other states.
American Specialty Health, Incorporated is the nation's leading specialty
benefits organization for complementary health care, providing health
benefits, and health education and affinity network programs to employer
groups and trust funds, health plans, and insurance carriers nationwide.
Based in San Diego, ASH has more than 500 employees and more than 12
million members in benefit programs nationwide. Its subsidiary, American
Specialty Health Insurance Company, is currently licensed or admitted as
an insurer in 42 states and the District of Columbia. For more
information, visit ASHCompanies.com or call (800) 848-3555.
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