A 'third way' to cut healthcare costs

[Guest guest]

Yes, this makes perfect " sense " and " logical " if what

you are trying to achieve is healthier people and

lower health costs.

 

If that were the case these measures could have and

would have been adopted something like 75 years ago or

more. This is not just accidentally misguided

thinking.

 

What we have is very representative of what our

" health system " is trying to achieve. More " customers "

and more " profit " . On that basis it is doing extremely

well and has been on a continous growth path for about

100 years now. F.

 

 

http://www.healthy.net/scr/news.asp?Id=9392

 

A 'third way' to cut healthcare costs

Provided by Christian Science Monitor on 6/30/2004

 

Back to Healthy News

 

CAMBRIDGE, MASS. - With another presidential campaign

in full swing, polls show that the ever-rising cost of

healthcare is near the top of voters' worries. Yet the

candidates will almost certainly trot out the two

timeworn choices: cut benefits or raise taxes. It is

time to try a new approach. Alternative medicine

promises an innovative, inclusive, and fiscally

responsible solution.

 

Scientists across the country are beginning to

demonstrate that certain alternative therapies are

both safe and effective. The therapies range from

ancient remedies to modern techniques and include,

significantly, healing through prayer. Some patients

use alternative therapies to avoid the need for

conventional treatment altogether. Reports in major

medical journals show that some approaches may help

patients manage stress and prevent the incidence or

recurrence of disease. Other patients turn to

alternative therapies in conjunction with conventional

medicine, often to reduce unpleasant side effects such

as those that come with chemotherapy.

 

The cost-saving implications of all this are

potentially enormous. When heart patients take a $250

meditation class to lower blood pressure and reduce

cholesterol, they also help stave off a $15,000 bypass

procedure. Studies show massage therapy ($85 an hour)

is the most effective alternative treatment for lower

back pain. It also helps avoid surgery (average cost:

$16,000), cuts medication, and reduces workers'

compensation claims (billions of dollars annually).

When surgeons invite a reiki practitioner ($100 a

session) into a music-filled operating room, patients

heal faster, allowing them to leave the hospital

sooner. An extra day in the hospital costs at least

$1,000.

 

Are the ears of insurance companies pricking up?

 

The next step is more research to prove the anecdotal

evidence. This next round of studies will compare the

effectiveness and costs of alternative therapies with

standard treatments using conventional medicine.

 

And doctors will have to learn how to cooperate with

those involved in alternative therapies, just as they

are now learning to share information and

decision-making with patients themselves.

 

It is simple common sense that whenever people can

prevent illness or promote healing, they will use

fewer healthcare resources. America is looking for a

way out of skyrocketing healthcare costs. People are

voting with their feet and identifying alternative

medicine as a possible alternative strategy.

 

? Mary Ruggie teaches at Harvard University's Kennedy

School of Government. She is author of 'Marginal to

Mainstream: Alternative Medicine in America.'

 

www.csmonitor.com - 2004 The Christian

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