Minnesota Touch Movement Network
(formerly known as the Minnesota Therapeutic Massage Network)

A proposal in Minnesota for a study of CAM services for state-funded insurance programs is on the surface interesting. The reported question is if CAM can improve the quality of health care and possibly save the state money. Where this may end up is an even bigger question, encompassing suppliers, discounting of fees, qualifications and the willingness of the insurance providers.

Director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Spirituality and Healing, Mary Jo Kreitzer, speaks of consumer interest, which is well known since the famous studies done by David Eisenberg, M.D. in 1990 and published in 1993. His paper entitled “Unconventional Medicine in the United States: Prevalence, Costs, and Patterns of Use" was published in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM.) and is still sited as a hallmark of CAM.

Yes, people are using CAM. Yes, they are paying out of pocket. Yes, if asked, the consumer wants the insurance to cover it, BUT the reality of that answer is not really mentioned.

Practitioners, such as massage therapists, have often provided care for persons involved in an automobile accident. Typically, a current client who is injured will approach their practitioner for service. The practitioner provides it as on-going care and deals with the insurance more as a courtesy to the client. A person who is new to the CAM practices will often use their insurance to the extent of the allowed coverage. These are not necessarily considered good clients, though granted some may become clients pursuing an overall maintenance program instead of just a fix it program. Some practitioners may specialize in automobile insurance claims, but overall it can be a while before the money shows up.

Blue Cross/Blue Shield and some other health insurance programs provide their customers with provider of CAM lists, which amounts to a contractual agreement between the insurer and the provider. The insurer sends traffic and the provider offers a discount to the insurance consumer in return for the traffic/marketing by the insurer. This ultimately means that the consumer who is not covered by these plans must pay a higher price than the contractual agreement with the insurer.

A follow up concern is who will be the provider. Medical health care professionals who take postgraduate courses at the universities, physical therapists, or chiropractors? In Minnesota, we have a regulation for CAM providers that requires a disclosure of client’s rights and the provider’s educational background. Recognizing that CAM practices are effective and often subjective, it is hard to consider this in an outcome based program as the state might require.

Healing on a timetable and limit of practice is not typical of CAM practices. You might want to consult Dawn Nelson, author of Compassionate Touch. Her experience with nursing home care and subjective touch is certainly a great resource for this study. http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:an9aDuTXzjsJ:www.stationhill.org/nelson.html+Dawn+nelson+touch&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1&lr=lang_en&client=safari

Further, it has appeared for a long time that insurance companies have not been looking for more coverages to offer, quite the opposite. Health Savings Plans have been the boon of late. Maybe the state and the insurance field can find a cheap way to provide this, but the consumer and the provider will not benefit. In the end this may easily hurt CAM practices if they are provided by inexperienced and poorly paid practitioners and eventually called ineffective and useless.

I hope this is the realm of your inquiry. If you have further questions you may reach me at my home phone, 612-825-2699 or for Friday morning, if you don’t reach me at home first, try my cell, 612-237-1753.

Robert Calvert and Judi have long been friends of the MTMN and myself. We mourn his untimely death. He was such a champion of massage therapy. He will be missed.

Sincerely,
Barbara York
President, MTMN