California HMO to Offer Acupuncture
by Peter Barry Chowka From Natural Healthline |
On April 22, Lifeguard Health Care, Inc., one of California's fastest growing Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) based in Milpitas, part = of Santa Clara County (a.k.a. "Silicon" Valley) south of San Francisco, announced that it will soon begin offering acupuncture as a benefit to its 212,000 members in Central and Northern California. According to the Los Angeles Times (April 24), which reported on the development on page one of its Business section, the HMO "may be the first in the state to do so."
Although a number of medical insurers including American Western Life in Foster City, CA offer coverage of different forms of natural healing such as naturopathic medicine, HMOs and managed care companies have been slower to make medical alternatives available. According to the Times, which cites Oxford in its article, that situation may be changing now, = especially as "more than 50 medical schools, including such prestigious institutions as Harvard and Columbia universities, now have courses or divisions in alternative medicine."
Mark Hyde, Lifeguard's CEO, commented, "I think people are open to the Idea that there are other answers to some maladies than just Western medicine. Lots of Western medicine is fairly invasive, and people are looking for other ways to care for their bodies."
Hyde told the Times that his company's decision to offer acupuncture was sparked by demands from employers, including a large Silicon Valley high-technology company that said it would consider offering Lifeguard to its workers if acupuncture were offered. "We'll see if this is a hook in the market that draws new customers to us," Hyde said. "Competition for employees is intense here in the Valley, so providing them with an = additional benefit is really something employers can use to attract and retain employees."
According to the Times, "Hyde said Lifeguard was surprised at the popularity of chiropractic services when it began offering them as a international popularity and importance of traditional or alternative medicine.
For more information:
"Insurance companies that cover acupuncture."
Acupuncture.com |