Report shows chiropractic better value for neck and low back pain treatment

How Chiropractic Helps the Insurance Industry

Report suggests covering chiropractic care of neck and low back pain increases value-for-dollar of health benefit plans.

Insurance companies and others hesitant to expand coverage of chiropractic care should review a copy of a report commissioned by the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress and prepared by Mercer Health and Benefits, a San Francisco-based human resources and financial advisor. The report, "Do Chiropractic Physician Services for Treatment of Low Back and Neck Pain Improve the Value of Health Benefit Plans?" concludes that chiropractic care "is likely to achieve equal or better health outcomes at a cost that compares very favorably to most therapies that are routinely covered in U.S. health benefit plans"…

Study Parameters

Niteesh Choudhry, MD, PhD, assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, and Arnold Milstein, MD, MPH, chief physician at Mercer Health and Benefits, evaluated the peer-reviewed literature and constructed an economic model…

Take-Home Points

• Chiropractic care is widely used, with almost half of all patients with persistent back pain seeking this form of treatment.
• "Chiropractic care is more effective than other modalities for treating low back and neck pain."
• Chiropractic care for the treatment of low back and neck pain "is highly cost-effective, represents a good value in comparison to medical physician care and to widely accepted cost-effectiveness thresholds."
• "Insurance coverage for chiropractic physician care ... is likely to drive improved cost-effectiveness of U.S. care."
• These findings "support the value of health insurance coverage of chiropractic care for low back and neck pain at average fees currently payable by U.S. commercial insurers."

To download a complete copy of the Choudhry and Milstein report, visit www.f4cp.com/MercerReport.htm. To review other recent study findings suggesting the cost-effectiveness and clinical value of chiropractic care, read "The Research You've Been Waiting for? (Aug. 26 issue) and "Cost-Effective Care: The Evidence Mounts" (Sept. 9 issue).

By Peter W. Crownfield, Executive Editor

Posted via email from Harris' posterous