Alternative Medicine: A New Convention

Baby boomers who believe patient-centered, non-invasive health care is a right and not a privilege have turned away from conventional medical treatments during the last two decades. In place of impersonal and often cursory medical care supplied by HMOs, many boomers have opted for alternative health therapies.

Americans are seeking alternative health therapies in record numbers. In 1998, the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that 42.1 million Americans spent $21.2 billion dollars a year on alternative therapies including chiropractic care, acupuncture, therapeutic massage, and nutritional counseling. Significantly, about three quarters of these people paid out of their own pockets.

Not surprisingly, the medical establishment is becoming increasingly concerned with alternative medical research. This is prompting leading medical schools such as Harvard, UCLA, Yale, and Georgetown to offer courses in various alternative therapies.

Naysayers into Believers
Even formerly outspoken opponents of alternative medicine, such as the American Medical Association (AMA), are becoming more inclusive of their old foes. The AMA, which in the 1970s used to discipline its members for referring patients to chiropractors, rewrote its charter so as "to encourage its members to become better informed regarding alternative medicine and to participate in appropriate studies of it."

The U.S. government is also getting into the alternative medicine act: the National Institutes of Health (NIH) operates the National Center For Complementary & Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), which is a clearinghouse of evidence-based research into alternative medicine.

While increasing numbers of insurance companies nationwide are covering chiropractic, acupuncture, and other alternative treatments, Washington state requires health insurance companies to cover all licensed and certified alternative practitioners. Next >

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