Ask the Doctor...Cost Effectiveness of Chiropractic Care

Over the last few years, a shaky economy and an uncertainty of the direction of healthcare in the United States has led consumers searching for better options to battle common musculoskeletal ailments, especially those dealing with neck pain, back pain and headaches.

A trip to the medical doctor for these common conditions can cost thousands of dollars in medical bills and cause a dependence on prescription medications, while never really getting to the root of the problem.  So, we have seen an increase in patients choosing alternative health treatments to relieve pain and improve overall health.  AWESOME!!! 

What's more, insurance companies are seeing the research and agreeing that chiropractic IS a cost-effective way of reducing insurance claims paid out and including chiropractic as a covered service in their benefit plan. 

Medical Care is EXPENSIVE!

An average trip to your medical doctor will cost $60-$300, sometimes more.  Regardless of insurance coverage, between co-payments and co-insurance, the money an individual has to pay out-of-pocket can sometimes break the bank that month. 

Now, walk out of your medical doctor's office to the pharmacy next door and pick up your prescription drugs that will cost even MORE money (not to mention the costs of harmful side effects and possible drug addiction) to take the pain away.  "So, you hurt your back mowing the lawn three days ago?  That will be $1,000 please, and we won't do anything to fix the problem, we will just cover it up".

But wait!  What if your medication runs out and the pain comes back?  "Come back and see us...we will get you another prescription!"  And this, my friends, is called addiction.  Insurance companies pay pharmaceutical companies to produce these drugs, who in turn pay BIG money to medical doctors to keep the viscious cycle going.  Insurance premiums, co-payments and co-insurance amounts, which we WILL pay (because we have to), continue to increase.

The OTHER side of the coin!

So you are out mowing the lawn three days ago and feel a "twinge" in your back.  Nothing too bad, so you continue.  You wake up the next day and you can barely get out of bed!

Instead of going to the medical doctor, you decide to see a chiropractor.  A typical visit to the chiropractor will cost between $35 and $65.  Sometimes more, but most chiropractors have at least a free consultation, where you pay nothing untill you and the doctor decide whether or not chiropractic care is a good fit for you and your condition.  Sound familiar?  IT SHOULDN'T!!! 

If it does, then please let me know what medical doctor will make an appointment with you, talk to you for 15 minutes and not charge you for an office visit! :) 

Anyway, the chiropractor's goals are to get you out of pain AND restore function and fix the underlying problem...SO THE PAIN DOESN'T COME BACK!  Now, the pain may not go away immediately, so for those looking for a "quick fix", that doesn't always happen.  Initial treatment may last a few weeks, but overall, the cost of that treatment will still be lower than the cycle of medical office visits and prescription medications.  Plus, now you have restored your spine and surrounding musculature to the condition it was in before the injury!

Recent Research Will Support This...

A 2012 systemic review found spinal manipulation therapy to be more cost-effective for neck and low back pain when compared with general practitioner care, physiotherapy or exercise.

A study in 2007 compared care costs of a patient under the direction of a chiropractor as their primary care physician (PCP) versus a medical doctor. After 70,000 member-months spanning a 7-year period, hospital admission costs were decreased by 60.2 percent, cost of days spent in the hospital were decreased by 59.0 percent, and outpatient surgeries and procedures were down by 62.0 percent.

If these numbers were not astonishing enough, the costs associated with pharmaceuticals decreased by 85 percent when compared to conventional medically driven care. All of these comparisons were done in the same time frame, geography, and health maintenance organization product.

***If you would like more information, or to locate these studies, please contact me at karrie@vandersluischiropractic.com

Finally...

If you are not currently seeing a chiropractor, start today!  Please visit our website www.vandersluischiropractic.com for information on how chiropractic can help several common conditions that don't include low back pain, neck pain, or headaches.  Find a chiropractor and get out of pain, restore your function, and save some stress on the wallet!!!