United States Government

The neighbors across the street were really having problems. Jose was hit by a car and was in the hospital for a few weeks. He had to have surgery on his leg and was hurt quite badly. After the surgery he had to go to a rehabilitation center for therapy on his leg. He spent three weeks in rehabilitation and then another few weeks at home recuperating from his accident. The teenager who hit Jose was driving a stolen car and the police were not able to find him. Jose thought his insurance would cover his hospital and rehab expenses but somehow his records were mixed up. The government said his citizenship papers were not in order and he might even be deported. Both he and his wife were frantic. They knew they did everything as their lawyer had told them to do and never had any trouble before. They went to the government office and tried to get this mess cleared up. They found that one number on his social security card was put in wrong in the government computer and they mixed him up with a man with the same name as his. They were so relieved that there was no chance of being deported and that his insurance would pay all their bills and they would not have to file bancarrota.

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Despite increasing popularity and availability, most insurance plans do not include natural products or alternative medical procedures on their list of approved expenses. Even though many of the natural products can safely eliminate many of the symptoms for which more expensive prescription drugs are given, most insurance plans deny benefits for them. The mindset appears to be that unless controlled clinical trials have been conducted and positive results have been repeated, under strict testing guidelines, the products, even those for such things as constipation, cannot possibly be good for people and benefits are withheld.

As the cost of quality medical care continues to skyrocket, it would seem that insurance companies would be more willing to accept less expensive alternatives, but the reality is that when the cost of medicine and services increase, they simply raise their premiums or reduce to the benefits paid, maintaining their profit margin. Under the guise of offering coverage for only approved services to benefit the well-being of their subscribers, insurers continue to make their money while individuals are held hostage by escalating medical expenses. In most cases, they will cover the cost of a prescription for menopause, but will not cover natural medications to relieve the same symptoms.

For those who believe in the use of all natural products, the issue is not only the cost of their coverage and the cost of their prescriptions, it is the lack of choice being offered by the insurance companies. Many dictate which doctors patients can see and will try to determine if specific treatments are right for each individual patients. In many instances, failure to receive a referral to a specialist will result in the patient paying the entire bill. Even to receive something as mundane as a sleep aid may require prior permission under some insurance plans.

There are two things working against the pubic in gaining approval by insurance companies to pay for natural health products. Most of the companies negotiate the cost of drugs with the pharmaceutical companies for their policy holders and if they are at odds with the drug companies, the cost of their negotiated prices will increase, cutting into their profit. Additionally, drug companies have a powerful government lobby and if insurance companies attempt to approve payments for natural health products, the government can give them grief about paying for products or services that have not been approved by the general medical community.

Even natural health services such as acupuncture and holistic healing, which have been shown as promising alternatives to many invasive procedures, are shunned by many insurance carriers as they have not been accepted by modern medical practitioners and the use of natural health products could cut into the drug companies’ profits. Their reluctance to cover the cost of natural health care has caused some people to turn their backs on modern medicine all together and pay the lower cost of natural health care on their own, with the money they save by refusing to pay for high cost health insurance.

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