CAMLAW : Complementary And Alternative Medicine Law Blog

The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America has announced discounts on complementary and alternative medicine treatments including yoga and homeopathy.

Getting insurance reimbursement for CAM therapies can be tricky, because many insurers limit third-party reimbursement to "medically necessary" therapies, and also exclude "experimental" treatments.

Insurance company Aetna was sued by a New Jersey couple for refusing to cover their daughter's care for anorexia.

HIPPA turned 10 on Aug. 21, 2006.

Insurance reimbursement creates a " bias to pay doctors more for performing a test or procedure than for using our heads to make a diagnosis or manage a disease."

Health Insurance Off the Grid offers a "complete healthcare system for a person or a family that removes many of the hassles of HMOs, denied coverage and Western medicine as the only option."

Insured pediatric and adolescent patients account for only a small part of total insurance expenditures for complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)....

Health insurance plans statewide have agreed to better comply with a law requiring them to answer coverage questions posed by prospective customers.

Many have asked for resources concerning professional liability insurance for complementary medicine providers. Here are some resources.

About 47% of employees with health plans had acupuncture coverage in 2004, the Wall Street Journal recently reported from published results of a 3,000-employer survey; while chiropractic coverage increased from 79% of workers with health benefits in 2003 to 87% in 2004.

Most insurance plans do not offer third-party reimbursement for CAM therapies and those that do tend to offer discounted packages on visits to CAM providers within a network. The number of visits reimbursed is often limited.