First of all, many insurance companies cover chiropractic care. Each individual person’s plan is different and levels of coverage may vary. That being said, even people that do not have chiropractic coverage find that treatment at our office is very affordable. We work with our patients to make sure that they are able to afford our care.
Beyond the actual cost of the care, there is the effectiveness of care. Chiropractic is been shown to be less expensive than traditional medical care. Taking medication typically only masks the symptoms but it doesn’t have a long-lasting effect in dealing with the actual problem. Studies show that people receiving chiropractic care for workplace injuries had less recurrences, less missed work, less disability, and less overall costs. Chiropractic patients report higher satisfaction rates than most other healthcare professions and a higher quality of life. Some of this information is shown on my website, found here. Also look on this site under the heading “Chiropractic Works and Saves Money” to see the numerous studies on how effective and cost efficient chiropractic is.
Another set of studies (1, 2) was done that looked at cost savings if the chiropractor was used as a primary care physician. In these studies, the chiropractor was the gatekeeper in an HMO and all patients needed to see their chiropractor in order to be referred for services or specialists. Patient satisfaction in the study was a very high and the quality of care was top-notch. The study was conducted over several years and the results were compared to people using a medical doctor as their gatekeeper. They found the following:
- 60.2% decrease in in-hospital admissions
- 59% decrease in hospital days
- 62% decrease in outpatient surgeries and procedures
- 85% decrease in pharmaceutical costs.
There were major cost savings when using the chiropractor is the primary care physician in the study. This is proof that chiropractic care is not only effective for treating patient issues but is also a cost savings compared to traditional medical treatments.