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submissions to | Home > Newsletters > December 2003 |
Michigan Employers Have More Options for Alternative Health Care Benefits |
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Michigan employers can now directly purchase
complementary health care benefits from a specialty benefits health
insurance company, making popular health care options such as
acupuncture, massage therapy, chiropractic and manual manipulation, and
dietetic counseling available to their workforce as part of a total
health benefits program. These new benefit programs are available to Michigan businesses with 51 or more employees through American Specialty Health Insurance Company (ASH Insurance), a subsidiary of American Specialty Health, Inc. (ASH). "Consumers have been pressuring employers and lawmakers to make complementary and alternative health insurance coverage available for some time," said Flint chiropractor Dr. Matthew Faris, who participates in the ASH provider network. "Without this coverage, consumers are forced to pay out the entire amount themselves." According to the latest study on complementary benefits, such out-of-pocket expenditures reached $27 billion in 1997 alone. With the increased use of alternative therapies since then, that figure most likely is now much higher. Studies show that there was a 47 percent increase in total consumer visits to complementary health care providers between 1990 and 1997, exceeding the number of visits to U.S. primary care doctors. Michigan employees who participate in the ASH plan can access a Michigan network of more than 200 contracted providers. Furthermore, when participants are traveling, they have in-network access to a national provider network of more than 22,000 contracted acupuncturists, chiropractors, dietitians, massage therapists, medical doctors and osteopathic physicians. |
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December 2003
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