Alternative Medicine and Obamacare – What Does This Mean For You?
With all the commotion around the government shutdown and the passing of the budget for the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare), there has been a lot of confusion around the direction in which our healthcare is going and what that means for U. S. citizens. Although the exact future of healthcare seems relatively uncertain at this point, there are many advantages for the population in general when it comes to receiving alternative healthcare.
With the passing of the Affordable Care Act, and implementation of section 2706, those with insurance coverage may have more access to alternative healthcare providers, including naturopathic doctors and acupuncturists, assuming state licensure of those practitioners in a given U.S. state. Section 2706 states that “a health insurance issuer offering group or individual health insurance coverage shall not discriminate with respect to participation under the plan or coverage against any health care provider who is acting within the scope of that provider’s license or certification under applicable State law.” This means that insurance providers must provide some form of coverage for practitioners that are recognized by the state as licensed health care practitioners. While this is a great leap forward to accessibility of care for patients seeking alternative treatments to conventional medicine, there are some drawbacks that are not clearly outlined in the Act. The biggest of these is that although insurance companies will now be required to reimburse for alternative medicine, they can still set boundaries and limitations on amount of coverage they provide. The section clearly states that insurance companies are not required to contract with any health care provider – which means that they can regulate the amount of providers available to patients with their coverage. Insurance companies can also pay providers at different rates and coverage does not apply to Medicaid or Medicare.
But although there are some drawbacks to coverage of alternative healthcare providers, there is the potential for huge advantages. The Affordable Care Act is a proponent of prevention and patient-centered care. With this shift in focus to improving healthy living and lifestyles comes a greater need for alternative medicine (especially naturopathic medicine), which focuses on a patient-centered approach. Currently conventional models will have to radically shift their way of functioning and understanding disease to adapt to this new model, while naturopathic physicians will be able to continue to practice the way they have been practicing for years.
So what does this mean for patients in Washington? Really not much. Current Washington law already includes a bill that all insurance carriers regulated by the State of Washington must cover alternative services within their scope of practice. The biggest effect on Washington residents will be for those who have insurance providers that do business out-of-state (and are therefore not bound by Washington law) and for those who did not have insurance but are required to obtain it under the Affordable Care Act. Those that have insurance carriers that reside out of state will most likely have policy changes that include coverage for alternative healthcare. Those who are required to purchase healthcare under the Affordable Care Act will have coverage for alternative healthcare with whatever policy they decide to sign with. Although Washington will probably not see a huge change in coverage, other states such as California (which has a huge alternative medicine industry that is not currently covered by insurance) will be able to provide covered care to their residents.
Although the immediate future does provide uncertainty for insurance coverage, some promising steps for alternative healthcare are taking place. If you have questions about how this will affect your coverage for alternative medicine visits, call your insurance provider and ask about your coverage plan.
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