Medicaid reimbursement for alternative therapies.
BACKGROUND
A growing number of complementary and alternative therapies are eligible for reimbursement by third party payers in the United States. No studies have examined current trends in the use of public funds for the payment of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).


OBJECTIVE
To determine the reimbursement polices of state Medicaid programs for CAM.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study.


METHODS
46 state Medicaid reimbursement specialists.


METHODS
Telephone survey.


RESULTS
Of the 46 states participating in the study, 36 Medicaid programs (78.3%) provide coverage for at least 1 alternative therapy. The most commonly reimbursed therapies are chiropractic by 33 programs (71.7%), biofeedback by 10 programs (21.7%), acupuncture by 7 programs (15.2%), and hypnotherapy and naturopathy by 5 programs each (10.8%).


CONCLUSIONS
Many Medicaid programs are paying for the use of CAM. Further research is needed to determine if Medicaid recipients are aware of these reimbursement policies and the extent to which recipients are using CAM for their healthcare.
Steyer
Terrence E
TE
Freed
Gary L
GL
Lantz
Paula M
PM
D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D019033:Delivery of Health Care, Integrated / Q000191:economics*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D007349:Insurance, Health, Reimbursement / Q000191:economics*; D008484:Medicaid / Q000191:economics; D012052:Reimbursement, Incentive; D013689:Telephone; D014481:United States