Consumers spent $33.9 billion out-of-pocket on yoga, chelation therapy, herbal supplements, meditation, naturopathy, manipulation techniques, massage, hypnosis, and many other alternative therapies for the purpose of improving health during 2007, according to a new federal report.
The study, based on a national household survey, is the first such report in 10 years and the first done with interviews conducted on the topic within sampled households as opposed to by telephone.
The new survey found that consumers spend about as much on such products and services as they do in their out-of-pocket costs for conventional physician services and prescription drugs.
The report defined alternative complementary and alternative medicine as therapies not usually taught in U.S medical schools and which are not generally available in U.S. hospitals. "CAM therapies include a broad range of practices and beliefs...not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine."
One significant difference between the most recent survey and the one from the 1990s is in an apparent drop by about 50% in spending for providers, which the 1997 survey said accounted for the majority of consumers' alternative remedy spending. This report found that instead, two-thirds of consumers' alternative spending went to products.
In 2007, about two-thirds of this spending went to self-care purchases of products, classes, and materials, while the remaining one-third paid for practitioner visits. About 38.1 million adults made an estimated 354.2 million visits to practitioners of CAM.
The report, Costs of Complementary and Alternative Medicine and Frequency of Visits to CAM Practitioners, United States, 2007, was published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in an effort to focus more attention on research to determine if such unconventional and largely unproven methods do any good.
"With so many Americans using and spending money on CAM therapies, it is extremely important to know whether the products and practices they use are safe and effective," said Josephine P. Briggs, M.D., director of National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. "This underscores the importance of conducting rigorous research and providing evidence-based information on CAM so that health care providers and the public can make well-informed decisions."
The agency estimates that CAM products and services account for 1.5% of total healthcare expenditures of $2.2 trillion, and 11.2% of total out-of-pocket expenditures.
Approximately 38% of adults use some form of CAM for health and wellness or to treat a variety of diseases and conditions.
On average, adults spent $121.92 per person for visits to CAM providers and paid $29.37 out of pocket per visit.
"Some of the highest per person, out-of-pocket costs are associated with visits to practitioners of naturopathy and chelation therapy, while one of the lowest per-person, out-of-pocket costs is associated with visits to practitioners of chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation therapy," the report said.
The report breaks down spending in categories of acupuncture; ayurveda; homeopathic treatment; naturopathy; and traditional healers, such as a Curandero, Espiritista, Felenkreis, Shaman, Botanica or Native American Healer/Medicine Man.
Other categories include biologically based therapies, such as chelation, nonvitamin, nonmineral; natural products and diet based therapies, such as Pritikin, Ornish or South Beach diets; manipulative therapies, such as chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation, massage or movement therapies; biofeedback; relaxation techniques; hypnosis; and energy healing therapies.