Re: A little perspective on healthcare costs/chiro costs.

[Guest guest]

Hey , as usual you have hit the nail on the proverbial head with regard to why insurance companies and gov. entities routinely come after us chiros when they look to save money.  It is all about the money and political clout.  I join you in urging all chiropractors who are not members of the OCA to join this group now if you care about the future of your profession and the health of  the Americans people.  America needs us!!!  And the OCA needs you!!

Schneider DCPDX

 

This recent article in NYT has updated figures on healthcare spending http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/25/too-much-medical-care/?smid=tw-nytimeswell & seid=auto

It says USA now spends approx $8000/per citizen per year on healthcare!!!! No other country is even close to us of course. And we are one of the sickest among the developed nations and we all know this of course. Our annual healthcare spending is 10x greater than in 1980 (when some of you were in practice) back then, healthcare spending was approx $800/per person per year in USA.

Now, according to most studies, overall spending on chiro care is relatively flat when compared to the astronomical increases in the rest of healthcare and some figures that I have read put chiro spending at less than $40 (FORTY!) per person per year in USA.

So that means that our profession accounts for less than approx .5% (or 1/200th) of all healthcare spending.

So if you are going to look at ways to cut healthcare spending, ratcheting down on chiropractic care is not going to make much of a difference in the big picture.

So why does the gov't (VA, Medicare, medicaid, uniformed services) and private sector payors always seem to be wanting to either prevent/cut/block/minimize chiropractic coverage at every opportunity?

It is NOT because they are spending a lot on us...that argument is B.S. and nonsense. The fact is that less than $40 per year, on avg. per person is spent on chiropractic care. The main reason is because we (chiropractic patients, really) are EASY PREY. And why are we easy prey? Because as good a job as our trade association does and Vern and others do for us, we still have a relatively puny voice due to the fact that MOST of us refuse to support the chiro trade associations. The OCA in Oregon, is the chiropractic consumer's ONLY hope to obtain any sort of rational, reasonable, fair and equitable coverage for chiropractic care.

Please consider " biting the bullet " and getting on board with the OCA so that we can double or even triple the efforts that we currently have underway because that is probably what it is going to take to force these large corporations and government entities to act rationally.

-- Schneider DC PDX