Do Chiropractic Services for Low Back and Neck Pain Improve the Value of Health Benefits Plans?
An evidence-based assessment of incremental impact on population health and total healthcare spending.
Authored by Niteesh Choudhry MD,PhD and Arnold Milstein MD , this authoritative report reviews the existing peer reviewed literature and arrives at the following conclusions: Chiropractic care is widely used with almost half of all patients with persistent back pain seeking out this form of treatment.
- Chiropractic care for the treatment “for low back and neck pain is highly cost effective, represents a good value in comparison to medical physician case and to widely accepted cost effectiveness thresholds.”
- “The addition of chiropractic coverage for the treatment of low back and neck pain…will likely increase value-for-dollar by improving clinical outcomes…”
- “ …we project that insurance coverage for chiropractic physician care…is likely to drive improved cost effectiveness of US care.”
- “…our findings support the value of health insurance coverage of chiropractic care for low back and neck pain at average fees currently payable by US commercial insurers.”
About the Authors:
Niteesh Choudhry, MD, PhD: Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and Associate Physician in the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics and the Hospitalist Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Arnold Milstein, M.D, MPH: Medical Director of the Pacific Business Group on Health(PBGH),the largest employer health care purchasing coalition in the US.. He is also Chief Physician at Mercer Health and Benefits, San Francisco, California.
