Why don't most insurance companies insure alternative medical procedures?
149339
Because "alternative" treatments are, by definition, unproven therapies performed (more often than not) by unlicensed and/or unqualifed practitioners.
1002737
Too expensive. What if you had surgery, then you got an infection, a serious one? The health unsurance plans in America stink royally. We the payers are getting the short end of the stick for the large Insurance bill. Really good insurance comes from your local farm bureau. Check them out!
150152
Because the 3 unit bridge is cheaper for them than the single implant.  Insurance companies want to spend as little money as possible.
40192
Don't know for sure, but usually medical and prescription drug plans are under the same insurer.  Often they will use another company to administer it.  That may be the case in your situation.
13136
doctors and insurance firms
767563
This is an excellent question! \n\n In America people are purchasing "Short Term" Policies are opening themselves up to a "world of problems".   You see in the United States we passed a law that enables employees be offered "Cobra" , Cobra is for your "protection".  Let me give you a couple of "What ifs"\na. I go work for ABC Corp. and call up a few "slick" agents who sell healthcare and they sell me a Short Term policy, sounds great!..11months into the policy the Doctor discovers a tumor in my body, and says it is Malignant- I have cancer.  So I call my short term company, and they say well your policy ends in 30days, I ask the company can I convert to a Permanente policy, and they say "NO", because of your medical conditions.\nb. Second Ex. I sign up with my employers plan, and I am diagnosed 11months into the plan with Cancer, and I decide to quite employment, I am offered Cobra!. So lets keep going, lets say I pay for Cobra for 18months (until it ends) and I am still having Chemotherapy, and thus un-insurable by health companies.  Here is the Good news!!!..I am eligible for HIPPA coverage !!!.."lifesaver"..any company offering health insurance will have to accept me into a HIPPA plan.  \n\nAs you can see the only way a person can take a risk with a short term policy if they can "See the future".. and if your crystal ball shows you not needing any health services over your lifetime, then just refuse coverage!..\n\nDo not trust any salesperson, read articles and do your research, Paul Zane's books are pretty good.
958978
No,\nThere is no other way to provide the necessary level of care than by a medical system paid for by national insurance.\n\nIf you look at the USA - it is far more expensive and inefficient than the UK without having a demonstrable increase in standards of health.\n\nIt is inefficient because its bureacracy is immense you have\nThe admin of loads of different health care providers -hospitals doctors etc.\nYou have the admin of the HMOs\nYou have the admin of the insurance companies\n\nThat costs more money than having just the admin of the health care system\n\nSecondly the private care system leads to all sorts of short termist economics that are bad for long term health and long term expenditure on health care.\n\nMore money gets spent on drugs than on preventative medicine and primary care to keep people healthy.\nAll sorts of expensive tests are done which are not strictly medically necessary.\n\nMany people are not covered by health insurance which has a knock on effect in several areas -\n1) the problem of poverty illnesses such as TB - prevalent among the homeless and STDs from people who have no access to health care.\n\n2)If you can't get proper quality health care you may take more days off work  -this has a knock on effect on the economy and therefore tax levels.\n\nI am not saying the NHS works perfectly but it is improving in many aspects - \neven the private health care companies are noticing a down turn in demand for things like knee and hip replacements to be done privately.\n\nOne issue though is that some consultants like to push people into their private clinics where they get paid twice as much and so keep waiting lists longer without good reasons.
375550
I have worked in this field for 7 years.  I am only familiar with Tri-Care insurance through the military, but in all of my experiences, it is not a covered benefit.
505157
western medicine is better at curing, and alternative is better at prevention. I don't have experience with Eastern medical practices.
494900
Traditional Indemnity insurance usually covers any doctor with deductibles and coinsurance (like 20%).\n\nPPOs usually pay more, either no deductible or less coinsurance, BUT you have to use a doctor that is in the plan.\n\nHMOs usually cover 100%, or you have a small copayment, but you have to have one Primary Care Physician (PCP) that refers you for any specialty care.\n\nIf you are comparing plans, don't forget to look at the plan limitations and exclusions in addition to the costs of the plan and your share of the bills.  Some plans don't cover certain services (chiropractic, maternity, mental health, yearly exams, etc.) and others will.
958939
There isn't one.\n\nYou have to consider what you are really asking.\nYou are basically asking a pool of people (all the other insureds who are paying premiums) to take you into their pool and have them pay for the majority of your care costs that you will only pay a fraction of...\nWhy would any one agree to that?\nOnce you consider it from that perspective, then you'll realize why companies won't do this.
665630
Not everyone is equipped to be a doctor. And in America, being a doctor is a HUGE responsibility. Patients sue if you don't cut their hangnails properly. The costs for medical school are astronomical and malpractice insurance costs an arm and a leg. There just really isn't a whole lot of incentive to be a doctor these days. Sadly.
181247
All US citizens can get healthcare whether they have health insurance or not.  What many people don't have is insurance to cover a major medical occurance, despite this fact, people that have major illnesses and no insurance, still get medical care.  They will just pay for it the rest of their lives.\n\nThe US is a capitalist society.  Doctors want to make money just like everyone else.  The US also has the best medical facilities in the world.  In other words, money gets you the best.  If the US were to go with a national healthcare plan, chances are the best would turn into second best.  Doctors would become discouraged and become a lawyer instead, what we don't need are more lawyers.
1032336
I would say they are not a crock, but not totally worth going to, either.  They are usually pretty expensive, and you have to go repeatedly for anything Real to start happening. If you only go a couple times, it's not going to help.  And usually insurance does not cover chiropractery. (sp?)
290760
If it wasn't safe they wouldn't do it.  Of course everyone has different side effects and it depends on the surgeon.
409600
Not a one. There is a widespread back of the mind conviction among many that there exists an entire alternative medical structure (ancient knowledge, traditional approaches, ...) which offers cures or treatment ordinary medicine does not. That's a false belief, by and large. Any natural cures which worked as well as ordinary medicine would be quite prominent indeed and wouldn't remain alternative for very long. \n\nconsider, in the case of diabetes alone, that a plant long known to help with diabetes (goat's rue) is the source of Glucophage (metformin) and the biguanides generally. Gila monsters (the poisonous lizard from the N American SW desert) is the source of a new diabetes drug nearing approval and release for clinical use. An herb, used in cosmetics because it makes the pupil larger in small doses, is the source of digitalis, still one of the primary drugs in cardiovascular medicine. \n\nThe common sorts of diabetes mellitus (type 1 and type 2) is a condition without a cure. And it's a real pain literally and figuratively. There is a lot of quackery and snake oil om consequence. so far, diabetes related research has earned 4 Nobel Prizes, and any advance as effective as some of the advertising claims about 'traditional' cures or treatments would be high on the eligible list for another. \n\nWe now understand diabetes about as well as we understand broken legs. There's little treatment for a broken leg aside from setting it, splinting it, treating it carefully, and waiting. And for good reason. Likewise there's good understanding of what's going on in diabetes (type 1 and type 2) and what would be needed to fix them (mostly). We can't do that yet, just as we can't get a broken leg to mend in a couple of days. And that's the state of the art in diabetes treatment, alternative included. \n\nSomeday, there'll be a cure... Would save a bundle of money and a lot of nuisance. Support diabetes research and encourage those with research money to assign some to diabetes.
687873
They are private companies that have to make a profit.\n\nThey look at various risks and will not insure anything that is a too high a risk.\n\na 80 year old will not get life insurance normaly\n\na bad driver will not be insured,\n\npeople with dangeroius dogs will not get house insurance.\n\nThey most likely are losing money on mobile homes.