Firm crusades for insurers to cover alternative therapies
As far as
Millions of Americans struggle with pain every day, and DeVries' company,
And the 59-year-old might finally be making progress on a decadeslong crusade to get health insurers to provide more coverage for alternative treatments to traditional medication.
For years, some insurers have refused to cover many alternative treatments, while others offer coverage under only a few expensive plans. Still others offer small discounts, requiring members to pay much of the cost out of their own pockets.
That's something
"I think with the focus on .the opioid crisis, looking for nonpharmaceutical, noninvasive ways to manage pain, musculoskeletal pain in particular, is growing," DeVries said. "Physical therapy, occupational therapy, therapeutic massage, chiropractic, acupuncture-those are all excellent alternatives to pharmaceutical treatments."
Musculoskeletal pain affects the bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons and nerves, and is often caused by injuries, inflammation or nerve compression. Lower back pain is the most common type of musculoskeletal pain.
But using opioid medications to treat chronic pain-or any pain lasting more than three months-is considered risky.
More than 2 million Americans are addicted to prescription opioids, according to the
Over the past 30 years, DeVries has built a massive company that offers alternative health and wellness programs to 43 million Americans, through employer groups, more than 100 health plans and a network of more than 70,000 health care providers.
In the process,
Now, with the opioid crisis raging out of control in
Last fall, the
Those alternatives, the letter said, could include physical therapy, acupuncture, massage and chiropractic care. The letter was signed by 37 attorneys general, including
They pointed out that opioid overdoses kill an average of 91 Americans every day, and more than half of those deaths include prescription opioids.
"The opioid epidemic is the pre-eminent health crisis of our time," the letter said.
'Many non-opioid approaches'
AHIP responded that its members share the state's attorneys' concerns and pledged to work with health providers but did not commit to broadening its coverage to acupuncture and massage.
"AHIP members are committed to solving this crisis and work closely with doctors and nurses on the safest, mosteffective approaches to manage pain," AHIP said in its response letter. "Health plans cover comprehensive, effective approaches to pain management that include evidence-based treatments, more cautious opioid prescribing and careful patient monitoring."
"There are many non-opioid approaches to pain relief that
"Basically, members can receive discounts off these services by downloading a discount voucher and using it when visiting participating providers," UnitedHealthcare said in an email. "Members are responsible for the expense minus the discount. Also, the base discount program doesn't provide discounts on physical therapy and occupational therapy; only the enhanced package does."
Chiropractic, for example, is broadly covered by the vast majority of commercial health plans, but a growing number of chiropractors accept cash and credit cards only, saying they are frustrated by the time and expense of filing insurance claims and following up on denials. Acupuncture is a distant second and is more narrowly covered. Massage therapy is rarely covered unless it is provided as part of physical therapy.
"We work with 150 different health plans and their covered services are quite varied," said
Rare, but loosening up
In
"Pain is probably the No. 1 reason people seek out acupuncture at my clinic," said Utt, who is also president of the
Acupuncture uses hair-thin needles in various pressure points to stimulate the body's healing capabilities.
Kimberly Pucka, a registered massage therapist in
Yet some government agencies, alarmed by the opioid crisis, are beginning to nudge doctors and insurers toward other treatments for pain.
Last year, the
"[Health care providers] should be knowledgeable about the range of available therapies, when they may be helpful, and when they should be used as part of a multidisciplinary approach to pain management," the agency wrote.
And last year, the
In central
"While we do not have massage therapists, acupuncturists, or chiropractors on staff, we certainly encourage patients to seek out this kind of care if they are needing more tools to manage their pain," said
"These treatments can be done alone or in conjunction with an acupuncture treatment," according to Franciscan Health Indianapolis' website.
Long time coming
It's all music to the ears of DeVries, who has been pushing a message for years that alternative therapies have a role to play in pain relief-just as much as surgery and prescription drugs do.
"Some people need surgery," he said. "We definitely agree with that. Some people need to use opioids or other types of pharmaceuticals. But our pain management programs can help, too."
DeVries started his company in 1987 in a spare bedroom of his
"And the idea was to go to health plans and encourage them to sell it to employer groups, much like they do with a dental plan or a vision plan," he said.
A few years later, the company added acupuncture, a wellness program and other features.
The company has been recognized eight times in the past decade on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing privately held companies. Last year, it finished at No. 3,828 on the list, with three-year revenue growth of 76 percent.
Inside the
The company moved its headquarters to
"I think the Midwest is a little slower in the adoption of things we've done, but not absent," he said.
When
DeVries said he has been able to keep the number lower in part through the use of more efficient information technologies the company hadn't envisioned five years ago.
But the plan now is to keep growing, a plan DeVries hopes will gain even more steam if insurers, health providers and other officials welcome different therapies as alternatives to opioid treatments.
"It doesn't mean it's something that everyone is asking for," he said. "But we certainly see a lot of very strong growth and hope to continue."
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