CHIROPRACTIC BENEFITS AND SAVINGS

Excerpts from several studies showing that Chiropractic Healthcare costs less and out-performs Conventional Medical Treatment for musculo-skeletal problems.

Stanos Study

A study conducted in 1993, compared health care costs of patients who received chiropractic care for neuro-musculoskeletal problems with those treated solely by medical and osteopathic physicians. After reviewing nearly 2,000,000 chiropractic records, researcher Miron Stanos, Ph.D., of Oakland University, concluded that patients that receive chiropractic care, either solely or in conjunction with medical care, experienced significantly lower health care costs.

Chiropractic Dramatically Cuts Health Care Costs

Oakland University’s Stano Cost Comparison Study of 395,641 patients with one or more of 493 neuromusculoskeletal conditions was undertaken to compare the health care costs of patients who have received chiropractic treatment to those treated solely by medical or osteopathic physicians. The results showed that patients receiving chiropractic care experienced significantly lower health care costs. Chiropractic patients saved over $1000 per patient over the two-year study.

The Nevada Workers’ Compensation Study

For the three year period ending in 1990, the average medical cost per patient ($2142) was 260% higher than the average chiropractic case ($892). Injured workers are often able to continue working while receiving chiropractic treatments. This may not be the case with standard medical treatment protocol of bed rest and medication. Chiropractic eliminated the concern of unnecessary surgery, inappropriate hospitalization, improper use of medication and the high frequency of narcotic analgesics. This study found loss of work time under chiropractic care is less than one-third of the time lost under medical care. The study also found that the average medical cost per patient was 260 percent higher than the average chiropractic cost.

The Texas Workers’ Compensation Report

The Texas Chiropractic / Workers’ Compensation Report found the average claim for a worker with a low-back injury was $15,884. If a chiropractor provided at least 90 percent of the care, however, the average cost declined by more than 50 percent, to $7,632.

American Journal of Managed Care, Mosley et.al. (1996)

“The cost of health care for back and neck pain was substantially lower for chiropractic patients than for non-chiropractic patients ($539 vs. $474) The authors conclude that properly managed chiropractic care can yield outcomes in terms of surgical requirements and patient satisfaction that are equal to those of non-chiropractic care, at a substantially lower cost per patient.”

Chiropractic Users Have Lower Health Care Costs

A 1992 review of data from over 2,000,000 users of chiropractic care in the U.S., reported in the Journal of American Health Policy, stated that, “chiropractic users tend to have substantially lower total health care costs,” and “chiropractic care reduces the use of both physician and hospital care.”

Chiropractic Patients Recover 10 Times Faster Than Medical Patients

A workers’ compensation study conducted in Utah compared the cost of chiropractic care to the costs of medical care for conditions with identical diagnostic codes. Results were reported in the 1991 Journal of Occupational Medicine. The study indicated that costs were significantly higher for medical claims than for chiropractic claims; in addition, the number of work days lost was nearly ten times higher for those who received medical care instead of chiropractic care.

Chiropractic Reduces Treatment Costs By 260%

The State Industrial Insurance Systems (SIIS) in Nevada compared the average medical and chiropractic care for patients who suffered industrial injuries from 1988-1990. The results showed that 24.4 percent were back injuries but they accounted for more than 50 percent of all medical costs. Over the three-year period, the average medical cost per patient was $2,142 which was 260 percent higher than the average chiropractic cost per patient of $892; Loss of work time under chiropractic care is less than one-third that for medical care. Furthermore, injured workers are able to continue working while receiving chiropractic care that may not be an option for medical care patients who are advised to have bed rest and medication. The Nevada Worker’s Compensation Study emphasized that chiropractic eliminates the concern and expense of inappropriate hospitalization, unnecessary surgery, and improper use of medication including the high dosage of narcotic painkillers.

State of California Industrial Back Injury Study:

Richard Wolf, MD, questioned 1000 patients about work time loss and residual pain, and 629 patients responded, of which half were medically treated and the other half were treated by chiropractic.
Conclusion of study: Patient time loss was cut in half under chiropractic care compared to medical care in all three categories. Chiropractic effectiveness is two to one better over medical care in these types of ailments.

Chiropractic Journal of Australia, Ebral (1992)

“Of 1,996 low back pain cases studied, patients receiving chiropractic treatment averaged 6.26 compensation days compared to 25.56 compensation days for medical patients.” Chiropractic Journal of Australia, Ebral (1992)

British Medical Journal (1990) British Medical Research Council Study

“Chiropractic treatment was more effective than hospital outpatient management, mainly for patients with chronic or severe back pain.”

British Medical Journal (1990)

“Low back pain of mechanical origin: Randomized comparison of chiropractic and hospital outpatient management Two and three years after patients with back pain were treated by chiropractors, they experienced far less pain than those who were treated by medical doctors.

Chiropractic Offers Less Lost Work Days Than Medicine A 1991 report on a workers’ compensation study conducted in Oregon concluded that the median time loss days (per case) for comparable injuries was 9.0 for patients receiving treatment by a doctor of chiropractic and 11.5 for treatment by a medical doctor.

 

Manga, Pran; Angus, Doug; Papadopoulos, Costa; Swan, William. “The Effectiveness and Cost-Effectiveness of Chiropractic Management of Low-Back Pain.” Richmond Hill , Ontario : Kenilworth Publishing, 1993

Another study in 1993 demonstrates that an increase in the use of Chiropractic care to manage low back pain would save an enormous amount of money. The study reveals that if management of low back pain was taken from physicians and given to chiropractors there could be a potential savings of millions of dollars every year. The study also revealed that spinal manipulation is both safer and more effective than drugs, bed rest, analgesics, and general practice medical care for managing low back pain.

Mosley, Carrie; Cohen, Ilava; Arnold, Roy . “Cost-effectiveness of Chiropractic Care in a Managed Care Setting.” The American Journal of Managed Care 1996; 2: 280-282.

The cost of health care for back or neck pain for individuals belonging to an HMO who used Chiropractic care or other methods of treatment was evaluated.  The cost of surgery, use of diagnostic imaging, and the satisfaction of patients were evaluated. Claims that were paid from October 1, 1994 through October 1, 1995 were evaluated and analyzed. The cost of healthcare for back and neck pain was much lower for patients using Chiropractic care than those using other treatments. Surgical costs and the satisfaction of patients was nearly the same for those who used Chiropractic care and those who did not. The conclusion of the study is that Chiropractic care yields similar outcomes to other forms of care at a much lower cost.

Dean, David; Schmidt, Robert. “A Comparison of the Cost of Chiropractors Versus Alternative Medical Practitioners.” Richmond , VA : Virginia Chiropractic Association, 1992.

A Virginia study assessed the difference in the cost of treatment between chiropractors and other practitioners in dealing with individuals who have similar back-related problems. This study analyzed individuals who had medical visits in 1980 and had a combination of eleven health problems including arthritis, disc disorders, bursitis, low back pain, spinal related sprains, strains, and dislocations. Chiropractic care was a lower cost option for many back ailments.

Wolk, Steve. “An Analysis of Florida Workers’ Compensation Medical Claims for Back-Related Injuries.” Journal of the American Chiropractic Association 1988; 27(7): 50-59.

An analysis of workers’ compensation claims in Florida from June through December of 1987. All of the claims analyzed were related to back injuries. The greater purpose of this study was to compare the cost of osteopathic, medical and Chiropractic doctors. The cost of drugs were not included in the analysis. The results of the study led to the finding that individuals who had compensable injuries and were treated by chiropractors often times were not forced to be hospitalized. The study also stated that Chiropractic care is a “relatively cost-effective approach to the management of work-related injuries.”

Johnson, Marjorie. “A Comparison of Chiropractic, Medical and Osteopathic Care for Work-Related Sprains/Strains.” Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 1989; 12(5): 335-344.

A study analyzing claims data from patients in Iowa who filed claims for back or neck injuries in 1984. The study compared the benefits and the cost of care received by patients from MDs, DCs and DOs. There was a focus on individuals who missed days of work and were compensated because of their injuries. Individuals who visited DCs missed on average at least 2.3 days less than individuals who visited MDs and 3.8 days less than individuals who saw DOs. Less money was dispersed as employment compensation on average for individuals who visited DCs. On average, the disability compensation paid to workers for those who visited DCs was $263.66, $617.85 for those who visited MDs, and $1565.05 for those who visited DOs.

Nyiendo, Joanne, Lamm, Lester. “Disability Low Back Oregon Workers’ Compensation Claims. Part I: Methodology and Clinical Categorization of Chiropractic and Medical Cases.” Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 1991 14(3): 177-184.

In 1991 a study was performed examining 201 randomly selected workers’ compensation cases that involved disabling low back injuries. The study found that patients who visited a Chiropractor, went to the hospital for their injuries less often than patients who visited an MD. Those who visited DCs often had a history of chronic back pain.

Nyiendo, Joanne. “Disability Low Back Oregon Workers’ Compensation Claims. Part II: Time Loss.” Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 1991 14(4): 231-239.

A report on the loss of time from work for people who visited DCs, versus those who visited MDs for treatment of low back pain was performed in 1991. The median missed days of work for individuals with a similar severity of injury was 9.0 days for those visiting DCs and 11.5 for individuals visiting MDs. Individuals visiting chiropractors more often returned to work having missed one week or less of work days. There was no difference in time lost for individuals visiting DCs and MDs with no previous history of low back pain. The median days of missed work for individuals who had chronic back pain and visited MDs was 34.5 days while the median days of missed work for those visiting DCs was 9 days.

Branson, Richard. “Cost Comparison of Chiropractic and Medical Treatment of Common Musculoskeletal Disorders: A Review of the Literature after 1980.” Topics in Clinical Chiropractic. 1999; 6(2): 57-68.

Another study was done comparing of the cost of care provided by DCs and MDs for individuals with musculoskeletal conditions. The study found that the majority of retrospective studies had positive results for Chiropractic care.

Jarvis, Kelly; Phillips, Reed; Morris, Elliot. “Cost Per Case Comparison of Back Injury Claims of Chiropractic versus Medical Management for Conditions with Identical Diagnostic Codes.” Journal of Occupational Medicine 1991; 33(8): 847-852.

A 1991 study in the Journal of Occupational Medicine compared of the costs between MD and DC providers for back-related injuries. The average number of treatments for medical claims was 4.93 as compared to 12.89 for Chiropractic claims. The average treatment length was 34.25 days for medical claims versus only 54.49 days for Chiropractic claims. The average compensation cost for work time lost was $668.39 for medical claims and $68.38 for Chiropractic claims. The average cost of care for medical claims was $684.15 versus $526.84 for Chiropractic claims. This study demonstrates that although individuals who receive Chiropractic care usually have a greater number of visits to DCs than those who visit MDs, the cost of treatment and the workers’ compensation funds spent are lower for those visiting DCs.

Smith, Monica; Stano, Miron. “Costs and Recurrences of Chiropractic and Medical Episodes of Low Back Care.” Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 1997: 20(1): 5-12.

Another comparison study in 1997 studied health insurance payments and patient utilization patterns for individuals suffering from recurring lumbar and low back pain visiting DCs versus MDs. Insurance payments were higher for medically initiated episodes. Those who visited chiropractors paid a lower cost and were also more satisfied with the care given. Because of this the study suggests that Chiropractic care should be given careful attention by employers when using gate-keeper strategies.

“Utilization, Cost, and Effects of Chiropractic Care on Medicare Program Costs.” Muse and Associates. American Chiropractic Association 2001.

A 2001 study examined the cost, utilization and effects of Chiropractic services on Medicare costs. The study compared program payments and service utilization for Medicare beneficiaries who visited DCs with those who visited other types of physicians. The results indicated that Chiropractic care could reduce Medicare costs. Medicare beneficiaries who had Chiropractic care had an average Medicare payment of $4,426 for all Medicare services. Those who had other types of care experienced an average cost of $8,103 in Medicare payments. The average payment per claim was also lower with Chiropractic patients having an average of $133 per claim and individuals who did not have Chiropractic care had an average of $210 per claim.

Manga, Pran. “Enhanced Chiropractic coverage under OHIP ( Ontario Health Insurance Plan) as a Means for Reducing Health Care Costs, Attaining Better Health Outcomes and Achieving Equitable Access to Health Services.” Report to the Ontario Ministry of Health, 1998.

Another study by Manga and Pran demonstrated the ways in which individuals in Ontario are deterred from the use of Chiropractic care because it is not covered under OHIP. Greater Chiropractic coverage under OHIP would result in a greater number of individuals visiting chiropractors and going more often. The study shows that despite increased visits to DCs, this would result in net savings in both direct and indirect costs. It is very costly to manage neuromusculoskeletal disorders using traditional medicine. If individuals were able to visit chiropractors under OHIP, a great deal of money would be saved by the government. Direct savings for Ontario ‘s healthcare system could be as much as $770 million and at the very least $380 million.