An informative article was recently posted on the EBN Benefits News website, where Andrea Davis discussed the results of a study on the value-for-dollar effects of adding chiropractic care to your health benefits plan.

The study was conducted by the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress. The results of the study outlined that chiropractic care is more effective than various other treatments for combating lower back pain and neck pain.

Gerard Clum, a Chiropractor, spokesperson for the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress, and President of Life Chiropractic College West, expressed that not only does chiropractic care measure up extremely well in clinical terms against other procedures and intervention, but it also saves money to the system in the process.

Davis explained that, in terms of cost, chiropractic physician care for lower back pain increases the total annual per-patient spending by $75 as compared to medical physician care. However, chiropractic physician care for neck pain reduces the total annual per-patient spending by $302 as compared to medical physician care. Clum stressed however that though chiropractic care for lower back pain increases annual per-patient spending, the chiropractic treatments have better clinical outcomes; which, in turn, ultimately results in savings.

Clum went on to highlight that “actively promoting chiropractic care would be a cost savings for the plan. You can get better clinical outcomes and you can save money by putting lower back and neck pain directly under chiropractic management.”

Davis summed up that in terms of effectiveness and cost, chiropractic physician care for lower back and neck pain is very cost-effective and results in good value when compared to medical physician care.

The article concluded with the conductors of the study stating that “chiropractic care for the treatment of low back and neck pain is likely to achieve equal or better health outcomes at a cost that compares very favorably to most therapies that are routinely covered in the U.S. health benefits plans. As a result, the addition of chiropractic coverage for the treatment of low back and neck pain at prices typically payable in U.S. employer-sponsored health benefit plans will likely increase value-for-dollar by improving clinical outcomes and either reducing total spending (neck pain) or increasing total spending (lower back pain) by a smaller percentage than clinical outcomes improve.”