Saturday Quack – Alternative Medicine Spending Is $34 Billion/Year

At this time of anxiety about soaring healthcare costs, and who is going to pay for the increases, it’s fascinating to read that US citizens paid out $33.9 billion in 2007 for complimentary and alternative medicine (CAM). Some members of congress are proposing that any new healthcare system should cover CAM costs (most of which are not covered at present).

This estimate is published in the National Health Statistics Reports.  About two-thirds of these out-of-pocket expenses - $22 billion – went to self-care items, such as yoga classes, and ‘natural products’ (i.e. non-vitamin and non-mineral supplements). Compared with ten years previously, the number of visits to CAM practitioners (350 million visits) was halved; this suggests that consumers are taking diagnosis and treatment choices into their own hands.

The $34 billion out-of-pocket expenditure on CAM represents about 11% of the total spent on healthcare in 2007. In view of the lack of evidence of effectiveness for many, if not most, natural products, it’s clear that enormous sums are being spent for useless products. The public need improved ‘truth in advertising’ and better education concerning the safety and effectiveness of non-FDA approved medications, procedures, and devices. Attention should be paid to the failure of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine to find evidence for the effectiveness of the following: echinacea for colds, gingko biloba for poor memory, glucosamine and chondroitin for arthritis, black cohosh for menopausal hot flashes, saw palmetto for prostate problems, and shark cartilage for cancer. The only products shown to be effective were St John’s Wort for depression and ginger for nausea associated with chemotherapy. We should all think hard before wasting money on ineffective ‘remedies’.