Chiropractic Inclusion Decreases Costs to HMO

From the Chicago Tribune comes an article dated November 26, 2000 entitled, "New Respect Boosts Chiropractic as a Mainstream Therapy". In this article are various chiropractic success stories from patients.  The story then discusses an HMO company, Alternative Medicine Inc. This HMO, headquartered in Highland Park, is the first insurance company in the country to combine chiropractic and conventional medicine in an HMO setting. The real difference is that here chiropractors are used as primary care physicians and gatekeepers.   James Zechman is the co-founder of Alternative Medicine Inc., and reported in the article that the inclusion of chiropractic into the HMO is a huge success.  According to Zechman, the combination has resulted in an almost 80 percent reduction in hospitalizations during the last two years. Outpatient surgery was reduced by almost 85 percent and pharmaceutical drug usage was reduced by 56 percent.  A common saying in chiropractic is that, "Chiropractic does not cost, it pays!"  Based on the experience of this HMO, it appears to be more than just a slogan.