Employer's Healthcare Plan - depressing

[FarSideOfTheMoon]

My employer, like many, offers a flexible benefits plan. One of the benefits you can sign up to is a healthcare plan. This allows you to claim cash benefits for everyday healthcare expenses. It isn't the same thing as private medical insurance.

It offers cash for a whole range of treatments -
Dental,
Optical,
Specialists,
X-rays,
Health Screening
- then it gets interesting - Accupuncture/Chiropractic/Osteopathy/Physiotherapy,
Chiropody/Podiatry/Herbal Medicine/Homeopathy/Reflexology,
Surgical Applicance/Hearing Aids.

I've kept those categories as per the literature. Of course this is all naturally depressing, but I'm kind of flabbergasted how easily they fail to differentiate between conventional and alternative therapies.

It is just really an insurance policy that pays out up to smallish limits, but it certainly isn't one I'll be taking out!

Website for the provider is here: http://www.healthsure.co.uk/

note : To qualify for the payments, your practitioner has to be registered with the following bodies:



Acupuncturist

Acupuncture Association of Chartered Physiotherapists, Association
of Traditional Chinese Medicine (UK) (M.A.T.C.M.), British Academy of
Western Acupuncture (M.B.A.W.A.), British Acupuncturist Council
(M.B.A.C.) or British Medical Acupuncture Society (M.B.M.A.S.)

Chiropodist/Podiatrist

Registered with the Health Professions Council, State Registered
Chiropodist (S.R.Ch.), Association of Chiropodists and Podiatrists
(M.A.Ch.Pod.), British Chiropody Association (M.B.Ch.A.), College of
Podiatrists (M.C.Pod.), Institute of Chiropodists and Podiatrists
(M.Inst.Ch.P.), School of Surgical Chiropody (M.S.S.Ch.), Society of
Chiropodists & Podiatrists (M.Ch.S.), Victoria Chiropody Clinic (L.V.Ch.C.)

Chiropractor

Registered with the General Chiropractic Council (G.C.C.)

Dentist

Registered with the General Dental Council

Herbalist

National Institute of Medical Herbalists (M.N.I.M.H.)

Homeopath

Alliance of Registered Homeopaths (M.A.R.H.), Faculty of Homeopathy
(M.F.Hom), Homeopathic Medical Association (M.H.M.A.) or Society of
Homeopaths (R.S.Hom)

Osteopath

Registered with the General Osteopathic Council (G.Os.C.)

Physiotherapist

Registered with the Health Professions Council, Chartered Society of
Physiotherapy (M.C.S.P.) or State Registered Physiotherapist (S.R.P.)

Reflexologist

Association of Reflexologists (M.A.R.), British Reflexology Association
(M.B.R.A.), British School of Reflex Zone Therapy (B.S.R.Z.T.), Centre
for Clinical Reflexology (C.A.R. or M.C.A.R.), Federation of Precision
Reflexologists (F.P.R.), International Guild of Professional Practitioners
(I.G.P.P.), Holistic Association of Reflexologists (H.A.R.), International
Federation of Reflexologists (M.I.F.R.), International Council of Holistic
Therapists (M.I.C.H.T.), International Institute of Health Holistic Therapists

[FarSideOfTheMoon]

The Private Medical Insurance on offer is naturally a totally different kettle of fish, and is in line with the usual comprehensive products on offer. However I'm disappointed to see it includes an annual allowance for £600 of 'complementary and alternative therapies'




This benefit will assist you in paying for Complementary therapy. Where covered, this category includes
medical and health care systems and practices that are not presently considered to be part of conventional
medicine. To be eligible for cover these therapies must be used for treatment of an acute condition following
referral by a GP or specialist. All practitioners must have adequate experience and indemnity insurance and
must be registered with the appropriate authority and be a member of a speciality organisation. Treatment for
pre-existing conditions or chronic conditions is not covered, nor are associated medicines and products.


How depressing is this ! :'(

[Allo Allo]

an annual allowance for £600 of 'complementary and alternative therapies'
How depressing is this ! :'(


I have a problem with this way of thinking - there are several of these therapies which ARE beneficial - I think it it would be really daft not to include this category...I do not go with the general witch hunt on complementary and alternative. There are times when they should be an option.

Well, that's what I think.

[Cuddles]

there are several of these therapies which ARE beneficial

Care to give any examples?

[FarSideOfTheMoon]

Well, maybe when people are paying for it out of their own pocket, they can decide if it is beneficial.

When it is my hard cash which is going into an insurance policy, I'd prefer I wasn't subsidising other people's placebo.

I haven't checked the other market leading products, but I suspect they have similar benefits.

The fact that the benefit isn't specific says to me it is probably more a marketing aid than anything else. With PMI, you normally have to get referred by a doctor before you can take any treatment, so unless a doctor decides a treatment is suitable you aren't going to be claiming the benefit. So there aren't really that many treatments I can imagine would be claimed under this category.

[Allo Allo]

These were from Farsideofthemoon’s list.

Acupuncture
Chiropodist/Podiatrist
Chiropractor
Dentist
Herbalist
Homeopath
Osteopath
Physiotherapist
Reflexologist

I would extract Chiropodist/Podiatrist, Dentist, Physiotherapist as an essential service for my £800 cover …. In fact £800 might be a bit mean as I actually spent £750 on my teeth last year alone because we live in a no NHS dentist area.

I reckon it would be beneficial to have any form of massage (which is not mentioned on FSOTM’s list) including Aromatherapy and Indian Head massage and also Light Therapy (for my wrinkles or depression) and a bit of Oxygen Therapy, Stress Management might be helpful, Swimming Therapy (definitely!) and possibly Tai Chi . I’ve never been partial to too much effort but Yoga would help with my old lazy muscles.

Some people (lots of older people) live a life where they are never touched by another human being. So all MKB (mother kiss it better) Therapies are acceptable for me for anyone who finds themself in this position. So I would put Hairdresser on the list of necessary therapy close to Pet Therapy. If I didn’t have a husband, kids and grandchildren who do the job for me, that’s what I’d do.

[Cuddles]

I would extract Chiropodist/Podiatrist, Dentist, Physiotherapist as an essential service for my £800 cover …. In fact £800 might be a bit mean as I actually spent £750 on my teeth last year alone because we live in a no NHS dentist area.

And in what way would those count as complementary or alternative?

[Allo Allo]

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And in what way would those count as complementary or alternative?

I thought they were on FSOTM's "Complementary Therapies" list? £800 cover for the year - did I read it wrong?

[Cuddles]

I thought they were on FSOTM's "Complementary Therapies" list? £800 cover for the year - did I read it wrong?

The list wasn't all sCAM, it's just medical insurance which includes plenty of perfectly valid treatment as well.

[Allo Allo]

The list wasn't all sCAM, it's just medical insurance which includes plenty of perfectly valid treatment as well.

Ok - thanks.

Please, please stop using the word sCam - it really doesn't dignify you - and it chucks the baby out with the bathwater. I gave you a list at your request of some complementary therapies that could be useful in certain circumstances and I believe many are - that is a reason they are used in mainstream medicine. They are particularly useful in nursing recovery.

[FarSideOfTheMoon]

The list wasn't all sCAM, it's just medical insurance which includes plenty of perfectly valid treatment as well.

Yep, I'm not too surprised to see these in the list, it is the way they are listed, so that they would seem to be equivalent.

[Cuddles]

Please, please stop using the word sCam - it really doesn't dignify you - and it chucks the baby out with the bathwater. I gave you a list at your request of some complementary therapies that could be useful in certain circumstances and I believe many are - that is a reason they are used in mainstream medicine. They are particularly useful in nursing recovery.

No. There is medicine that works and medicine that doesn't. If it works, it is just called medicine. There is nothing alternative or complementary about it. If it doesn't work, it is a scam and deserves to be called it.

[Admin]

My first thought with insurance policies that include alternative remedies is "why should I pay premiums to subsidise quackery?"

But...

It may just turn out that insurance companies actually save money by allowing claims to be made for things like acupuncture as it's cheaper than real medicine.

The proof of the pudding will be whether such companies can provide cheaper cover. If so, it may be worth using them and always using proper treatments if/when required. The cheaper premiums can thought of as a skeptics' discount. :cheesy:

[Mongrel]

It may just turn out that insurance companies actually save money by allowing claims to be made for things like acupuncture as it's cheaper than real medicine.

And the insurance company makes more money by signing up people who want their magic water therapies covered, and there do seem to be a lot of them. It's just another marketing tool