Natural Medicine Costs page

[MissJecka]

I'm shopping around for a Natural Medicine practice in my area and have a few places I'm going to talk to, but I want to get an opinion and some personal accounts about this kind of thing. (And, yes, I do plan on calling my health insurance provider today to ask specifics. I just want some testimonials from you guys.)

1. For those of you in the US, does your insurance cover any natural/alternative healthcare? If so, how much?
2. For those who have to pay out-of pocket, how much does it cost you per visit, per year, etc.?
3. How often do you go to your ND, and for what reasons (sick, regular check-up, etc.)?
4. Do you go to a traditional Medical Doctor (MD), too? If so, what do you see them for that you don't see your ND for?
5. When you get lab work done (such as allergy testing), does it cost a substantial amount?

Any other information would be great, too! (And if any of you are in the Boston area and have recommendations for an ND, let me know!)

[namelesswonder]

1. Depends on what you are talking about. Acupuncture? Chiropractic? Yes. Herbal remedies, no. Also depends on whether the doctor is in-network for you or not.
2. Depends on the service/doctor. Some will offer out-of-pocket discounts.
3. n/a
4. I go to my traditional doctor's office for lab testing, mostly. It's cheaper to pay $20 co-pay, plus maybe $20 extra for lab fees after insurance than to pay for the tests on my own from mail-in services (would be over $100 per test, probably).
5. Under insurance, no, but stuff like allergy testing, if not covered by insurance, can be upwards of $500. I know because I had allergy testing done this year, it wasn't covered, and I used most of my FSA to pay for it ($493, I think).

[MissJecka]

Thanks for the response, namelesswonder.

I didn't realize allergy testing was so pricey. I figured it'd be a couple of hundred... not $500+. Yikes. Luckily I decided to do a FSA for the first time and I may have to put it towards that...

[jojohaligo]

1. Not a USian.
2. $50 per visit for my Naturopath
3. and 4. I go when I have specific problems that I know my MD either will not, or cannot help me solve. In other words, I don't go for everything because I live in Canada and can see my MD for regular stuff like pap tests, flu, broken legs, etc.
5. The ND testing can be pricey, but my MD gave me copies of recent blood work (free when ordered by the MD) I had done which I took to my ND.

I have to add that my MD suggested I do Hormone Replacement Therapy to control the increasing migraines I was getting (I am approaching menopause). Uh...no thank you. The ND was able to come up with the same cause for them and suggested two supplements and I have been migraine free for two years now. Virtually none.

Hope that helps.

[MissJecka]

Thank you, jojohaligo - that did help!

I did make an appointment with a local ND for a week from today. She is having me keep a food/BM/symptoms journal and fill out a questionnaire about my health/medical history. Via email she seems very nice and her bio and education on the office's website is very impressive. I'm excited!

Their rates are $90 for the first visit, as it is an hour and a half and goes through a lot of assessing and getting to know one another. Each appointment afterwards is $50 each, which seems normal based on your response and some research I did. I still have to call my insurance provider, but if all else fails I will use my flexible spending account for these costs.

Thanks to you both for your responses... and if anyone else wants to chime in, please do!