Choosing Natural Medicine Doesn’t Have to Cost you More
Saving money and choosing a doctor might not be something you would put together, but there is some logic to it. I have been interested in holistic type of medicine for a while now. I have my reservations and definitely don’t prescribe too everything, but it does make sense to use as many natural remedies and preventative measures as possible. I checked into naturopathic doctors and the first thing I discovered is the high cost. Most insurance here in the US won’t accept naturopathic doctors like they will MDs.
When I first looked into seeing a naturopath the cost was around $150 for an hour and 15 minutes initial visit. That wasn’t too bad. Another part of any natural health plan is the supplements, that cost will be significant and I knew this. However, when researching supplement prices on the perspective naturopath sites I wasn’t so sure they were in the health business or the in the high markup business. It was a little unseemly to treat patients and then charge so much for things it wasn’t easy to know their real value. It doesn’t mean they were overcharging, but any boutique setting makes me pause. The third part of the equation is the blood work which would not be covered under my insurance. Estimates of $1200 to $1500 were too much for me to move forward and I just put it off for a while.
During an office visit with my regular doctor the topic of natural medicine came up and she mentioned Integrative Medicine. That is where regular MDs are trained in natural medicine, so you get the best of both worlds. One concern of mine had been if a naturopathic doctor didn’t believe in conventional medicine, they wouldn’t even offer it as an alternative, even if it was a viable one. With an MD, they can cover either side of the argument and give you the pros and cons of each. A similar field is called Functional Medicine. I remembered asking “is that a thing?”, and she reassured me it was and then I began my search for a natural medicine MD.
There is a lot of information on the Web about natural medicine, but like anything on the Web, there is also a lot of bogus info too. Finding a doctor that will wade through it all with you is important, especially if you area newbie like I was. I still have my regular doctor, so I don’t want you to think I am suggesting any wholesale change in your life. In fact, I am not suggesting any change at all. I have no medical background and don’t profess to. The purpose of this article is to point out different ways to approach natural medicine if you are inclined to do so and maybe save you some money.
My first visit was scheduled for more than an hour, my $15 co-pay floated out of my hand with ease. Just like with the naturopathic doctor, blood work was ordered to look for specific things that natural medicine or a specific diet could help. Just like with the estimate from the naturopath a couple of years before, it came out to be over $1200, my portion was significantly less with insurance. The doctor put me on a pretty strict diet and went over my blood work and other tests with me and pinpointed areas of concern.
I was put me on a fairly restricted diet for three months and prescribed supplements. I will note, the Integrative Medicine office did sell these supplements in a similar boutique setting I mentioned earlier. However, I looked up each item on Amazon to see if I was getting gouged or not. One item was quite a bit more than I found on Amazon, but it was refrigerated and the ones I found online did not guarantee theirs to come at refrigerated temps, so that might be the difference in price. The other items were within two or three dollars a bottle, so I felt more at east that I wasn’t paying more than what was fair.
In addition to the supplements I was given a prescription for regular medicine. I was a little surprised when the doctor suggested this, but that is an advantage of being seen by a medical doctor, they can do that when they see fit. Obviously just being an MD who is trained in natural medicine doesn’t mean you will always get the correct answer. Finding a good Integrative Medicine or Functional Medicine doctor is like any other doctor search. They aren’t all good or offer the same advice. I have talked to two different doctors now in the same practice and received different takes on the plan for me. Some information I would never be able to know on my own like reading the test results and knowing what to do about them. Other things like diet can be researched online and then I go back to my natural medicine doctor and find out if any changes are allowed.
For me the biggest advantage in getting an MD is the cost of the visits and any tests that need done. This will save thousands if you are committed to natural medicine for any decent amount of time. If you are like me and weren’t willing or able to put that much money up front to see a naturopath you at least have an option within the confines of conventional medicine so you won’t be spending so much.
Let us know your experiences. Some insurances will cover naturopathic doctors, how about yours? For those of you who see a naturopathic doctor without your insurance coverage, how do the costs compare with alternative medicine/functional medicine MDs? If you have seen one type of doctor or another how do you feel about the type of care you received?
