Complementary Alternative Medicine Program

Humana-insured patients now have access to a valuable program that provides discounts on such services as chiropractic care, acupuncture and massage therapy. The new program, introduced August 1, 2002, allows members who do not have a complementary alternative medicine (CAM) benefit — or those who have exhausted their CAM or chiropractic benefit — to save as much as 30 percent on services provided through Humana's CAM network, American WholeHealth Network.

The CAM discount program is offered at no charge to fully insured commercial members and Administrative Services Only (ASO)* members and is a value-added service for the growing number of members who are seeking CAM services. No referral is needed, and no special enrollment procedure is required to use the discount program. Those who wish to access the discounted services need only identify themselves as Humana members by presenting their member ID cards at the point-of-service. In addition, there is no limit to the number of services members may obtain under the discount program.

A list of American WholeHealth participating practitioners can be found on the Humana Web site, www.humana.com, under the member's personal page, "Special Discounts" panel. Searches can also be conducted using the provider search tool, http://humana.wholehealthmd.com. Members can also obtain information about practitioners in their area and the amount of the discount by calling the customer service number on the back of their Humana medical ID card.

"It's clear that our members are using complementary alternative medicine and that CAM has established itself now as an integral part of mainstream medicine," said Samuel Benjamin, M.D., Humana's corporate medical director of integrative strategies. "With this program, we’re accommodating our providers as well, who want to have options for referring their patients to appropriate sources for CAM therapies." Benjamin noted that the providers in the CAM network have been credentialed by American WholeHealth Network.

The program has been designed for ease of use for both the members and CAM network practitioners, and it provides members with more choices and more flexibility in seeking services not covered under their primary benefit plan. "This program substantially expands the range of treatment modalities that practitioners in Humana's network can use. But we believe that we are expanding the scope of the mainstream, rather than trying to support alternative medicine," said Benjamin.

Many members who seek CAM services now pay out of pocket for those services, so the discount program is intended to help them better manage those health care costs. For members who do have a full CAM benefit or a chiropractic benefit, the discount program may be used when those benefits have been exhausted. (The new offering is not a covered medical plan, nor does it replace chiropractic benefits in states where those benefits are mandated.) The new program is available only to fully insured commercial members, ASO members and Humana associates.

CAM providers who are not currently members of the American WholeHealth Network and wish to inquire about joining the program should call 1-800-274-7526.

* At this time, the program is not available in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Tennessee, and where laws prohibit the provision of discount health care programs.