If it wins state approval, Health Net could become the first HMO to add both Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture to its coverage. As a measure of how mainstream alternative medicine is becoming, Health Net believes as many as 700,000 of its members will eventually take advantage of the new services, especially acupuncture. So the Business Journal asks:

If all HMOs started offering coverage for acupuncture and other alternative treatments, would that affect your decision when looking for a health plan?

Paul Selkirk [picnm5-17]

Director of Recruiting Services

Decision Toolbox

Absolutely. More and more people are trying to take control of their health care in a variety of ways. People should have more choices. At my prior company, there were quite a few people, especially with migraines, who were benefited by acupuncture and acupressure.

Donna Luciano

Legal Secretary

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP

Absolutely. I never really believed in it before, but I just started going to an acupuncturist for migraines and I think it’s helping. I believe there’s something to Chinese medicine. You’re not using drugs and it’s more natural. They’re more into balancing the body. I think it’s a good thing.

Robert West

Executive Vice President

BTI Appraisal

Basically no, because I leave medical practice to the professionals. I consider myself a professional real estate appraiser. That’s what I do for a living, and I simply rely on my health plan to provide the best medical services I can get for the money. If they deem it wise to add alternative medicine, that’s fine, but it won’t affect my decision because it’s not my field of expertise.

Alan Pullman [picnm5-3]

Design Director

Perkowitz + Ruth Architects Inc.

A while ago I would have said no. But as more and more Western-educated doctors are opening up to that kind of thinking as part of their treatment, it’s become an asset. HMOs should look at the fact that sometimes that kind of treatment works, and having it as part of a treatment plan would be a benefit. I would look favorably on a health plan that did that.

Anne Stein

Film Editor

I would appreciate it. I would switch plans. It would definitely sway me because I use those services anyway, and it’s very expensive. I have to go out of pocket right now for acupuncture and Chinese herbal treatment. They say a large percentage of people are going out of their normal medical community now to get alternate services.

Sylvia Marjoram [picnm5-17]

Vice President and Senior Relationship Manager

American Business Bank

It would not at this time. I am supportive of alternative medicine. It can be very beneficial in conjunction with Western medicine, but the way HMOs are structured is not attractive at all. I don’t have an HMO, and I hope I never have to have one. Yes I would support the alternative medicine, but it would not be enough to support the HMOs.

John Callas

President

North Star Entertainment LLC

Any kind of preventative medicine makes a person more responsible toward themselves. Chinese acupuncture is one of the most ancient medical preventions that, when incorporated with Western medicine, can only benefit the human body. I would be strongly influenced to join an HMO that was open to disease prevention as opposed to the Band-Aid approach of antibiotics.