March 2008

UnitedHealthcare drops headache, pediatric policy

After being presented with substantial evidence of chiropractic's effectiveness ‑‑ and after being bombarded by angry protests from chiropractors ‑‑ UnitedHealthcare (UHC) has announced that it will drop its policy statement that chiropractic for children and adolescents, as well as chiropractic treatment of headaches, are "unproven" services.

The policy was first announced in September and the World Chiropractic Alliance, as well as other chiropractic organizations, quickly responded. Terry A. Rondberg, DC, WCA president, cited both the WCA policy on chiropractic for children, and the Council on Chiropractic Practice (CCP) Guidelines. According to the CCP, there is ample documented evidence to show that chiropractic care is safe for children and can have beneficial effects on health and fitness from newborn to adult stages.

"We must make sure UHC, as well as all of our patients, have access to information about chiropractic care for children," stated Dr. Rondberg. "They need to read the WCA Position Paper, as well as the CCP Guidelines so they understand that there is substantial evidence to support chiropractic for all people, including our youth."

As reported in the November issue of The Chiropractic Journal, the UHC Bulletin stated the company had "previously concluded that certain services provided as a part of chiropractic care were unproven." The Bulletin went on to say: "A recent review of the clinical evidence in published, peer‑reviewed medical literature leads us to further conclude that chiropractic services for treatment of children and adolescents is unproven and services for treatment of headaches is unproven."

After receiving input from the chiropractic profession, UHC announced that "the ACN Group Chiropractic Professional Advisory Committee (CPAC) has facilitated the collection of input from the chiropractic professional community regarding this revised policy. As a result of this interaction, UnitedHealthcare will not proceed with the chiropractic services policy change announced in the September 2007 UnitedHealthcare Network Bulletin."

The UHC went on to state that "both UnitedHealthcare and ACN Group value and respect collegial input into the scientific and clinical evidence foundations of our policies and clinical programs. The work of the past couple of months, coupled with the normal business practice of the UnitedHealthcare Medical Technology Assessment Committee to conduct an annual review of all medical policies, has created an opportunity for the chiropractic profession to provide ongoing input into the UnitedHealthcare Chiropractic Services policy."