Americans continue to spend out-of-pocket money for acupuncture and other less conventional therapies. This article from dailyfinance, reports that many people find they are saving money in the long run, by using “alternative” treatments. I believe that they are also looking for a different type of individualized, non-drug, non-invasive care. 

As Medical Costs Rise, More Americans Turn to Acupuncture By Bruce Kennedy

“A year after President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law, many Americans are still struggling to get their insurance to cover basic medical treatments. A new report by Deloitte and Oxford Economics finds that consumers spent $363 billion dollars more for health-care goods and services in 2009 than official government statistics acknowledged — a discrepancy of nearly 15%.

These out-of-pocket medical costs include “purchases that are outside of conventional therapies and treatments,” as well as other products and services not covered by insurance programs and care for others. The finding joins a growing body of evidence that more Americans are exploring often less expensive alternatives to traditional Western medicine.

A 2007 National Health Interview Survey, which polled Americans about their use of so-called complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), estimated that 3.1 million U.S. adults and 150,000 children had used acupuncture during the previous year. And in the five years leading up to the survey, the use of acupuncture — the traditional Asian medical technique that involves the insertion of thin needles at skin-level, into key areas of the body — had increased among U.S. adults by 0.3%, or about 1 million people.”

*Read more here