High Cost of Medical Care Prompts Consumers to Seek Alternatives

Originally published by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) as Data Bulletin No. 28, December 2004.

High Medical Costs Push Consumers Toward Alternative Medicine

Nearly 6 million American adults turned to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to treat specific health conditions such as depression and chronic pain because conventional medical treatment was too expensive, according to data from the 2002 National Health Interview Survey. These cost-motivated CAM users were strikingly different from the broader population of alternative medicine users, exhibiting far higher rates of financial barriers to conventional medical care.

Compared with the 38 million adults who used CAM for specific health conditions but did not cite cost as a motivating factor, people who turned to alternative medicine because of expense were four times as likely to be uninsured and nearly twice as likely to have low incomes, defined as below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. They were also much more likely to report fair or poor health status and lack a usual place to receive medical care.

Financial Barriers and Unmet Medical Needs

The financial barriers to conventional care reported by cost-motivated CAM users were striking. They were significantly more likely to report unmet medical needs overall, as well as unmet mental health and prescription drug needs specifically, all attributable to cost. These individuals were not simply choosing alternative medicine as a lifestyle preference; they were being pushed toward it by an inability to afford the conventional care they needed.

Risks of Herbal Remedies

Herbal remedies were by far the most popular form of CAM among people driven by cost concerns, with almost two out of three (63%) using herbal products. Among the more widely used herbal remedies were some known to carry serious risks. St. John's wort, used by one in eight cost-motivated CAM users as a depression treatment, can interact dangerously with other medications. Clinical studies also indicated it may be ineffective against moderate to severe depression, potentially leaving some users with worsening conditions and serious consequences. Kava, used by one in twelve for anxiety, stress, and insomnia, had been linked to liver damage in clinical trials.

The prevalence of potentially risky herbal remedy use among a population already reporting fair or poor health and lacking regular access to medical care raised significant safety concerns. Without professional medical oversight, these individuals faced elevated risks of adverse drug interactions, delayed diagnosis of serious conditions, and reliance on treatments with limited or no proven effectiveness.

The findings underscored the public health consequences of inadequate health insurance coverage and unaffordable medical care. When conventional treatment is financially out of reach, vulnerable populations may turn to unregulated alternatives that carry their own risks, potentially compounding the health problems they were trying to address.

Sources and Further Reading

Tu, Ha T., and J. Lee Hargraves, "High Cost of Medical Care Prompts Consumers to Seek Alternatives," Data Bulletin No. 28, Center for Studying Health System Change (December 2004).

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, National Institutes of Health.