Help patients bridge the financial gap to complementary care

The functional medicine approach

The healthcare landscape is changing, and in recent years, the way patients seek out and prioritize the care they want has changed along with it. More and more, healthcare practitioners have observed patients asking for complementary care that focuses on proactive, preventive options to treat the whole person—an approach widely recognized today as functional medicine. This approach goes beyond what has sometimes been referred to as the “sick care” model, which is a more reactive approach built upon diagnosing an isolated set of symptoms, relying on the patient to seek out care to determine the issue and then receive treatment.

Functional medicine focuses on the root causes of disease rather than treating one-off symptoms, and patients are becoming more familiar with the benefits of holistic solutions for improving their overall quality of life. As patients naturally shift toward this model and explore complementary care—a non-mainstream approach to wellness used together with conventional medicine—we’re seeing more than one-third of US adults adopt practices¹ such as chiropractic care, acupuncture, meditation, yoga and massage therapy, into their regular health routines to support their wellness goals.

Examine the complementary care landscape

With complementary care becoming a more widely accepted way to advance patient wellness, one of the areas in which we’ve seen this approach take off is pain management. The number of patients using functional wellness to specifically address conditions causing chronic pain has risen from 42.3% in 2002 to 49.2% in 2022.² Given the majority of US adults experience lower back pain³ and one in five US adults have arthritis,⁴ the shift in patient interest and demand for more complementary care is understandable.

While chiropractic adjustment primarily focuses on the musculoskeletal system, consumers recognize how it can affect other areas. A chiropractic adjustment may help reduce pain, minimize migraines and neck-related headaches and improve your body’s overall physical functioning. In fact, data compiled from 2002, 2012 and 2022 showed a surge in patient adoption of complementary health approaches with the use of these therapies, including chiropractic care, having nearly doubled nationally.

Despite increased consumer demand, financial barriers, such as lack of insurance coverage or high out-of-pocket costs, still exist that patients may have to overcome to access the healthcare services they want and need.

Navigate patients’ financial realities

As more patients continue to prioritize and seek out complementary treatments, such as chiropractic care, to achieve their holistic health goals, it’s important for DCs to understand these challenges and help patients navigate their financial options. By doing so, you can help your patients prioritize their goals while simultaneously managing your own practice’s fiscal health.

Unfortunately, even as complementary care continues to gain traction among patients, many insurance providers traditionally do not cover elective services, often leaving patients wholly responsible for those upfront costs. When it comes to traditional medicine, many US adults already dramatically underestimate healthcare expenses, with research showing survey respondents guessed they spent an average of $850 per year on healthcare costs (not including paid premiums), when they actually spent closer to $2,100 annually.⁵

Recently, insurance providers have begun to cover some elective therapies, but the level of coverage can vary depending on referrals, in-network providers and length of care (short-term solutions versus long-term maintenance). Even with insurance coverage, it can be difficult for patients to pursue complementary care when costs may not be eligible for reimbursement or when the out-of-pocket cost is too burdensome to manage while awaiting reimbursement.

Uncertainty around healthcare finances can lead patients to deprioritize specialized care, potentially limiting their treatment options and simultaneously reducing your practice’s ability to attract and retain patients. The direct correlation between a steady patient base and your practice’s fiscal health is significant, with statistics showing that acquiring a new patient costs a practice five times more than retaining an existing one.⁶

To keep up with evolving patient demands, it’s crucial for your practice to help bridge the gap between delivering high-quality complementary care and ensuring patients have access to those services. Solutions like in-house or third-party financing can help practice owners make the best business decisions, all the while making chiropractic care more attainable for patients.

Leverage third-party financing solutions

Providing a payment option that enables patients to pay for complementary care in a way that fits their budget opens the door for more people to seek out your services. Findings show three out of four US adults find it difficult to manage healthcare costs.

When you offer a flexible financing solution, especially around services insurance may not fully cover, you are providing a resource to help build trust with your patients, boosting their loyalty and retention for your business. When patients have access to flexible payment solutions, they can make informed decisions about their healthcare without the burden of immediate out-of-pocket expenses, which encourages them to pursue high-quality chiropractic care. Further, third-party financing solutions may make it easier to manage practice expenses by ensuring patient costs are covered and paid right away, removing the chance of any revenue cycle delays caused by missed patient payments or lagging insurance reimbursements.

Final thoughts

As patients continue to recognize the impact specialized treatments, such as chiropractic care, can have on their health and well-being, we will continue to see the consumer landscape shift and evolve. The rise of complementary therapies presents an opportunity for you to lean in and help ensure patients have access to specialized treatments, while also maintaining the highest quality of care. The growing desire for chiropractic care is not an isolated trend; it signifies a wider change within the healthcare industry toward a more broadly-accepted functional wellness approach, one that offers DCs the chance to meet patient demand in a way that drives the success of their practices.

Brigitte Rozenberg, DC, is a highly respected chiropractic doctor specializing in non-surgical spinal and disc treatment and is currently the CEO and clinical director of Spinatomy Spine and Disc Centers in Los Angeles, California. She is the creator of the Advanced Spinal Restoration Treatment and completed her training at Cleveland Chiropractic College. Rozenberg is a board-certified DC in California, along with being certified in industrial injury evaluation and by the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners.

Claude Royster, vice president and general manager of health and wellness at Synchrony, brings more than 30 years of sales, account management and operational experience to his role. He is responsible for leading the wellness sales team with a focus on driving company strategy, growth through its market-leading health and wellness financial solutions, including CareCredit and Allegro Credit, and identifying healthcare market expansion opportunities. His responsibilities also include sales reporting, maintaining strong operating disciplines, controllership and overall profit and loss management.

References

1. NIH analysis reveals a significant rise in use of complementary health approaches, especially for pain management. [Press release.] January 2024. National Center for
Complementary and Integrative Health. National Institutes of Health. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/news/press-releases/. Accessed March 17, 2025.

2. Nahin R L, et al. Use of complementary health approaches overall and for pain management by US adults in 2002, 2012 and 2022. JAMA. 2024;331(7):613-615. PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38270938/. Accessed March 17, 2025.

3. Zalatimo Z. Low back pain. April 2024. American Association of Neurological Surgeons. https://www.aans.org/patients/conditions-treatments/low-back-pain/. Accessed March 17,
2025.

4. Fallon EA, et al. Prevalence of diagnosed arthritis — United States, 2019–2021. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2023;72(41):1101–1107. PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37824422/. Accessed March 17, 2025.

5. Lifetime of Healthcare Costs in the US. [Report.] Synchrony. https://www.carecredit.com/well-u/financial-health/lifetime-of-care-healthcare-costs/. Accessed March 17, 2025.

6. Saleh K. Customer acquisition vs retention costs: Statistics and trends you should know. [Blog.] February 2025. https://www.invespcro.com/blog/customer-acquisition-retention/. Accessed March 17, 2025.