Alternative Health Care

In late 1998, the U.S. government gave additional recognition to the field of alternative health care, elevating the Office of Alternative Medicine to the status of a center—the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, which was most recently renamed the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH). The U.S. government has also dramatically increased NCCIH's budget since its conception. Funding grew from $50 million in fiscal year (FY) 1998 to $170.3 in FY 2023, according to the NCCIH. The center focuses on conducting clinical trials in a variety of alternative approaches.

The lack of sufficient clinical data to prove the efficacy and safety of alternative approaches has long been a major criticism put forth by the medical establishment. Advocates of alternative medicine argue that health care systems that have been validated through centuries of use do not need scientific proof. In addition, they point out that hundreds of very good studies on many of the modalities already exist.

Still, carefully controlled clinical trials may provide scientific data that will help legitimize alternative approaches in the eyes of more conventional practitioners and thus help pave the way toward more cooperation between alternative and conventional practitioners.

In 2000, the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine was established to help access and regulate the methods and practitioners of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Among the most common CAM therapies in use are natural products, deep breathing, meditation, chiropractic and osteopathic treatments, and massage.

Some states require insurance companies to cover alternative treatments. In California, for example, medical insurance plans must include coverage for acupuncture and chiropractic treatments. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act provides for "the reach of innovative preventive and treatment approaches designed to help Americans achieve better health through integrated approaches that promote healing and health in every individual and community."

The clinical trials conducted by the NCCIH and other agencies undoubtedly will have a profound impact on the areas studied. The results may help some alternative approaches and discredit others. Alternative health care practitioners will be watching the clinical trials very carefully. The NCCIH trials and other studies will create more opportunities in research for practitioners of alternative approaches. Integration of alternative approaches into conventional medical education will continue to increase, creating more teaching opportunities for alternative practitioners.

According to a November 2018 NCCIH report, certain types of CAM were on the rise in the United States toward the end of the decade, among both children and adults. For example, the use of yoga by adults reached 14.3 percent in 2017, up from 9.5 percent in 2012. During the same timeframe, the use of yoga by children increased from 3.1 percent to 8.4 percent. A more significant increase was noted in the case of meditation, which increased from 4.1 percent to 14.2 percent for adults, and from 0.6 percent to 5.4 percent for children.

Grand View Research forecasts compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.3 percent from 2024 to 2030 for the global complementary and alternative medicine market. The data analytics and intelligence firm says that "growing awareness regarding complementary and alternative medicine, increasing disposable income, and government initiatives to boost CAM are some of the major factors driving the market growth." About 55 percent of people in the United States who were surveyed by Statista.com in 2021 reported using some form of alternative health care. The most-popular types of alternative health care (in descending order) were herbal medicines, supplements, or tea; essential oils; chiropractic medicine; yoga or other meditation; and aromatherapy. The use of complementary and alternative medicine is growing in both developing and developed countries, and the legalization of some alternative therapies and medicines is occurring in different parts of the world, thanks to supporting clinical evidence.

The outlook for employment opportunities is bright in many areas of alternative health care, according to the Department of Labor (DOL). For instance, the DOL predicts that employment for massage therapists is expected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations from 2022 through 2032. In 2022, approximately 134,300 massage therapists were employed in the United States, and the DOL forecasts that number to increase to 158,900 by 2032. In addition, employment for chiropractors is also expected to grow much faster than average.

With all of its hope, excitement, and change, alternative health care is one of the most rapidly growing segments of the field of health care in general. Significant recent events—such as the decriminalization of cannabis for medical use in some states and increasing use of dietary supplements—indicate that the alternative health care field will continue growing well into the 21st century. As of May 2024, 38 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands had legalized the medicinal use of cannabis, according to the Congressional Research Service.