Treating the Health Care Crisis: Complementary and Alternative Medicine for PPACA

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) intends to take American health care in a new direction by focusing on preventive medicine and wellness-based treatment. But, in doing so, it does not adequately take into account the potential contribution of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). CAM is already used by a large and growing number of individuals in the United States, although to date there is limited scientific evidence to support the efficacy of most CAM treatments. This article proposes statutory reforms to PPACA to encourage CAM research and development (R&D), and the use of demonstrably effective CAM treatments. A hybrid system of limited intellectual property protection and government prizes based on regulatory approval may be the best option for incentivizing R&D on CAM, along with increased funding for research through the National Institutes of Health. PPACA should require health insurance plans to reimburse for evidence-based CAM and empower an existing government agency (NCCAM) to regulate CAM standards and to recommend evidence-based CAM services. Together these policy and funding mechanisms should help reduce U.S. healthcare costs and improve quality of life. ∗ Resident Physician, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (San Jose, California). M.D. University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, 2011; J.D. Yale Law School, 2011; M.T.O.M. Emperor’s College, 2005; B.S. University of California, Los Angeles, 2005. I thank Professor Peter Schuck at the Yale Law School for his diligent supervision of this project, Dr. Ka-Kit Hui at the UCLA Center for East-West Medicine for his mentorship and support, and Professor Ian Ayres at the Yale Law School for his helpful comments. www.drryanabbott.com.