Chiropractic Care Availability Affects Medical Costs in Seniors

A study published on August 8, 2021, in the online Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics showed that when chiropractic care is less available to the senior population, the usage and cost of medical care to that population increases.

It has long been assumed that chiropractic care is far less expensive than medical care. Each time a patient receives chiropractic care for a spinal problem, rather than undergoing a medical procedure, there is a substantial savings in costs. This latest study looked to document the savings by looking at a population of seniors compared to the availability of chiropractic to that population.

In this study, Medicare claims were reviewed on 39,278 seniors who utilized chiropractic care in the years from 2010 to 2014 and who relocated during that time frame. The researchers looked to see what effect moving to an area with less chiropractors would have on the medical expenses of these seniors when chiropractic care was not as readily available.

The researchers used a database known as the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System to determine the number of chiropractors in a particular population of an area. Researchers looked to see if there was a difference in medical expenses between those who moved to an area of less chiropractic density verses those who moved to an area with no change in the number of chiropractors for the given population.

The results showed that those who moved from an area of greater chiropractic availability to an area of lower chiropractic availability had an increase in the number of visits to primary care physicians for spine conditions. On average, there were 32.3 more visits per 1000 seniors when there was less chiropractic care available. Additionally, there was 5.5 more spinal surgeries performed per 1000 seniors in areas where chiropractic was less available.

This increase in medical and surgical care carries a hefty price tag. The study showed that in the areas with less chiropractic, those seniors had additional costs of $114,967 per 1,000 Medicare beneficiaries for medical services. When extrapolated nationally, this means an increase of $391 million when chiropractic is less available.

This study did not look at the dangers of the medical procedures verses the relative safety of chiropractic care. Nor did it look at the additional cost of medical care related to complications of medical care itself. The researchers did note in their conclusion that "Among older adults, reduced access to chiropractic care is associated with an increase in the use of some medical services for spine conditions." This study likely only scratches the surface of the real impact and savings that chiropractic care offers to the senior population.