American Specialty Health, Incorporated (ASH) is a diversified specialty benefits company for physical medicine, complementary health care, wellness, and disease management for obesity. Through its subsidiaries, ASH provides benefit, disease management, wellness, affinity discount, and consumer retail programs to health plans, insurance carriers, employer groups, and trust funds nationwide.

The ASH family of companies includes the following subsidiaries:

• American Specialty Health Insurance Company (ASH Insurance)
• American Specialty Health Networks, Inc. (ASH Networks)
• American Specialty Health Plans of California, Inc. (ASH Plans)
• American Specialty Health IPA of New York, Inc. (ASH IPA-NY)
• American Specialty Health ODS of New Jersey, Inc. (ASH ODS-NJ)
• American Specialty Health Systems, Inc. (ASH Systems)
• American Specialty Health Networks of South Dakota, Inc. (ASH Networks-SD)
• American Specialty Health Clearinghouse, Inc. (ASH Clearinghouse)
• Healthyroads, Inc. (Healthyroads)

ASH was co-founded by George DeVries (current ASH chairman, president, and CEO) and two other individuals in 1987. The initial vision for ASH was to provide health maintenance organizations (HMOs) with chiropractic programs and insurance benefits, allowing members direct access to contracted providers. ASH continued to grow over the next decade, and a corporate reorganization in 1999 brought all individual ASH subsidiaries under the American Specialty Health, Incorporated banner.

ASH has achieved numerous key milestones over the years. Browse to History & Growth to view details.

Through its subsidiaries, ASH provides specialty benefits for physical medicine, complementary health care, wellness, and disease management for obesity programs nationwide. Benefit programs include chiropractic, physical therapy, occupational therapy, acupuncture, massage therapy, dietetic counseling, naturopathy, vitamins and minerals, fitness clubs, and exercise centers. Wellness programs primarily address the topics of weight management, tobacco cessation, and healthy living, but also help individuals achieve their personal health and wellness goals in the areas of nutrition, exercise, and stress management.

In addition to providing these programs to health plans across the country, ASH subsidiaries also provide these programs directly to employer groups and trust funds. Value-added affinity and consumer retail programs are also available.

ASH is located in downtown San Diego. The company employs almost 600 people in its corporate office and has satellite offices in California, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, and Washington, DC.

Revenues have grown from $26,000 in 1987–1988 to more than $120 million projected for 2005.

ASH has a nationwide network of more than 20,000 complementary health care providers—including chiropractors, acupuncturists, massage therapists, dietitians, and naturopaths—and more than 7,000 fitness clubs and exercise centers.

All potential ASH providers for clinical services must meet stringent quality standards before they can become part of the ASH network. Such providers undergo a quality evaluation that includes a review of providers’ licensure and records, as well as an inspection of provider offices. ASH’s credentialing and review staff work closely with state and federal agencies to ensure that all such contracted providers are qualified to perform the agreed-upon services.

ASH Insurance, formerly known as Western Diversified Life Insurance Company, is a health insurance company domiciled in Illinois and approved for business in 42 other states and the District of Columbia. Through this company, employers in a growing number of states are able—usually for the first time—to directly purchase supplemental complementary health care benefit plans from a specialty benefits health insurance company. This makes options such as chiropractic, acupuncture, massage therapy, dietetic counseling, and naturopathy more readily accessible to local workforces. ASH products are currently approved in 20 states and the District of Columbia. Available options vary by state.

Healthyroads is a health education company offering wellness programs designed to help individuals achieve their personal health and wellness goals in the areas of weight management, tobacco cessation, and healthy living. Healthyroads motivates members through telephone-based health coaching and education provided by a team of dietitians, RNs, personal trainers, and other health educators; Web-based educational information and interactive tools; targeted, educational resources developed by Healthyroads’ clinical and creative staff; and customized meal and exercise planning—all with the purpose of helping individuals live longer, healthier, and more active lives.

Healthyroads also offers online and paper-based health risk assessments (HRAs) to help individuals recognize their health risk factors and personal health challenges—and identify the steps they can take to make positive, long-term changes to their health and behavior.

Complementary health care is a term used to describe therapies and treatments not practiced by traditional medical doctors, but often used in conjunction with or as a complement to traditional medicine. These therapies include chiropractic care, acupuncture, and massage therapy as complements to traditional treatments such as physical therapy or pain medication. They also include dietetic counseling and naturopathy, as well as mind-body techniques such as mental imagery and relaxation skills.

Some traditional medical doctors recommend complementary health care therapies for their patients as part of their overall treatment. These therapies historically have not been covered by traditional health insurance plans.

The term alternative medicine is used to describe therapies or treatments that are used in place of traditional medical care. Such therapies might include treating cancer with a special diet rather than through surgery or chemotherapy, as might be recommended in Western medicine.

ASH does not offer or recommend alternative health care. Instead, ASH offers complementary health care, which complements traditional health care options. For example, through complementary health care a member who has cancer might choose to use techniques such as massage therapy and relaxation skills in conjunction with his or her chemotherapy sessions.

Some complementary health care therapies, such as acupuncture, have been around for more than 2,000 years. Others, such as naturopathy, are relatively new and continue to evolve as technology, best practices, and scientific research advance.

Complementary health care has grown in recent years to become a $40 billion industry. Despite rising health insurance premiums, interest in complementary medicine and health education programs is at an all-time high. In fact, a Consumer Reports reader survey published in August 2005 found that nearly half of respondents reported using complementary or alternative treatments during the past two years. Health care experts believe that the industry will continue to grow as more consumers choose complementary health care therapies to improve their overall health and well-being.

Like traditional medicine, there is no “typical” consumer of complementary health care. In some cases, individuals use complementary health care therapies because acupuncture, massage therapy, or other services have been recommended by their medical doctor. Many patients choose complementary health care when traditional therapies have failed to bring the desired results, or when they prefer to try less invasive therapies—or in order to ensure that they have tried all options for attaining the best possible outcome when treating their health condition.

According to a 1998 study conducted by Harvard Medical School researchers, consumers make almost twice as many visits to complementary health care providers every year than they do to primary care physicians, and an estimated four in 10 Americans use some form of complementary health care every year. With regards to lifestyle, consumers who use complementary health care are more likely to exercise, eat well, and be in better overall shape.

Historically, complementary health care has not been covered by traditional health insurance plans. But more and more, consumers are seeking out health care options that go beyond traditional medical care. These same consumers want to experience a greater sense of empowerment in making health care decisions, along with maintaining greater control over their own health. In many cases, offering the opportunity to explore less invasive treatments is a key component of meeting this consumer demand. Today, some specialty insurers, HMOs, and other organizations provide coverage for this care.

Progressive employers recognize this growing demand and are embracing services as lower-cost “complements” to traditional employee benefit packages. In an era of benefit takeaways, higher deductibles, and increased employee copays, complementary health care allows employers to offer a new benefit with a high perceived value for a cost that is usually just 1–2 percent of an employer’s total health care premiums.

Additionally, employers today are increasingly focused on implementing wellness programs that address obesity, smoking, and other health concerns that contribute to rising health care costs. According to a July 2005 Deloitte & Touche poll, 95 percent of employers surveyed have recently implemented or are considering implementing wellness programs to control health costs and improve employee productivity.

A growing body of clinical evidence supports the clinical benefits of chiropractic, acupuncture, massage therapy, dietetic counseling, and naturopathic services. Evidence-based complementary health care therapies such as these have proven effective in treating a wide variety of medical conditions and in helping individuals meet their health and wellness goals. Among the research supporting the efficacy of complementary health care:

• Dozens of clinical studies have established the safety and effectiveness of spinal manipulation, the primary therapeutic tool used by chiropractors, for the treatment of back pain, neck pain, and headaches.
• A June 2003 Annals of Internal Medicine meta-analysis of 39 randomized clinical trials found chiropractic care to be more effective than sham treatments for acute and chronic low back pain.
• An October 2004 Archives of Internal Medicine study supported by ASH demonstrated that more conservative and less invasive care is less costly, finding that employers who offered health care benefits for chiropractic care realized fewer hospitalizations for back pain, a reduction in the number of back surgeries, and lower overall health care treatment costs versus employers who did not offer chiropractic coverage.
• A meta-analysis of 33 randomized trials published in the June 2005 Annals of Internal Medicine found acupuncture to be more effective than sham treatment for short-term relief of chronic low back pain. And a study published in the December 2004 Annals of Internal Medicine found that acupuncture appeared to help relieve pain and improve function for patients with knee osteoarthritis.