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Arizona Employers Can Now Directly Purchase Complementary Health Care Benefits San Diego, CA (October 8, 2003) -- For the first time, Arizona employers can now directly purchase complementary health care benefits from a specialty benefits health insurance company, making popular health care options such as acupuncture and massage therapy available to their workforce as part of a total health benefits program. Benefits for chiropractic and manual manipulation, dietetic counseling, naturopathy, and vitamin and mineral products are also available. These innovative benefit programs are accessible to Arizona businesses with 51 or more employees through American Specialty Health Insurance Company (ASH Insurance), a subsidiary of American Specialty Health, Incorporated (ASH). ASH is the nation's largest complementary health care organization–covering over 9 million members in benefit programs nationwide. ASH affiliates currently administer chiropractic benefits for many Arizona health plans covering over 800,000 members throughout the state. "Interest in complementary health care is at an all-time high," said George DeVries, president and chief executive officer of ASH. "Arizona employers now have the flexibility to directly purchase complementary benefits for their employees in the same way that they provide dental and vision coverage." ASH Insurance offers direct access (with no medical referral required) to an Arizona network of more than 800 contracted providers. Furthermore, when insureds are traveling, they have in-network access to a national provider network of more than 22,000 contracted acupuncturists, chiropractors, dietitians, massage therapists, medical doctors, naturopathic doctors, and osteopathic physicians. In many cases, ASH Insurance may also cover employees residing in other states. In-network benefits range from 20, 30, 40, 50, or unlimited visits per year with copayments of $0, $5, $10, $15 or $20 per visit, depending upon plan design. Out-of-network benefits provide reimbursement of 50 percent of billed charges–up to $30 per visit, up to 10 visits per year. The vitamin and mineral benefit offered by ASH Insurance is provided by its affiliate Healthyroads, Inc. and can be accessed either online or by fax, mail, or phone. The program includes a $50 or $100 annual benefit with a coinsurance payment of 20 percent or 50 percent of the discounted member price. The benefit provides access to a variety of vitamins and minerals produced by leading manufacturers such as Nature's Way. There is no charge for shipping and out-of-network benefits are not available. Healthyroads.com was recently awarded Best E-Commerce Commerce Site by the World Wide Web Health Awards Program. It is also accredited by the American Accreditation Health Care Commission/URAC and is Verisign secure. ASH Insurance offers a broad range of benefit options, combinations, and plans to Arizona employers and their employees. For maximum flexibility, employers may choose from 60 different combinations of complementary health care benefits. For instance, employers may choose a combination of any two, three, four, five, or all six of the following benefit options: - Acupuncture services
- Chiropractic & manual manipulation services
- Dietetic counseling services
- Massage therapy services
- Naturopathy services
- Vitamin & mineral products
Employers may also purchase either dietetic counseling services or chiropractic and manual manipulation services as an individual benefit option. Once an employer group has selected a benefit combination, it is then able to select from as many as 25 different benefit plans for each benefit combination."A recent study by the Society for Human Resource Management indicates that in spite of double-digit annual increases in medical premiums, complementary and altern
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