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Medicare will reimburse heart patients for two wellness programs that focus on wholesale changes. Supporters see the move as a shift toward proactive care.
LIFESTYLE changes can boost the health and well-being of heart patients, proponents of such programs have long said. Now Medicare has acknowledged that as well. The federal insurance program will now pay for the intensive cardiac rehabilitation plans created by preventive health guru Dr. Dean Ornish and mind-body medicine pioneer Dr. Herbert Benson — the first time the federal government has agreed to reimburse consumers for specific lifestyle intervention programs."This exciting breakthrough could change the face of medical care," said Ornish in a statement.He and Benson have been working for years to obtain Medicare reimbursement for their cardiac wellness programs because it's seen as a critical first step to making their programs more widely available — and getting other insurance providers to pay for them as well.
Both have conducted clinical research demonstrating that comprehensive lifestyle changes — including support groups; good nutrition and low-fat diets; exercise; and stress management, such as yoga, meditation or deep breathing — may begin to reverse even severe coronary heart disease without drugs or surgery.Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease is offered at eight sites in Pennsylvania and at five medical centers in West Virginia. At least one private insurer in each state already has agreed to cover the programs in those states.
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-ornish12jun12,0,7218320.story?coll=la-headlines-health