Empowered Patient Podcast Bringing Alternative Therapies to a Broader Universe of Patients with Dr. Paul Sherman Community Health Plan of Washington
Dr. Paul Sherman is the Chief Medical Officer of the Community Health Plan of Washington, the only nonprofit managed care organization for Medicaid in Washington state. They have also expanded into offering Medicare Advantage plans and providing a public/private low-cost insurance option for low-income people who do not qualify for Medicaid. Paul is enthusiastic about the new benefits that have been added to provide alternative approaches to healthcare that are less invasive and have better options than opioids for pain management.
Paul explains, "Treatments that we're offering with this new benefit are a package of chiropractic, acupuncture, and massage therapy. So those traditional plans have offered services on a medical necessity or another basis. Still, we're trying to offer them in a much more patient-centered way where it's much easier for them to access it, to access the treatments that are important to them."
"We're starting with those three benefits, but as we work with our members across the state and listen to their needs, we're talking to various populations about what other alternative therapies we should consider offering. We're talking to Native American tribes and our Mexican communities to really understand if there are other treatments that are important to them that we should think about adding to this benefit."
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