Reimbursement of Transcendental Meditation recommended to Health Insurers

The Transcendental Meditation Technique — A Clinically-Proven Natural Technique for Reducing Hypertension and Heart Disease

Nonpharmacologic Treatment of cardiovascular disease

The Transcendental Meditation Technique in the treatment of hypertension and coronary heart disease

Recent clinical trials, other controlled studies, and meta-analyses (of all relevant studies) have identified a new non-drug treatment that leads to improved medical outcomes for patients with cardiovascular disease including hypertension and coronary heart disease.

This treatment, the Transcendental Meditation (TM) program, is free of harmful side effects, widely acceptable, and cost-effective. We propose that the Transcendental Meditation program be actively utilized (1.) as a first-line or adjunctive non-drug therapy in high blood pressure—hypertension (HTN) and (2.) in the adjunctive treatment of coronary heart disease (CHD).

We recommend that insurance companies and other third-party payers provide reimbursement for Transcendental Meditation instruction for:

1. treatment of hypertension—either as sole therapy or adjunctive to other conventional therapies
2. treatment of coronary heart disease—as part of a multifaceted program including other forms of lifestyle modification and drug therapy as indicated

The scientific rationale for the effectiveness of the Transcendental Meditation program for these conditions is based on two premises: (i) the well-established principle that stress causes, contributes to and/or exacerbates cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension and coronary heart disease, and (ii) a large body of evidence showing that the Transcendental Meditation technique is the most effective stress-reduction technique
available for cardiovascular disease patients. Extensive scientific research has shown reductions in high blood preasure, hardening of the arteries, enlarged heart size, insulin resistance, anxiety, smoking, alcohol use and mortality.

Reducing stress, which means reducing abnormalities in the body that are the result of overload, naturally reduces the physiological and pathological consequences of chronic stress.

There are yet other reasons for insurance companies to cover this intervention. Several cost-benefit-analyses indicate lower hospitalization rates, lower outpatient utilization rates and longitudinal reductions in health care costs for those who regularly practice this particular meditation technique.

Further, there are simultaneous improvements in health and across a wide range of stress-related disorders.

A cumulative body of well-designed clinical trials, other clinical studies, and meta-analyses demonstrates that a nonpharmacologic approach —the Transcendental Meditation program— for the treatment of hypertension, coronary heart disease and their risk factors is effective in the sole or adjunctive care of cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, there are no harmful side effects.

Simultaneously, quality of life is improved and other chronic stress-related conditions are reduced or eliminated. These clinical effects are cost-effective.

Based on the published biomedical evidence, it is proposed that payment of the cost of Transcendental Meditation instruction by insurance companies and third party payers is justified and timely.

Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention
Maharishi University of Management, Iowa, USA

For more information refer to:
www.doctorsontm.org
www.mum.edu/inmp