Three Reasons Functional Medicine Seems Expensive
And how to make it affordable.
You’ve finally found the healthcare provider you’ve been searching for. For years you’ve dealt with struggle, as you’ve been in and out of the doctor’s office with your digestive complaints, only to be told, “We can’t find anything wrong with you; it’s probably IBS.” Alas! You found a Functional/Natural Practitioner specializing in IBS and have an appointment! Your first appointment was excellent. You talked with them for over an hour, got some tremendous dietary and supplement regimens, and you’re ready to get a handle on your IBS.
Only one thing, that initial appointment costs you $300, all paid out-of-pocket. Insurance wouldn’t cover it, nor would it cover the $80 worth of supplements you purchased or the $200 worth of lab testing. Why does functional/natural/alternative care seem ‘expensive’? Are there more cost-effective ways that can still get the job done?
- Unnecessary Testing
Stool testing, breath testing, advanced cardiac testing, and over 100 blood markers could all be tested when visiting a Functional Medicine Practitioner. That seems excessive. Don’t get me wrong; some people have chronic, complex conditions that may require more advanced testing. I’d say that’s the exception, not the rule.
Let’s take, for example, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). IBS is currently diagnosed using the Rome IV Criteria, utilizing symptoms of abdominal discomfort and a change in bowel habits over the previous three months. But really, IBS is more a “diagnosis of exclusion,” meaning other, more severe conditions (Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Bowel Cancer, and Celiac) are first ruled out before considering IBS. In the conventional healthcare model, individuals may have had a colonoscopy, endoscopy, and basic stool testing. Most of which may come back normal, and you’ll be told you probably have IBS.
In the Functional Medicine world, you may undergo food sensitivity and stool testing that shows some excellent data, but not for cheap. A new blood test called an IBS-Smart Test has shown some promise for diagnosing IBS. As we’ll touch on later, several more affordable alternatives to testing have demonstrated good clinical outcomes with IBS.
2. Too Many Supplements
It’s not uncommon for a patient to leave a practitioner’s office feeling like they just bought an entire vitamin shop: Vitamin D for autoimmunity, Magnesium for constipation, Turmeric for inflammation, Resveratrol for anti-aging, ketones to help burn fat, Ashwagandha for stress, Probiotics for gut health, etc.
Any of those supplements has its place, but when you throw the kitchen sink at someone (and they spend more than they would on a kitchen sink), you don’t know what helps and doesn’t.
If only 1/7 of those supplements had helped, we could have saved our patients hundreds of dollars.
It should be our goal as practitioners to deliver the most amount of good to our patients at the least amount of cost. That speaks to the idea of healthcare value. Healthcare value can be defined as the quality of the care you receive divided by the cost of that care. As discussed later, cost-effective and highly efficacious functional medicine can be delivered with proper due diligence.
3. Healing Takes Time
The first two can be avoided, but this one, not so much. Say you were diagnosed with IBS at age 27. Does that mean the changes that led to your IBS happened overnight? No! Does that mean healing will happen overnight? No!! I’ve observed this many times; people get a diagnosis, get a prescription medication, and expect to get better instantly. As great as that would be, the human body doesn’t function like that. Healing takes time.
While it takes time, you will likely save money down the line. How?
The cost of maintaining your health is vastly different than the cost of restoring it.
Once you’ve invested the time and energy for 3–9 months restoring your health, hopefully, you’ve developed habits and behaviors you KNOW work for you. If symptoms ever return, you know what tactics to employ yourself rather than paying for another visit with a provider.
The human body has this phenomenal ability to heal itself. With the right amount of support — gut-supportive nutrients, stress management, proper sleep, and time, health can be restored — sorry, my philosophy came out for a second.
Cost-Effective, Evidence Supported.
I love what Functional Medicine offers the world; I practice it; I’ve seen tactics that seem a bit much. Rather than someone with digestive issues getting lots of lab work and dozens of supplements, start with more straightforward measures such as probiotics and the Low FODMAP diet (1, 2,3). If they don’t respond to these simple measures, there can be room for discussion of more advanced therapies.
Cost-wise, the Low FODMAP diet can be made to fit any budget. Whether you can afford grass-fed meat and pasture-raised eggs or you still have to buy non-organic produce, that’s okay. Great brands fit any spending plan on the probiotic spectrum, from Functional Medicine Formulation to Thorne. You can find excellent budget-friendly options at your local health food store: Now Foods Probiotics.
Finding quality functional/natural/alternative medicine care doesn’t have to be expensive. If you’re looking for such, find a provider that will work with you on the cost front and one who won’t go right to expensive testing without first taking a look at some of the foundational pillars of health: nutrition, sleep hygiene, movement practices, stress management, and purpose.
At The HIVE Natural Health Center, we value your money and time. Our Functional Medicine team utilizes the most cost-effective strategies and tailors them to the individual that you are.
As always, Trust in Your Gut.
Disclaimer: The contents of this article are for educational purposes only and are not intended to diagnose or treat any condition. Do not apply any of the information in this article without first speaking with your doctor.
References
- Altobelli E, Del Negro V, Angeletti PM, Latella G. Low-FODMAP Diet Improves Irritable Bowel Syndrome Symptoms: A Meta-Analysis. Nutrients. 2017;9(9):940. Published 2017 Aug 26. doi:10.3390/nu9090940
- Didari T, Mozaffari S, Nikfar S, Abdollahi M. Effectiveness of probiotics in irritable bowel syndrome: Updated systematic review with meta-analysis. World J Gastroenterol. 2015;21(10):3072–3084. doi:10.3748/wjg.v21.i10.3072
- Hustoft TN, Hausken T, Ystad SO, et al. Effects of varying dietary content of fermentable short-chain carbohydrates on symptoms, fecal microenvironment, and cytokine profiles in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. Neurogastroenterol Motil. 2017;29(4):10.1111/nmo.12969. doi:10.1111/nmo.12969
