Health Insurance Off the Grid

Health Insurance Off the Grid

2www.healthoffthegrid.com

Health InsuranceOff the Grid

A Wonderful Way To UseAlternative Medicine

and Save Money on Insurancewith the New

Health Savings Account (HSA)

Daryl Kulak

Second Edition



I dedicate this book to my late mother-in-law, KatieOakley, who through her illness, suffering andtreatment was able to show me the problems with ourWestern medical system and insurance.



Table of ContentsDEFINITIONS ..................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION – THE STATE OF HEALTHCARE IN AMERICA..................8

THE PROBLEMS.................................................................................................................... 8We Hate Our Health Insurers........................................................................................ 8Doctors on Strike?.......................................................................................................... 8Americans Go Uninsured When They Go Unemployed................................................ 9Health Insurance Rates Rise Dramatically................................................................... 9Comparing the Inflation Rate to Increases in Health Insurance Costs ..................... 10Medical Doctors are “Opting Out” ............................................................................ 11All This Money Isn’t Buying Better Care .................................................................... 12Preventive Care Still Isn’t Part of the Health Insurance Picture .............................. 13Controlled Studies Give Us Inconclusive Results ....................................................... 14Our Leaders Aren’t Even Asking the Right Questions ............................................... 15Druggies For Life......................................................................................................... 17Antibiotics Are Bringing Back the Plagues! ............................................................... 17The Right Drug in the Right Dosage Kills 100,000 a Year ........................................ 18

WHO’S TO BLAME?............................................................................................................ 18WOULDN’T THAT LOOK GREAT ON A PROTEST SIGN?..................................................... 18WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY AND…D’OH! ....................................................................... 20WHAT SHOULD WE DO? ................................................................................................... 23

Fixing Healthcare Nationally ...................................................................................... 23Fixing Healthcare Personally...................................................................................... 25

HEALTH OFF THE GRID – MAKING HEALTH INSURANCE SERVE YOU.27

THE PLAN IN BRIEF............................................................................................................ 27Goals............................................................................................................................. 28Steps.............................................................................................................................. 29

STEP 1 – HIGH-DEDUCTIBLE HEALTH INSURANCE – BE SECUREWITHOUT OVERPAYING..........................................................................................30

THE HIGH-DEDUCTIBLE RESPONSE TO INSANITY ............................................................ 32POLICY RIDERS .................................................................................................................. 42YOU’LL RECEIVE HEFTY DISCOUNTS ON OUT-OF-POCKET EXPENSES ........................... 43

STEP 2 – HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNT (HSA/MSA) – COVER SMALLEXPENSES AND SAVE ON TAXES...........................................................................45

BE YOUR OWN INSURANCE COMPANY – FOR THE SMALL STUFF ................................... 47



USE, SNOOZE, BUT YOU WON’T LOSE IT ......................................................................... 48WHERE TO GET IT?............................................................................................................ 49HSA DETAILS, DETAILS, DETAILS ................................................................................... 50

STEP 3 – HEALTH OFF THE GRID ACCOUNT (HOTG ACCOUNT) – MONEYTO PAY FOR HOLISTIC HEALTH SERVICES .....................................................54

CAN YOU BE DISCIPLINED? .............................................................................................. 55

STEP 4 – HEALTH DISCOUNT CARD – REDUCE THE COSTS OF DENTAL,VITAMINS AND VISION .............................................................................................57

DENTAL AND VISION ......................................................................................................... 57VITAMINS, HERBS, DRUGS, HEARING AIDS, HOLISTIC SERVICES................................... 58THE DECLINE OF DISCOUNT CARDS.................................................................................. 59

STEP 5 – CAR INSURANCE RIDER – GET YOUR DEDUCTIBLES PAID FOR............................................................................................................................................60

STEP 6 – NETWORK OF PRACTITIONERS – FIND PRACTITIONERS YOUCAN TRUST....................................................................................................................62

THE HIGH-DEDUCTIBLE DISCOUNT .................................................................................. 64THE FAMILY PRACTITIONER.............................................................................................. 67THE REST OF THE NETWORK ............................................................................................. 70SO YOU WANNA STICK WITH WESTERN MEDICINE? ....................................................... 73

Choose a Caring MD ................................................................................................... 73Home Remedies For the Little Things......................................................................... 74

SO YOU WANNA GO HOLISTIC?........................................................................................ 75Definition of Holistic Health........................................................................................ 75Accept Responsibility for Your Own Health ............................................................... 78Safest, Cheapest Appropriate Remedy First ............................................................... 79Do Your Own Health Research ................................................................................... 81Acknowledge Mind-Body-Spirit Interactions.............................................................. 82Be Open-Minded .......................................................................................................... 84Emphasize Prevention.................................................................................................. 87Understanding the Difference Between Healing and Curing..................................... 88

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN WESTERN MEDICINE AND HOLISTIC HEALTHCARE ................. 89SYMPTOM/SYNDROME/TONIC IN WESTERN MEDICINE.................................................... 90SYMPTOM/CAUSE/THERAPY IN HOLISTIC MEDICINE ....................................................... 90ANCIENT CARE IS THE BEST CARE.................................................................................... 92WESTERN MEDICINE’S BIG EXCUSE FOR NOT GOING HOLISTIC ..................................... 93THE HOLISTIC HEALTH PRACTICES .................................................................................. 95

Holistic Practices ......................................................................................................... 96SIX EASY SYSTEMS.......................................................................................................... 113



Naturopathic System .................................................................................................. 113Traditional Chinese Medical (TCM) System............................................................. 115Ayurvedic System........................................................................................................ 117Structural System........................................................................................................ 119Energetic System ........................................................................................................ 120Western Medical System ............................................................................................ 121

HOLISTIC HEALTHCARE FOR CHRISTIANS ...................................................................... 122Evaluating Practitioners as a Christian.................................................................... 124Differences Between Religion and Spirituality ......................................................... 125Mind and Body – Really Separate? ........................................................................... 126

STEP 7 – THE MONTHLY PLAN – PLAN EACH MONTH OF WELLNESS ANDILLNESS ........................................................................................................................130

STEP 8 – SAVE THE REST – MAKE EXCESS SAVINGS SERVE YOU..........135

STEP 9 – REVIEW ONCE A YEAR – CHANGE YOUR PLAN TO MATCHYOUR LIFE...................................................................................................................139

YEARLY THEMES ............................................................................................................. 139

A WORD TO HOLISTIC HEALTH PRACTITIONERS ......................................141

CONCLUSIONS ...........................................................................................................143

APPENDIX A – REFERENCES.................................................................................144

APPENDIX B – FORMS AND SAMPLES ...............................................................155

MONTHLY PLAN TEMPLATES .......................................................................................... 156

ABOUT THE AUTHOR ..............................................................................................163



Definitions

deductible – the minimum threshold payment that must be madeby the enrollee each year before the plan begins to make payments

co-insurance – a payment sharing arrangement between theinsurance company and patient, usually a percentage (20%) paidby the patient after the deductible has been reached

co-payment – a payment sharing arrangement between theinsurance company and patient, usually a certain dollar amount($25) per visit whether or not the deductible has been reached

office visit rider – addition to premium for primary care officesetting that involves examination of, or education and discussionwith, the patient

premium – amount of money that is paid to a health plan by anenrollee (or employer) in exchange for providing healthcarebenefits (and claims processing)

(from The Managed Health Care Dictionary, 2nd Edition – RichardRognehaugh (Aspen, 1998))



Introduction – The State of Healthcare inAmerica

The ProblemsThe “state of healthcare in America” today is weak. We areheaded in the wrong direction, and we are paying too much fordiminishing results.

Using the phrase “American healthcare crisis” is cliché by now.We have a crisis, there is no doubt. The signs are all around us.

We Hate Our Health InsurersThe acronym HMO has become one of the hated symbols ofAmerican life. Health maintenance organizations routinely denycare, pressure doctors into providing insufficient treatment, andenrage their “clients.” Federal law prevents most people fromsuing their HMOs, no matter how egregious the action.

Doctors on Strike?For the first time in history, medical doctors are holdingstatewide strikes, like those in West Virginia in January, 2003.Many doctors are quitting due to high malpractice insurancepremiums, which often exceed $100,000, according to the Inc.magazine article in December 2003 entitled “The WorstBusiness in America.”



Americans Go Uninsured When They GoUnemployedOne out of seven Americans lives without health insurance(Statistical Abstract of the US 2002). Many of these are familieswhere the sole wage-earner has recently lost a job and thefamily cannot afford COBRA coverage, or someone has achronic disease (pre-existing condition).

I met a self-employed young woman recently who has beenseparated from her husband for three years, but they’ve agreedto stay married so she can continue to get health insuranceunder his employer’s plan.

Health Insurance Costs Rise DramaticallyHealth insurance premiums for the self-employed have risen 6-15% every year for the past five years, effectively doubling inthat time. The inflation rate for all other products and serviceshas held steady at under 4%. That means insurance premiumshave risen at a rate almost 400% that of inflation. HMOs, whichwere created to reduce costs, have seemed to produce theopposite effect.



Comparing Inflation to Health InsuranceYear National Inflation

RateHealth Benefit Costs

1998 1.6% 6.1%1999 2.7% 7.3%2000 3.4% 8.1%2001 1.6% 11.2%2002 2.4% 14.7%

Source of Inflation Rate: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2003Source of Health Benefit Costs: Mercer/Foster Higgins National Survey,2002

NOTE: The “health benefit costs” shown above are the increases to ratesto the employers. For example, in 2002, employer health costs rose14.7%, but the costs passed on to employees in the form of highermonthly premiums, higher deductibles and higher co-payments generatedmuch higher costs for employees, up to 20% in many cases.

Employers are drastically reducing the health benefits theyprovide to their employees every year, trying to find ways tolimit the effects of the premium increases. They use doughnuthole health insurance policies, which offer full coverage up to aset amount (say $1,000) then no coverage up to a second limit(say $2,500), then partial coverage again after that second limitis reached.

The idea was to have employees conserve their coverageinstead of wasting trips to the doctor for trivial things.



The actual result has been that employees try to “hoard” theinitial amount, postponing doctor visits until a health problembecomes acute and hard to reverse.

Strikes at grocery chains in California in 2003 and 2004 havehad one major issue at stake – who’s going to pay theemployee’s health insurance premiums?

Wal-Mart has become the largest company in the world byselling goods at the lowest possible prices. One way they’veachieved this has been to maintain a non-union shop to keepwages low, and to make the employee’s cost of health insuranceso high that many Wal-Mart employees cannot afford to evenenroll.

Medical Doctors are “Opting Out”Some doctors are opting out of the health insurance world.(Wall Street Journal, November 6, 2003)

By opting out, I mean doctors who refuse all patients who wishto use health insurance of any kind.

By refusing all forms of insurance, the doctors can operate aclinic with two adminstrators instead of six. Fewer forms to fillout, no fighting with insurers about claims.

The doctors charge the patients a reasonable amount directly,paid at the time of service, which reflects their much-reducedoverhead, in many cases down to $50-70 per doctor visit. As



you can imagine, patients who do not have health insurancehappily pay such reasonable rates.

All This Money Isn’t Buying Better CareAlthough America pays much more than other countries forhealthcare, it is not the healthiest country. America paysdouble the amount per capita on healthcare versus Britain,Germany or Japan. That’s right, I said double.

It is hard to measure a nation’s “wellness,” so economists tendto look at life expectancy and infant mortality. Howeverimperfect those measurements might be, they are someindication of our health.

An American’s life expectancy is 72 years, lower than manyother Western nations (Germany is 73, Canada is 75, Japan is77). Infant mortality is also no lower than other countries. Weare not getting value for our money.

Imagine buying a personal computer, then finding out that yourfriend bought a computer that was a little better but cost halfwhat you paid!

Additionally, Americans get sicker each year. Incidence ofchronic diseases and conditions increase each year: diabetes,autism, ADD/ADHD, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome,alcoholism, migraine headaches, obesity, osteoporosis,hepatitis, carpal tunnel syndrome and of course cancer and heartdisease.



The Journal of the National Cancer Institute stated in 2002 thatnew lung cancer victims are increasing 1.2% per year,melanoma 4%, prostate cancer 2.2%, and colorectal cancer 3%(statistics from 1996 to 2002). Are we on the road to curingcancer once people get it? Possibly, but we are far fromunderstanding how to prevent it!

Preventive Care Still Isn’t Part of the HealthInsurance PictureIn American healthcare, we focus our efforts on curing diseasesonce they’ve occurred, rather than preventing them.

The preventive information we receive from Western medicaldoctors is often general and sometimes unsound. For skincancer, the advice has been to stay out of the sun, but that hasbeen proven at least partially incorrect (Journal of the NationalCancer Institute report 2002). Similarly, advice about low fatdiets has either proven wrong or people have not followed theirdoctors’ advice, because obesity is now a problem for 60% ofadults and an unprecedented 30% of children (NationalInstitutes of Health Website).

Practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Indianayurveda and other systems are ruled out of Americanhealthcare and insurance, even though their systems have beenproven to work over thousands of years and incorporate manypreventive measures into the overall practice of healthcare. Thisis not even mentioning widespread practices like massage



therapy, fitness training, yoga and nutrition that are eithercompletely left out of health insurance coverage or are onlyused under insurance to correct a problem, not to prevent aproblem.

Controlled Studies Give Us Inconclusive ResultsWestern medicine uses controlled studies as its basis for whatworks and what doesn’t. A controlled study is one whereclassically-trained scientists or doctors are in charge, activitiesare meticulously documented, control groups are used (givenplacebo treatments like sugar pills) and the results are publishedin a recognized, peer-reviewed journal (like the Journal of theAmerican Medical Association). And yet, controlled scientificstudies give us confusing results, year after year.

Drugs that initially seem effective are later proven totallyuseless.

Arthroscopic knee surgery is proven in a controlled study to beno better for its patients than a “fake surgery” where doctors putthe patient under anesthesia and then pretend to operate.

Food and herb studies are no better. According to controlledstudies, coffee is bad for us, then good, then bad again. Saltcauses hypertension, then it doesn’t. Eggs have cholesterol, sowe should avoid them, then they still have cholesterol, but weshould eat them without worry. Tomatoes need to be raw togive us the most health benefit, then cooked, then raw. Butter isworse than margarine, then better, then worse. Vegetarians live



long, healthy lives, then we find out that they die years earlierthan meat-eaters. We determine unequivocally that a high fat,low fiber diet causes heart disease, yet that is exactly what theFrench eat and their rate of heart disease and cancer is thesecond lowest in the world (to Japan).

Our Leaders Aren’t Asking the Right QuestionsIn this year’s presidential campaign, pollsters are asking peopleabout their biggest concerns.

Number four --- the war in IraqNumber three --- national securityNumber two --- stagnant economyNumber one --- healthcare

Source: New Hampshire Democratic primaryexit polls – reported by National PublicRadio – January 28, 2004

Healthcare is number one on people’s minds.

Political candidates say they can give us solutions to pay for themassive healthcare bills we are ringing up as a nation.

Solutions to bringing down the cost of healthcare range widely.Some propose to tweak the current system one way or another,resulting in billions of dollars in savings, we’re told.



Others propose a “single payer” system, similar to Canada’ssocialized medicine program.

One solution is called the “group doctor visit” where three toseven patients visit the doctor at the same time, allowing thedoctor to charge only a fraction to each patient. "I think it's thefuture of medicine," says Ed Noffsinger, PhD, father of theDIGMA (Drop-In Group Medical Appointment). In an initialsurvey, forty per cent of patients surveyed said they wouldnever, ever use such an appointment format. When trying to fixa broken system with band-aid solutions, we tend to try eventhe most ridiculous solutions in hopes that we can revive whatis already lost.

The problem is it costs so much to see a doctor for a seven-minute visit. The doctor has the cost of the health insurancepaperwork, malpractice insurance premiums and the extremelyexpensive and dangerous drugs, equipment and procedures athis disposal. It costs a lot for these reasons, not because thedoctor is trying to “rip off” their patients. It just costs a lot.

Is the question“How will we pay for this healthcare?”

or“Why is healthcare so expensive?”



Druggies For LifeMany people have accepted that they will have to takepharmaceutical drugs for the rest of their lives. Diabetics acceptthat they will have to inject insulin. People with high bloodpressure accept that they will take drugs to prevent heartattacks. These drugs do not help reverse the conditions theytreat. The cost of these “everlasting drugs” goes to increasehealth insurance premiums for all payers.

Antibiotics Are Bringing Back the Plagues!Hmm, sounds like a headline from a supermarket tabloid!Strange but true, unfortunately.

Overuse of antibiotics in North America has contributed towhat scientists call “super-germs,” which can live through anyantibiotic treatment. Doctors overprescribe antibiotics and otherdrugs. By overusing antibiotics, we are creating an environmentfriendly towards the plagues of the Middle Ages, where aspecific illness was allowed to roam freely from person toperson, town to town, nation to nation. We can see the start ofthis with the SARS epidemic in Asia and Canada, the re-emergence of hepatitis, and the dramatic increase of staphinfections in hospitals. Also implicated in this spread ofresistant bacteria are the best-selling anti-bacterial soaps, whichencourage the spread of supergerms in the home, office andhospital.



The Right Drug in the Right Dosage Kills 100,000a YearOne hundred thousand patients die every year in America fromreceiving the right prescribed drug in the right dose at the righttime. This is called iatrogenesis and it is the fifth leading causeof death in America (DrMercola.com Website).

Yet, we sanctimoniously ban ephedra, which has beentangentially linked to 155 deaths? (CNN news story, January2004)

Who’s to Blame?

Don’t Blame Your Doctor

Don’t Blame the Insurance Company

Don’t Blame the Government

Don’t Blame the HMOs

Wouldn’t That Look Great on a Protest Sign?Protesting in front of insurance company offices asking them tolower premium rates won’t work. Insurance premiums arebased on the services insurance companies have to pay for, andthose services are very expensive and are used often.Competition between insurance companies keeps insurance



premiums as low as they can be, believe it or not. Insurancecompanies are scrutinized for anti-trust violations, so if anyprice cooperation is occuring between insurance companies, itis exposed by government anti-trust agencies, the press or thepublic.

Protesting in front of doctors’ offices asking them to acceptlower fees won’t work. Doctors are making much less moneythan they were ten years ago, due to HMO cost-cutting andincreased competition from holistic practitioners likechiropractors. Producing documentation in compliance withhealth insurers, malpractice insurers and HMOs has created atremendous bureaucracy in every Western medical doctor’soffice. Doctors who opt out of taking health insurance patientssay they can save 80% of their overhead with that single step,passing on the savings to their direct-bill patients.

Protesting in front of drug companies asking them to switch tosafer, cheaper herbs won’t work. Drug companies work foryears to produce a single drug, which then must be sold at avery high profit for many years to reimburse the research andtesting. Herbs are not patentable, so drug companies would beat a disadvantage to existing supplement companies, who areefficient and effective at sourcing, harvesting, distributing andselling herbs and vitamins.

Protesting in front of the US Capitol asking them to pass lawsto limit the malpractice premiums for Western doctors won’twork. Malpractice premiums reflect competition betweeninsurance companies, so they are as low as they can be, given



the costs. The root problem is the level of danger in Westernmedical procedures, especially childbirth, anesthesia, surgery ofall kinds, and pharmaceuticals. The litigious nature of theAmerican society is obviously a root cause of high malpracticepremiums as well, but that is not a topic I’m prepared to addressin this book.

Protesting in front of HMO offices asking them to stay out ofthe business of making medical decisions won’t work. HMOswere built on the assumption that the HMOs would have powerover which medical procedures would be used or not, sodismantling that fundamental assumption would immediatelyundo the HMO system, something no HMO would be inclinedto do today or any other day.

It may seem that I’m defending HMOs, insurance andpharmaceutical companies. This is odd because I detest thesecompanies as much as anybody. But what I’m trying to avoid isgiving the impression to anyone that we can avoid our ownpersonal responsibility by foisting it onto one of these easytargets.

We Have Met the Enemy and…D’Oh!As Pogo sighed in the first Earth Day cartoon strip in 1971,“We have met the enemy and he is us!”

It would be easy to blame people in power for the problems inhealthcare, but, in the short term, it is unproductive. We must



use our dollars and our votes to make a better America, but weneed to stop our own destructive behavior before we will seechanges anywhere else in the country.

Every time we’ve said “I pay so damn much for thisinsurance, it better cover everything little thing I need,”we’ve created the problem.

Every time we’ve sued a doctor because things didn’tturn out exactly the way we were expecting, we’vecreated the problem.

Every time we’ve demanded the doctor give us a strongerprescription or a brand name drug rather than a generic,“just to be safe,” we’ve created the problem.

Every time we’ve accepted a doctor’s advice that“there’s nothing you can do to reverse this illness, sotake this pill for the rest of your life,” we’ve created theproblem.

Every time we’ve accepted an expensive surgicalprocedure or drug that was covered in our health planinstead of investigating a cheaper, safer alternative,we’ve created the problem.

Every year we’ve let our politicians get re-electedwithout solving the problem of the uninsured, we’vecreated the problem.



Every time we’ve watched a drug commercial ontelevision and then demanded that our doctor prescribe itfor our children, we’ve created the problem.

Every time we’ve knowingly abused our own healththrough our diet, smoking, alcohol abuse, lack ofexercise, emotional outbursts, bad posture, and laziness,we’ve created the problem.

If you want to blame someone, blame me. Blame us all.

The American thing to do is for each of us to take responsibilityfor this situation. We’ve created it together so let’s fix ittogether.

The difference between blaming and taking responsibility isthat blaming looks backward, trying to find the “guilty party.”Taking responsibility looks forward to who needs to take actionto fix this problem in the future.

There is one thing that will work. Each person must create aplan today that will work for themselves where they can affordthe insurance premiums and get access to the care they need.



What Should We Do?

Fixing Healthcare NationallyEvery presidential candidate tells us they have the solution toour healthcare issues. The meekest solutions provide us withadditional federal funding (taken from which budget, we are nottold). The boldest plans give us copycat solutions taken fromother countries where healthcare “really works,” usuallyCanada, Britain or Germany.

Something that stands out for me is that the politicians seem tobe diligently answering the question “How do we pay for thismess?” while just as diligently avoiding the question “How didwe get this mess?”

Healthcare is very, very expensive, and is outpacing inflationby a factor of four. Why? What are we doing wrong inhealthcare that is causing our costs to rise so quickly and yetnot be solving our problems in disease prevention or mortality?Where is our money going?

The easy answer is to look for an Enron-style scapegoat, agreedy industrialist who is stealing the money for his own

“Healthcare costs are outpacing inflation by a factorof four.”



collection of jets, mansions and rare artwork. But I don’tbelieve that’s happening in this case.

I feel the problem with our healthcare system is systemic,meaning it is a problem with the system itself, not the peopleinside the system.

In order to prevent disease we need to have a focus onpreventing disease. Our medical system is a “disease caresystem” instead of a “health care system.” Our doctors are well-trained to leap into action when they find a disease, but theyseem to sputter when asked questions about prevention.

But a focus on disease is just one symptom of the nationalhealthcare problem.

My instincts tell me we are far from any reasonable nationalsolution on healthcare. We have run too far off the rails to beable to get back on track quickly. Like most people, I havestrong opinions about what can work and what will not work,but that is not the focus of this book.

The problems I outlined at the beginning of this book need tobe solved. But, until then, each of us needs to do what we can tocreate our own plan for health and wellness until we havereasonable, dramatically more effective solutions at the nationallevel.



The question I intend to answer in this book is “how can Icreate a plan for my family’s health without having to changethe American healthcare system?”

This approach solves the problem at two levels. First, it meanswe each have a way to cope until we collectively understandhow to fix our national system. Second, by virtue of uschanging our own approach to healthcare, the national systemitself will have to adapt to suit us, and it will be changing in apositive way.

Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Bychanging your own approach to healthcare, you cannot help butchange things at a national (and international) level.

NOTE: For a number of very rational suggestions on how tofix the national healthcare situation, please read the freenewsletter called “The Radical Middle” at this Web address:

http://www.radicalmiddle.com/x_health_care.htm

Fixing Healthcare PersonallySo, by choosing to change our own healthcare approach, wechange the nation. In the next chapter, I explain how that ispossible.

The hardest part of this change will be your own mindset.Using the individual tools I outline is easy; it is a matter of



doing some calculations, making phone calls, meeting withcertain experts, signing some papers.

But changing your own mindset towards your healthcare, healthinsurance and finances may be extremely difficult. You willface the “devil you know is better than the devil you don’t”problem in your own head.

Remember that the mindset shift is difficult. And try to see itfrom the perspective of the amount of money it can save you,and the greater health you’ll gain.



Health Off the Grid – Helping Health InsuranceServe YouI have created a healthcare approach that I call Health Off theGrid. This approach is a set of services available today thattogether can offer the peace-of-mind of an insurance policywith the ability to include holistic health services and flexibilityto handle the ups and downs of everyday life.

In this chapter, I’ll describe the Health Off the Grid approachand all its parts. I’ll show you how it works and explain whereyou can get each type of service.

The Plan in BriefHealth Off the Grid is a set of tools that, when used together,create a powerful plan that, I believe, can satisfy many of theobjectives that people wish for their healthcare today inAmerica.

Why the name “Health Insurance Off the Grid?”

Living “off the grid” means that a person might be using windturbines, solar cells, water wells and septic tanks to remove themselvesfrom the necessity of any utilities like electricity, water and sewer. I’vealways respected these folks for their courage and self-reliance.

My approach to health insurance is similar to these amazing pioneers,although it requires much less courage! Just a different mindsettowards insurance and some discipline to carry it out.



I will summarize a plan for creating and maintaining healthusing the existing tools in the American healthcare system. Iwill explain each step and how it relates to decreasing yourcosts and benefiting your health.

GoalsMy goals in creating the Health Off The Grid plan are:

1. Reduce the total amount of money families pay forhealthcare (including insurance premiums) by at least$2,000 per year.

2. Allow the family to pare down expenses when timesget tough (wage earner loses a job) and bring themback again when the income returns.

3. Allow families to focus on the safest, most effectiveand cheapest remedies first, moving to moredangerous and expensive remedies only after the firstones do not work.

4. Allow for payment of an infinitely wide variety ofhealthcare treatments, including Chinese medicine,yoga, fitness training, herbs, reiki, and many others,while still retaining Western medical treatment forthe times it is appropriate.

5. Create a system that works for all employmentsituations, especially the self-employed andunemployed.

6. Reduce the number of interactions (re: hassles) withhealth insurance companies and HMOs to aminimum.



7. Reward families financially for practicing preventivehealthcare.

8. Take the fear out of healthcare by creatingoverlapping and backup systems of healthcarefinancing.

9. Create a system that can be done by the client ordelegated to a qualified financial planner.

I believe the Health Off The Grid system satisfies these goals,but you need to be the judge as you read the rest of this chapter.

Health Off the Grid --- Steps

1. Sign up for a high-deductible health insurance plan.2. Create a Health Savings Account (HSA).3. Create a Health Off The Grid Account (HOTG

ACCOUNT).4. Sign up for a health discount card, covering

pharmacy, dental, vision, vitamins, herbs andalternative medicine practices.

5. Add a health insurance rider to your car insurancepolicy.

6. Create a monthly health spending plan.7. Create a network of practitioners supporting your

family’s health.8. Save the rest.9. Review your Health Off The Grid strategy with your

family at least once a year.



Step 1 – High-Deductible Health Insurance –Be Secure Without OverpayingWe begin with the health insurance policy itself. Not to be toophilosophical, but what is health insurance?? What is itspurpose?

The nature of insurance is to cover the costs for anindividual when those costs are so great that theindividual would suffer great hardship if he had to paythem himself.

When a person’s house burns down, the cost of replacing theentire house might be out-of-reach for the individual, so theperson buys house insurance and pays a small amount eachmonth to insure that if the house burns down, the money will bethere to replace it quickly.

When a person is involved in a car accident, the cost ofreplacing the car, plus personal injuries even liability if otherpeople are hurt, could be out-of-reach. Again, the personpurchases car insurance for this eventuality.

With health, though, we seem to take a different approach. Yes,we expect the health insurance to be there for the big stuff:when we break our leg, fall out a window, or get cancer. But wealso seem to expect that it should cover all medical services, no



matter how small. When we visit the doctor because we havethe sniffles, we want health insurance to pay. When we use one$90 bottle of prescription medication, we funnel the costthrough health insurance.

Our current mindset with health insurance is unworkable.It is what has created the monster that we have today in theAmerican medical system.

Sky-high costs.

Idiotic bureaucracy.

Unhappiness in doctors and patients alike.

Each of us must rethink our approach to healthcare.

If we took our “health insurance approach” with houseinsurance, we would be buying house insurance to cover everybit of maintenance from window-cleaning to installing a newphone line to repainting a wall in the bedroom. Insurancecompanies would be trying to decide whether you really neededthat extra phone line or not, whether your windows were reallytoo dirty to look through. Can you imagine??

If we did it with car insurance, it would be like expectinginsurance to cover gasoline and oil changes, brake jobs andmufflers. You’d have to wait several hours at the gas stationeach time to give the insurance adjustor time to decide whether



you really deserved another tank of gas because you had usedso much already that month. Can you imagine??

Immense cost, confusion and delays are what we wouldencounter if we expected these things from our house or carinsurance. And yet, there’s no need to imagine because we haveexactly that in American health insurance.

The High-Deductible Response to InsanityThe way for you and your family to “opt out” of this madness isto sign up for a high-deductible health insurance policy.

A deductible is the initial amount each year that the client isresponsible for. After the deductible is satisfied (paid by theclient), the insurance company begins to pay claims.

Insurance companies offer steep discounts for these types ofhigh-deductible policies. High deductibles lower the overheadcosts so much that health insurers will cut premiums for highdeductible policies by thousands of dollars per year.

How high is a high deductible? There is an optimaldeductible. It is $2,500. This deductible is magical. Let meexplain why.

If you have a bad health year and spend the entire $2,500deductible yourself every year of your life, you will still beahead because you’ve been paying premiums that are so muchlower. Let me state that in another way. You save so much on



what you pay in monthly premiums that even if you and yourfamily were so sick year-after-year that you had to use yourentire deductible every year, you’d still save money over atypical low-deductible policy.

The reason health insurers can make these high-deductiblepremiums so low is because you are saving them the overheadof having to go through the approval process for the claims upto the $2,500 deductible. It should be less and it is!

This is a major key to the entire Health Off The Grid plan, so Ihope you understand what I’m saying here. Let’s use a quickexample.

For a low-deductible health insurance policy, you might pay$800 per month for a family of three. By switching to a high-deductible policy ($2,500), you will likely pay about $300. Thesavings are $500 per month. Multiple that by twelve months inthe year, and you’ve saved $6,000 each year. Remember, yourdeductible was $2,500. So if you spend the entire deductibleevery year for the rest of your life, you’ll still save $3,500 everyyear. Put that into a mutual fund, with 4% return, and you’veaccumulated over $42,000 in ten years. Just for changing thedeductible on your insurance policy!

To really get the picture of what a high-deductible policy willdo for you, let’s review some detailed examples on thefollowing pages.



NOTE: The insurance costs are estimated and couldvary greatly from one insurer to another. Please usethe figures for comparisons only.

Compare the PlansLow-Deductible High-Deductible

Deductible $100 $2,500Co-insurance 0% 20%Office visit rider 20% not includedPrescription drug rider $250

deductible,$2,500

maximum

not included

Monthly premium (forfamily of three):

$1086 $300

The plan in the left-hand-column is a typical health insurancepolicy, which we call low-deductible.

The plan in the right-hand-column represents a high-deductiblepolicy where we’ve refused all add-ons and riders. This is thetype of policy I’m recommending in this book.

The monthly difference in premiums between the low-deductible and high-deductible plans is $786 ($1086 - $300).

Multiple that by twelve months in the year, and you’ve saved$9,432.



On the downside, you have a higher-deductible in the rightcolumn, $2,400 higher. The right-hand-column also refuses theprescription drug rider taken on the left.

In the tables below, let’s see what happens when your familyhas a good healthy year and also in a year where there is a lot ofillness.



Year 1 Scenario – No Big Illnesses - $900 spentLow-Deductible High-Deductible

Deductible $100 $750Co-insurance $0 $0Prescription costs $150 $150Premiums paid: $13,032 $3,600Total paid: $13,282 $4,500

In Year 1, we had no big illnesses in this family. We spent $750on healthcare services and $150 on prescriptions. Not much,just a few doctor visits and a couple of pharmaceuticals. For theright-hand column, we had to pay that amount totally out-of-pocket. Bummer!!

With the left-hand-column, everything except $100 wascovered. Well, we had to kick in for the prescriptions, becausewe didn’t meet our prescription rider deductible of $250.

Great, right?? Well, the catch is that those nasty premiumpayments were mounting up every month, we had to pay$13,032 in monthly premiums in the left-hand-column.

Overall, the right-hand column (High-Deductible) saves usa total of $8,782 in a healthy year.



Year 2 Scenario – Family Member Ill$67,000 spent +$5,000 in prescriptions

Low-Deductible High-DeductibleDeductible $100 $2,500Co-insurance $0 $900Prescription costs $2,750 $5,000Premiums paid: $13,032 $3,600Total paid: $15,882 $12,000

Year 2 wasn’t so kind to our family. One of our familymembers got really sick and was in the hospital for severalweeks. Plus $5,000 of prescription medicine through the ordealand recovery. Yikes!! Aren’t you glad you had healthinsurance??

Let’s compare the two plans again. The left-hand columncovered all the costs except the $100 deductible. Wow, what adeal!! Well, there was one hitch. We had to pay $2,750 for theprescriptions, because our prescription drug rider had its owndeductible, plus it had an upper limit, so we still got stuck withsome of the cost.

The right-hand-column forced us to pay the entire $2,500 out-of-pocket before the insurance started to kick in. That was abig annoyance, but it sure was easier to deal with than$67,000!! The other bad thing was that we did not pay for a



prescription rider in the right-hand-column, so we had to paythe entire $5,000 for prescriptions.

But the amazing thing happens when we look at the bottom lineof each policy. Even though we had to pay that enormousdeductible of $2,500 this year, we STILL SAVED MONEYusing the right-hand-column.

Overall, the High-Deductible policy saved $3,882.



Year 3 Scenario – Incorporate Holistic Health$6,500 spent on Holistic Health,$2,000 on Western Medicine

Low-Deductible High-DeductibleDeductible $100 $2,000Co-insurance $0 $0Prescription costs $0 $0Premiums paid: $13,032 $3,600Holistic health services: $6,500 $6,500Total paid: $19,632 $12,100

In Year 3, our family decides to incorporate a whole set ofholistic health services into their lives – yoga, herbs, meditationclasses, energy healing – you name it.

It’s a pretty good year, the family has only $2,000 in Westernmedical expenses. No prescription drugs this time, because ourfamily is using herbs and vitamins instead as much as possible.

Again, the right-hand-column comes out ahead. The high-deductible policy saves $7,532. Notice how the total of thehigh-deductible policy with holistic health services is still lessthan the low-deductible without those additional services.



Here’s a thought:

Take that $7,532 that you save in healthinsurance and put it into a savings plan everyyear and it will grow to become $154,000in fifteen years (4% return).

What could you buy with$154,000?



How Much Do Most of Us Spend on MedicalExpenses?

All this talk about family members getting sick begs thequestion – how often does that happen?

Luckily, we have statistics from AmericanHealthValue.comto give us an idea of where the “typical year” will come in.

Keep in mind that this chart only shows Western medicalexpenses (doctor visits, prescriptions, hospital stays, etc.), notholistic services (vitamin pills, yoga classes, personal trainingsessions, etc.).

Money Spent on Medical Care Annually Percentage of U.S. Population

$0 33% $1 -$500 40%

$501 - $1,000 9% $1,001 - $2,000 7% $2,001 - $5,000 6%

$5,001 - $10,000 3% $10,001 - $25,000 3% $25,001 - $50,000 .5%$50,001 - $100,000 .2% $100,001 - And Up .05%



These statistics say to me that, in almost every year of my life,my costs will be below $1000. A few years might be higherthan that, but the $67,000 example I used earlier would happenless than one percent of the time.

One percent means an average of one year in one hundredyears.

Now let’s examine some additional things to think about whentalking to your insurance agent about your high-deductiblepolicy.

Policy RidersThere are two policy riders that you should consider removing.Riders are additions to a policy that add money to yourpremium.

The first is the prescription drug rider. The premiums for thisrider can be quite costly and if you can possibly avoid it, youshould. Obviously, if you are in a situation where you must takeprescription drugs regularly to treat a chronic problem, you maynot be able to follow my advice.

But if you can take more of a holistic approach to your family’shealthcare, you can remove the prescription drug rider and



substitute holistic remedies (homeopathy, herbs, vitamins,aromatherapy, etc.) that are much cheaper and safer.

The prescription drug rider is usually a bad deal for consumers.It often has a deductible associated with it, perhaps $250. Thenit has an upper limit on what you can use per year, often$2,500. So the prescription drug rider gives you a total of$2,250 coverage in a given year. My guess is that even if youused the entire coverage every year, you would still be barelyahead of the game.

The second policy rider is usually called the doctor visit rider.Again, if you decide in your monthly spending plan that youwish to see a Western MD regularly, you will probably want tokeep this rider. But my suggestion is that you considerswitching to a holistic practitioner (naturopathic doctor,chiropractor, ayurvedic doctor, etc.) as your health advisor. Ifyou take my advice, you’ll want to remove this rider from yourpolicy.

Discounts on Out-of-Pocket ExpensesWhen you have any type of health insurance (low-deductible orhigh-deductible) you get discounts on Western medical servicesbased on what the insurance company negotiated with thedoctor’s group. These are often substantial, perhaps 30-50%.

When I first shifted to a high-deductible policy years ago, I wasshocked when I received the bill. Shocked in a good way! Thedoctor visit was shown as $150, with some other costs for



various tests they had done. Then beside each figure for the“regular customer” they had my “discounted rate.” I thought,“Wow, who am I to deserve this discount?” But since I had runthe cost through my health insurer (they paid 0% of it, ofcourse) I got their discounted rate. So, even though I had to payfor my entire doctor visit and for all the tests (I hadn’t hit myyearly deductible yet) I still got amazing discounts just forbeing under the insurer’s umbrella.

These discounts apply to the services and products that you payfor (because you haven’t hit your deductible for the year yet)but that would have been eligible for insurance had you reachedyour deductible. Your insurance company has negotiated steepdiscounts with the providers (doctors, hospitals, etc. in yournetwork) and you will receive those discounts if you file theclaim with your health insurance company, no matter whetheryou’ve reached your deductible or not.



Step 2 – Health Savings Account (HSA) –Cover Small Expenses and Save on Taxes

The Health Savings Account (HSA) was created as part of theMedicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, andModernization Act of 2003, but its predecessor, the MedicalSavings Account (MSA) existed in a slightly different formseveral years before that. Since the MSA was considered anexperiment by the federal legislators, some individuals shiedaway from it until it was made permanent in late 2003. There isno longer any reason to ignore the benefits of the HSA.

An HSA is a special type of Individual Retirement Account(IRA).

An IRA is an account where an individual may deposit a fewthousand dollars each year, deduct that amount off their currentyear tax return, and then watch the money grow without taxesbeing applied each year thereafter. After the money iswithdrawn at the time of retirement, tax is applied. If a personhas retired, their income level would be lower and therefore thetax rate would be less than if they had been taxed all those yearsearlier. IRAs are a great deal for retirement savings.

An HSA may be used exactly the same way, but there is onechange that makes the HSA even more valuable to you.



An HSA is an account where the individual may deposit moneyand deduct that deposit from that year’s tax return. However,the individual may then withdraw money from the HSA at anytime, as long as the withdrawal is to pay for a “valid” medicalexpense.

The IRS decides what a valid medical expense is. Here is apartial list:

• co-payments for doctor visits• insurance premiums• legal abortions• acupuncture• Alcoholic Anonymous expenses (transportation, etc.)• chiropractor• Christian Science practitioner• dental treatment• glasses and contacts• lab fees• pharmaceuticals• weight loss programs• wheelchairs

For a complete list, you may visit the IRS Website and searchfor Publication 502, which lists all the medical expenses thatthe IRS views as “valid” for tax deduction.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p502.pdf



Almost all these services must be done at the direction of aMedical Doctor (MD or DO) in order to be considered validwithdrawals from a Health Savings Account.

Be Your Own Insurance Company – For the SmallStuffEssentially, an HSA allows you to be your own insurancecompany for small expenses that fall under your deductible.And being your own insurance company means avoiding theoverhead of forms processing through a real insurancecompany, which means saving you a lot of money.

You cannot be your own insurance company for largeamounts. An extended hospital stay could cost $50,000, whichvery few of us could afford out-of-pocket. That is why we havethe safety net of the high-deductible insurance policy. But forsmaller amounts, we can do it ourselves safely.

You must decide how to invest your HSA. It must be speciallydesignated as an HSA, but you may put it into a bank savingsaccount, a money market account or a mutual fund. I suggesteither a money market account or a “very safe” mutualfund, one that specializes in government bonds, for instance.You do not want an account that gyrates up and down with thestock market, because your money might not be there when youneed it most. But you also do not want the ultra-low interestgenerated by a regular bank savings account, so choosesomething in between.



The only company that can set up an HSA for you is a companydesignated by the IRS as an HSA custodian. Banks, insuranceagents and financial planners are quickly becoming qualified asHSA custodians, so check with your favorite institution to see ifthey can set it up for you.

Use, Snooze, but You Won’t Lose ItHSAs can be rolled over from year to year. There is no “use itor lose it” with HSAs. Whatever you don’t use in the first yearis rolled over completely (with interest!) into the second year,so if your health is good, you are rewarded with increasedsavings each year! In the second year, you can put more moneyinto the HSA, and get another tax break. You can also just siton the money that’s already in it without adding anything.

If when you retire, you have built up extra money each year inyour HSA, well, you now have another IRA that you hadn’tcounted on! Upon retirement age, you may begin drawing themoney out just like any other Traditional IRA. Taxes will becharged upon withdrawal, but since you are retired, yourincome level is probably much lower than when you wereworking, so the tax rate will be lower.

An HSA is only available to an "eligible individual." Aneligible individual is one who:

• is covered under a high-deductible health insurancepolicy



• is not entitled to benefits under Medicare (generally, hasnot yet reached age 65)

• is not covered by some other health insurance policy thatis low-deductible

• may not be claimed as a dependent on another person'stax return

This means you can be self-employed, unemployed oremployed, as long as you have only one health insurance policy(through yourself or your company) that has a high-deductible.

The lowest “high deductible” you could have and still get anHSA is $1,000 for an individual and $2,000 for a family. Butmy advice is to stick with the $2,500 deductible, because that iswhen the numbers are all working for you, not against you. Ifeel $1,000 is still too low.

Where to Get It?Beginning January 1, 2004 you can establish an HSA with aqualified HSA trustee or custodian, in much the same way thatyou establish IRAs with qualified IRA trustees or custodians.No permission from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) isnecessary to establish an HSA. An eligible individual who is anemployee may establish an HSA with or without involvementof the employer. Any bank, financial planner or insurance agentcan likely help you set up an HSA. Since they are so new, youmay have to make a few calls, but don’t despair, you’ll find onein your area.



I can state for certain that any State Farm insurance agent willoffer the services of a high-deductible health insurance policyand an HSA. State Farm provides my wife and me with ourinsurance and HSA, through Ohio agent Larry Buttermore(614-882-3276). I am also aware that some Raymond Jamesoffices offer this combination of insurance and HSA, includingLogan Financial Group in Ohio (614-442-0214). And,independent insurance agents and financial planners may alsobe able to help you, including Mica Schober at the Poetry ofMoney in Ohio (614-619-0404).

Any insurance company or any bank can be an HSA trustee orcustodian. That doesn’t mean they all are, but they can applyfor that title. Also, any agent or planner already approved by theIRS to be a trustee or custodian of IRAs or Archer MSAs isautomatically approved to be an HSA trustee or custodian.

The financial planner or insurance agent setting up your HSAwill ask you for proof that you are covered by a health plan thatmeets all of the requirements of an “high-deductible” healthinsurance policy. The easiest way to set up your HSA is to do itwith the same company that sets up your health insurancepolicy.

HSA Details, Details, DetailsWhat about contributing money into your HSA? For an HSAestablished by an employee of a company, the employee, thecompany or both may contribute to the HSA. For an HSA



established by a self-employed (or even unemployed)individual, the individual may contribute to the HSA. Familymembers may also make contributions to an HSA on behalf ofanother family member.

The maximum contributions to an HSA for each year can be100% of the annual health insurance deductible ($2,500) butnot more than $2,600 for an individual (single person policy),whichever is less.

For families with a high-deductible policy, the maximum is thelesser of 100% of the annual deductible under the high-deductible health plan (HDHP) but not more than $5,150.

For people between ages 55 and 65, the HSA contribution limitis increased by $500 in calendar year 2004. Starting in 2005,this catch-up amount will increase in $100 increments annually,until it reaches $1,000 in calendar year 2009.

After an individual has attained age 65 (Medicare eligibilityage), contributions, including catch-up contributions, cannot bemade to an individual's HSA.

Your contributions to your HSA are deductible whether or notyou itemize on your tax return. However, you cannot duplicatethese same medical expenses in other areas of your tax return ifthey were paid from your HSA.

Employer contributions to the employee's HSA are treated asemployer-provided coverage for medical expenses under an



accident or health plan and are excluded from the employee'sgross income. The employer contributions are not subject towithholding from wages for income tax or subject to theFederal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA), the FederalUnemployment Tax Act (FUTA), or the Railroad RetirementTax Act. Of course, the employee cannot deduct employercontributions on his or her federal income tax return as HSAcontributions.

You can contribute to your HSA however you’d like. My wifeand I make our contributions in a lump sum at the beginning ofeach year, but you could contribute monthly, twice-monthly,whatever way you’d like. In fact, like an IRA, you cancontribute to last year’s HSA until April 15 of the followingyear.

If you currently have an MSA, I suggest you “roll it over” intoan HSA. HSAs have higher limits and fewer restrictions thanMSAs. However, if you have a Flexible Spending Account(FSA) with your employer, you cannot roll that into an HSA.The rollover amount does not contribute to your yearly limit.

No one is going to be looking over your shoulder to make surethe withdrawals you make from your HSA are for valid medicalservices. However, when it comes to tax time, the IRS will belooking at those withdrawals and any that cannot be accountedfor will be investigated, just like any other tax deduction. I haveno information nor reason to believe that owning an HSA willdraw a “red flag” from the IRS for a tax audit. HSAs will



become so popular that I believe this is a very unlikelyscenario, unless you abuse your HSA, of course.

Try to find a provider who offers a debit card as the way towithdraw money from your HSA. This will provide an easymethod of documentation for every transaction. If you cannotfind one with a debit card, you can make your withdrawalsusing checks and keep the records yourself.

As an employee of a company, you’ll see your employer’scontributions into the HSA on your W-2 at the end of the year.

Also, HSAs are not subject to COBRA continuation coveragerequirements. That means your employer doesn’t have to offerthe HSA as part of the COBRA package when you leave thecompany (or are laid off, etc.)

I hope this chapter hasn’t been too technical. I’ve tried tooutline the details of an HSA in language easy to understand.I’d just like to say that HSAs are a blessing to the self-employed person, and that anyone who can get one shouldsurely do it.



Step 3 – Health Off The Grid Account (HOTGACCOUNT) – Money to Pay for Holistic HealthServicesA Health Off The Grid Account (HOTG ACCOUNT) is myown invention. The Health Savings Account (HSA) is toocurrently too restrictive for the health practices I recommend inthis book, so you’ll need another account for those expenses.

An HOTG ACCOUNT is nothing more than a bank savingsaccount, money market account or mutual fund. It has nofederal government protection, it is not tax deductible and it hasno restrictions on the types of services you can withdraw to use.

The amount you decide to deposit into your HOTG ACCOUNTwill depend on your decisions later in this book on the types ofhealth services you wish to use. If you think you will usemostly holistic health services, you will deposit most of yourmoney into the HOTG ACCOUNT, and less money into theHSA. If you think you will use Western medicine more thanholistic medicine, deposit most of your money into the HSA,and only a little into the HOTG ACCOUNT.

Use the money in this account to pay for holistic health servicesand products, including but not limited to:

• Traditional Chinese Medicine• ayurvedic medicine (from India)• yoga classes• tai chi classes



• martial arts classes• fitness trainers• herbs and vitamins• homeopathy• naturopathy• health books• massage therapy• color, light and sound therapy• psychology• aromatherapy• Bach flower essences• Feldenkrais Method• Alexander Technique• energy work• rolfing• etc.

Can You Be Disciplined?Remember, there are no restrictions on what you can use thismoney for. And that might cause you a problem! If you are aperson who likes to spend money, you may feel entitled to dipinto your HOTG ACCOUNT for things unrelated to healthcare.

There are two solutions to this dilemma. The first is to resist theurge. The second is to put the account in control of someoneelse, and ask them to approve the expenses before they allowthe money to be spent. It may be possible to create arelationship with a financial planner who is willing to do thisadministration for you. Expect to pay for this service, and map



out exactly what you want to allow and what you want ruledout.

I expect as the Health Off The Grid plan becomes morepopular, financial planners will create services to cater to clientswho want this type of help with their HOTG ACCOUNTs.



Step 4 – Health Discount Card – Reduce theCosts of Dental, Vitamins and VisionThe first three steps help you plan and pay for medical expensesof all types, but they do not really address other concerns, likedental and vision coverage.

For these types of coverage, a corporate employee may have anoption for insurance coverage. But a self-employed individualor small business employee may have no such insurancecoverage.

The best I can suggest here is to use a health discount card, likethe Healthy Advantage card from American Health Advantage(www.ahahealth.com). The card costs $120 per year.

Dental and VisionThe Healthy Advantage card offers discounts on dental andvision services and products, including:

• Dentalo regular cleanings (50% off)o fillings (15% off)o crowns and bridges (15%)o orthodontics (15% off)

• Visiono glasses and contacts (10-60% off)



Vitamins, Herbs, Drugs, Hearing Aids, HolisticServicesThis particular discount program also offer discounts onprescription drugs (up to 50%), vitamins and herbs (up to 50%),hearing aids (up to 50%) and certain holistic health services likeacupuncture, reflexology and massage (up to 30%).

This discount program really works. It isn’t some ripoff game,it’s real. My wife and I use it all the time, especially for ourdental work. You need to stick to dentists, eyewear stores, andholistic practitioners who are “in the network,” but that isn’tvery hard, since there are thousands of practitioners in thisnetwork. If you are in or near a major city in the US, you won’thave a problem finding someone. Even if you live in a moreremote area, you will still have at least some choice ofpractitioners and stores.

Discounts like these are obviously nothing close to what a lowdeductible insurance policy would offer, but that kind ofinsurance is not affordable for the self-employed. So thediscount program is actually the only alternative for thosegroups, and, as such, it does save money. With two peoplegetting dental cleanings every six months, a family will easilyrecover the cost of the discount card.

Be careful about the alternative practitioners listed for thehealth discount card. Essentially, when they signed up to belongto the network, they agreed to offer lower priced services toanyone who comes in with the card, usually 30-50% off. I haverun into some alternative practitioners who were regretting this



agreement, and tried to shift me to other services or basicallyforget about the discount that was due to me. I do not this thinkis representative of the majority of alternative practitioners inthe network, but it is something you must watch out for anddemand your due if the situation arises.

The Decline of Discount CardsThere is a significant problem with the discount programs. Inthe last few years, there have been more and more discountprograms, but there have been fewer and fewer providers whobelong to the programs. Make sure you have a look at the list ofproviders in the discount program before you agree to join. Forinstance, in Westerville, Ohio, the discount program I belong tohas lost every single dentist in our town. When you think aboutit from the dentist’s perspective, it is only a matter of timebefore a dentist will get tired of offering customers a largediscount on all services. When they begin to fill their practicesufficiently, they are very likely to drop out of the discountprogram.

Discount programs are still worthwhile, just make sure thenetwork covers enough of your area that will ensure it’s usablefor you and your family.



Step 5 – Car Insurance Rider – Get YourDeductibles Paid ForA much overlooked health benefit actually hides in carinsurance policies. High deductible insurance policies are thescariest in the face of a bad car accident, where one or morefamily members might need extensive Western medical help inan emergency situation. Injuries could be severe and costs couldadd up very quickly.

Fortunately, many car insurance policies have a healthinsurance rider available.

My advice is – TAKE IT!

This is an amazing value for people like us.

Here’s how it works.

If you require health insurance coverage resulting from a caraccident, the insurance company who supplies your carinsurance will cover your health insurance deductibles up toa maximum set by you, at which point your health insurer willtake over.

Let me rephrase this. If you get in a car accident, you will notpay your health insurance deductible ($2,500 as I’vesuggested), instead, your car insurance company will pay itfor you.



But this occurs only if you have the health insurance rider. Theimportant factor is to make sure your health insurance rider onyour car insurance matches or exceeds your deductible on yourhealth insurance policy. If it does not, you will still beresponsible for the shortfall.

The cost of this rider is low, somewhere between $5 and $15per year for a family’s vehicles. Please make sure you have thiscoverage.



Step 6 – Network of Practitioners – FindPractitioners You Can Trust

The healthcare plan documented in this book can work if youstay completely in the Western medical world. But I do notrecommend that.

First, let’s examine the costs of using Western medicineexclusively.

Remember, now that you’re in “high-deductibleworld,” you will be comparing the true cost ofWestern medicine to the cost of other medicalalternatives.

A Western medicaldoctor visit may cost$100 for a 7 minutevisit, assuming youhaven’t yet met yourinsurance deductible.

An initial consultationto a naturopathicdoctor may cost $90for 90 minutes.Subsequent visits maycost $50 for a 30-minute appointment. Insurance will not apply to these costs.

A naturopath is a holistic healthpractitioner who usually uses herbs,vitamins, homeopathic remedies,hypnosis, meditation and otherpractices to treat patients. A naturopathis not licensed by a state medical board(except in Washington state, Californiaand a few other Western states).

I’ll explain naturopathy more in thesection “Six Easy Systems!”



Western MD - $14.28 per minute

Naturopath - $1.00 per minute

With this cost difference, this means the Western MD should be14 times more likely to diagnosis your issue, solve your healthproblem, cure your disease and save your life.

First, let me explain why the costs difference is so huge. This isNOT a case of the MD gouging their customers. Don’t fall intothat mental trap.

The MD has extremely high malpractice insurance premiums topay each year, often exceeding $100,000!! A naturopath hasmuch lower malpractice premiums, because their treatments aremuch safer and not invasive (like surgery).

An MD has to deal with HMOs and insurance providers, whichboosts his overhead costs (admin staff, paperwork, etc.) to over400% of the overhead a naturopath requires.

An MD is required by the American Medical Association(AMA) to attend years of training at an expensive medicalcollege. A naturopath’s education may vary from severalmonths to several years, but would not be as extensive orexpensive as what the MD had to go through.



The cost of the remedies the MD provides are extremelyexpensive. The drugs they offer come from pharmaceuticalcompanies who must recoup their research and bureaucracycosts from the patients who use them. The surgical techniquesoffered by MDs are also extremely expensive, often runninginto tens of thousands of dollars.

Naturopaths take a different approach. Their remedies arealmost completely non-patented natural remedies, like herbs,vitamins and homeopathics. They ask their patients to docertain exercises at home, or to use techniques like hypnosis ormeditation to overcome health problems.

The High-Deductible DiscountIf you have a high-deductible health insurance policy instead ofno insurance at all, the picture changes. You can expect a 30-50% discount on most services even for those services whereyou are paying the entire amount yourself because you haven’tused the yearly deductible yet. Just by having the service gothrough your insurance company (and the cost coming rightback to you!) you will see significant discounts on Westernmedical services. This is a result of the negotiated plansbetween doctors, hospitals and insurance companies.

With a 30% discount, that 7 minute Western doctor visit will be$70. You’ve save $30 over the regular price, but, of course, youare still paying 10 times the cost of a naturopathic visit(comparing cost-per-minute).



Western MDs also have it tough in other areas. They are afraidto try anything new, because of pressures from the malpracticeinsurance companies, HMOs and state medical boards. If adoctor tried a remedy that he thought was safer and moreeffective on a patient, and it produced some unexpected results,the patient could easily sue the doctor and win, and the healthinsurer could easily rule out paying for the procedure. In fact,MDs who do holistic health in addition to their regular practicesmust separate the visits. This means you might visit the MD fora physical exam, and pay for it through your health insurance.But if you wanted to consult with them on an herbal remedy,you would have to set up a separate appointment on a differentday, and make sure that that second appointment was notconnected to your previous insured appointment. This is true inmany US states.

Put yourself in the shoes of the MD for a minute. You areexpected by the HMOs and malpractice authorities to use acertain set of remedies, dangerous and expensive though theymay be. You know you would have a huge learning curve tounderstand the holistic health world and all its remedies (herbs,vitamins, homeopathics, aromatherapies, etc.). And you know if

For more on holistically-minded MDs, refer to mybook Doctors of the Future – Central Ohio MDsand DOs Who Use Alternative and IntegrativeMedicine (2004).



you tried any of them on your patients, you would be punishedby refusal of health insurance coverage and possibly sued ifanything happened. Why risk it??

For this reason, I think Western MDs will have a hard timejumping into the holistic health world. They are disincented todo so. Until that changes, I cannot see Western MDs leading usinto safer, more effective remedies, or even following us there.This is not because MDs are bad people, but because they havebigger hurdles to overcome than the rest of us do.

Have you ever wondered how MDs can stay healthy eventhough their job puts them face-to-face with contagiousdiseases every day? Many MDs are able to stay healthy becausethey use natural remedies like herbs and homeopathics forthemselves that work to keep them healthy. They arecompletely open to these remedies for themselves and their ownfamilies, but they cannot use them in the medical settingbecause the system would punish them for “being different.”Who can argue with that logic?

The solution, of course, is not to try to “convince” WesternMDs of the value of natural remedies, because many of themare already convinced. Doctors cannot act on the knowledgethey already have. The solution is to fix the system.

Fixing systems at a national, or even state, level takes time.Years. So, while we are changing the system, this book offershelp for how people can afford to use the best remedies and still



be covered for the big problems that Western medicine solvesso well.

The Family PractitionerFirst, you must decide on your family practitioner. This is theperson who will be your “first line of defense” or the “trafficcop” of the rest of the team. This person will know everythingthat is going on with your family (or yourself) and will beresponsible for identifying overlaps or even dangers acrosspractices.

This person might be a Western MD. They might be a DO(doctor of osteopathy). They might be a chiropractor.

My personal choice is a naturopath. We use a naturopathicdoctor as our “first line of defense” for all ailments, and if she isunable to help us or she knows of another practitioner whospecializes in a certain issue, she will refer us elsewhere. Evenif we seek out other practitioners elsewhere, we always get backto our naturopathic doctor to let her know what we are doinghealth-wise, so she can counsel us if necessary. She is veryactive with e-mail, so it is easy for us to give her frequentupdates and get her responses.

For me, there is no comparison between a Western MD and mynaturopathic doctor. My doctor costs much less, spends moretime with me, and sends me home with a bag full of slipperyelm, papaya mint, licorice root and St. John’s Wort, instead of



drugs with unpronounceable names and labels full of worryingside effects. But that is just my opinion. You need to decide foryourself who you are most comfortable with.

It will be difficult to find the exact right family practitioner.There are so many factors involved.

1. The personality of the practitioner must be a fit for youand your family members. The person must betrustworthy and friendly in your eyes.

2. The person must have the knowledge of the remedies youwant as your first line of defense. If you always want totry herbs and vitamin therapy first, the family practitionershould know the most about those. If you want to tryenergy work first, the family practitioner should befamiliar and practice those modalities expertly.

3. The person must have a wide variety of knowledge andconnections with practitioners of other modalities. Thebest situation is if the practitioner is connected with otherpractitioners in the same clinic. Today, the “integratedholistic clinic” is very hard to find, so do not expect thisunless you are very lucky.

4. The person’s biases should match your own. If thepractitioner is usually biased towards structural remedies(chiropractic, osteopathic, Alexander Technique, etc.)then they will usually tend to use and refer thosepractices before any other. This isn’t so much becausethey are money-hungry, but because their minds willalways lead them towards that which they know well. As



far as I know, this is true of every family practitioner I’vemet.

5. The person should be more open-minded than you are. Ifthe practitioner is always chiding you or warning you notto try anything outside a certain realm, you will not behappy. But if they are gently leading you into some newmodalities that you may not have tried on your own, thatis the best situation.

6. The person must be accessible between appointments.Many practitioners use e-mail to keep in touch with theirclients between appointments. You cannot imagine howuseful and comforting this is. Ask how often they checktheir e-mail, and what, if anything, they charge to offeryou their e-mail service. If they charge nothing, thankyour lucky stars.

7. Consider the level of training you are comfortable with.Don’t fall into the mental trap of “more years of trainingis better.” Not so. I’ve been to many MDs with years oftraining who could not hold a candle to a naturopath wholearned everything through correspondence school andmentoring from other practitioners. Why? She cares,they don’t. She listens, they don’t. She works with me fitthe dietary and exercise changes into my lifestyle, theydidn’t.

I need to warn you that your search for the right familypractitioner may be a long one. But it will be worth it.



If you decide to use a Western MD, make sure they canconform to all the criteria above. And realize that you willusually pay more for Western MDs than you would for aholistic practitioner like a naturopath or chiropractor. But youmust stick with the person and profession where you will feelmost comfortable, so don’t let your pocketbook dictatesomething that your comfort level will reject.

The Rest of the NetworkAs I said, if your family practitioner is part of a clinic where thepractitioners know each other’s practices and how theyintegrate, you’re in great luck! An integrated clinic like thiswill be the choice of the future for the holistic client. However,today they are very hard to find. You’ll probably have to createyour own “virtual clinic” of practitioners you know and trust.You’ll also probably have to educate your family practitionerabout your choices, and get their input. The network ofpractitioners you decide on must fit your own preferences,conditions and beliefs.

For instance, I have a naturopathic doctor as my familypractitioner. She is my first line of defense when I have healthissues or questions. When I had digestion problems, she wasable to help me with a set of herbs, vitamins, stressmanagement and exercise suggestions. She also referred me to aChinese acupressure specialist who is well-known for helpingpeople with stress management.



However, with a lower backache, she might accept mysuggestion to see a rolfer that I have had excellent results within the past. The rolfer would likely be able to resolve thebackache with a set of three appointments.

With a skin cancer question, my naturopath would undoubtedlyrefer me straight to a dermatologist.

For the flu, my naturopath might give me Oscillococcinum, ahomeopathic remedy known to help ease flu symptoms. Shemight then suggest a series of chi gong classes to build up mychi (life energy) to help my immune system fight off the flunext time.

Without her acting as my first line of defense, I tend to getmyself in trouble. On the advice of a friend, I started to take a

Client First Lineof Defense

Naturopathic Pracs

TCM Pracs

Ayurvedic Pracs

Structural Pracs

Energetic Pracs• naturopath• osteopath

• chiropractor• TCM doctor• ayurvedic doctor• medical intuitive



supplement called SeaSilvertm, which sounded like an excellentreplacement to my set of daily vitamins.

I noticed I was beginning to get digestive problems on theSeaSilver more than I had before. I spoke to my naturopathabout it and she said that SeaSilver contains colloidal silver,which is an antibiotic, and damages the lining of the gut if usedover a long period of time (more than 1-2 months). I would nothave known this without her help.

Your network of practitioners does not need to cover everypossible practice, that would be crazy. Instead, try to have atleast one known practitioner in each category:

• your family practitioner (Western MD, osteopath,naturopath, chiropractor, etc.)

• structural (chiropractic, osteopathic, etc.)• soft tissue (massage, rolfing, etc.)• energy (reiki, polarity, etc.)• movement arts teacher (yoga, aerobics, etc.)• mind and emotions practitioner (meditation, psychology,

etc.)• nutrition and supplements (your naturopath may already

provide these)• Western medicine (in addition to your family

practitioner if that person is not an MD)

Pick one practitioner for each major heading (structural, softtissue, energy, etc.). You may choose the practitioner first or the



individual practice first, which ever you prefer. Have aconference with each candidate practitioner in each majorheading to see if they are a fit for what you need.

You may decide that you do not wish to have a major headingrepresented. Perhaps your religious beliefs prevent you fromallowing any type of energy work such as reiki or HealingTouch on your body. In this case, you would rule out thatcategory of healing and not choose a practitioner.

You are obviously free to rule out any practice or category ofpractices you wish. My personal advice to you is “don’t do it.”Don’t rule out practices because they “sound weird” or youthink they might not fit with your religious beliefs. Talk to apractitioner in that category first, then make your decision. Youmight be surprised.

So You Wanna Stick with Western Medicine?Maybe you’ve read this far, and you’ve decided that you are notwilling to try anyone other than a Western MD as your familypractitioner. Okay, it’s your choice. So let’s examine how youcan make that work financially, since the Western MD is moreexpensive.

Choose a Caring MDChoose your Western MD based on all the criteria for choosinga family practitioner stated previously. Also make sure that the



MD is in your health insurance network, so you will receivereduced fees.

A lot of people don’t realize that doctor’s fees are negotiable.Talk to your chosen doctor about your financial situation andsee what type of arrangement you can both agree to. Andremember that every fee that goes through your insurance plan,whether it is covered or part of your deductible that you pay, issubject to a substantial discount already negotiated by theinsurance company, as long as it is considered medicallynecessary by the insurance company.

You will need to schedule physical exams every one to twoyears for each person in your family, depending on the costs.Doctors recommend a physical checkup every year, but thatmay not be affordable because the doctor visits are so expensivefor you with this plan.

Then, when you encounter specific illnesses, see your MD assoon as possible. If you use hospital emergency facilities, youwill be spending your own money out-of-pocket until you hityour deductible. That’s okay, it’s what you’ve planned for, butif you overuse it you will use your HSA money up every year,losing the opportunity to save that money for retirement.

Home Remedies For the Little ThingsSeeing an MD for “every little sniffle” will quickly use up yourdeductibles and your HSA. You may consider having a set ofnatural remedies available to you at home. Putting this toolkit



together will take research and advice from peopleknowledgeable about home remedies like homeopathics, herbs,etc.

So You Wanna Go Holistic?If you’ve read this far in the book, you might have decided youare willing to change your mind about healthcare, and you’rewilling to try holistic health practices.

Or, even better, you might already be using holistic healthservices, and a reason for you buying this book was to find outhow to pay for them more easily.

Definition of Holistic HealthTo define holistic health, I turn to the American HolisticMedical Association (www.holisticmedicine.org):

1. Holistic physicians embrace a variety of safe, effectiveoptions in the diagnosis and treatment, including a)education for lifestyle changes and self-care, b)complementary alternatives and c) conventional drugsand surgery.

2. Searching for the underlying causes of disease ispreferable to treating symptoms alone.

3. Holistic physicians expend as much effort in establishingwhat kind of patient has a disease as they do inestablishing what kind of disease a patient has.



4. Prevention is preferable to treatment and is usually morecost-effective. The most cost-effective approach evokesthe patient’s own innate healing capabilities.

5. Illness is viewed as a manifestation of a dysfunction ofthe whole person, not as an isolated event.

6. A major determinant of healing outcomes is the quality ofthe relationship established between physician andpatient, in which patient autonomy is encouraged.

7. The ideal physician-patient relationship considers theneeds, desires, awareness and insight of the patient aswell as those of the physician.

8. Physicians significantly influence patients by theirexample.

9. Illness, pain and the dying process can be learningopportunities for patients and physicians.

10. Holistic physicians encourage patients to evoke thehealing power of love, hope humor and enthusiasm, andto release the toxic consequences of hostility, shame,greed, depression and prolonged fear, anger and grief.

11. Unconditional love is life’s most powerful medicine.Physicians strive to adopt an attitude of unconditionallove for patients, themselves and other practitioners.

12. Optimal health is much more than the absence ofsickness. It is the conscious pursuit of the highestqualities of the physical, environmental, mental,emotional, spiritual and social aspects of the humanexperience.

Is this the type of person you want? If so, then you want aholistic health practitioner.



So, holistic health is about treating the person as a wholehuman being: mind, body and spirit. Holistic health practitionerassume that there will be interactions between the mind, bodyand spirit and that they should be able to understand thoseinteractions and help you deal with them.

Notice there’s nothing in the definition from the AHMA thatdescribes specific types of healing. Acupuncture, massagetherapy, chiropractic are not mentioned. Why not? Becauseholistic healing does not relate to a specific type of treatment,but instead the mindset that the practitioner uses when treating.The mindset being that a patient is one mind, body and spirit.

However, certain modalities (healing practices) lend themselvesto the holistic health mindset and others do not.

What does it mean to “go holistic” as far as your family’shealthcare is concerned? Here are a few points to consider:

Going holistic means:

• Accepting responsibility for one’s own health instead ofputting oneself “blindly into the hands” of a medicalpractitioner

• Taking a “safest, cheapest appropriate remedy first”approach to all health events

• Taking steps to research each and every health issue thatcomes up



• Acknowledging that health issues usually have origins inmind-body interactions or even in spiritual factors

• Being open-minded to health practices that “seem weird”but get results for people

• Putting emphasis on prevention of disease rather thancure

• Understanding the difference between healing andcuring.

Let’s examine each of these points in more detail.

Accept Responsibility for Your Own HealthGoing holistic is not for the faint of heart. The implication ofgoing holistic is that each individual takes responsibility fortheir own health. Healing does not come from the outside, notin the form of a pill, a doctor’s sage advice or a surgicalprocedure.

Healing comes from within. Holistic health strongly advocatesthat patients heal themselves, that the body is a self-healinginstrument that needs only a few prerequisite conditions tofunction properly. Once you and your health advisors createthose conditions, the body does all the healing by itself.

Many holistic health practitioners feel that the mind plays animportant part in the onset of a disease. Some people find this



unacceptable. “You mean you want me to feel guilty for gettingcancer???”

But the focus of holistic health is not on assignment of guilt.Instead, it is a fact of taking responsibility. Bernie Siegel pointsout that patients who take responsibility for their own health,rather than “putting it into their doctor’s hands” fare muchbetter in battling diseases (SIEGEL1990). The mostcantankerous patients in the hospital are the ones most likely tosurvive, according to Dr. Siegel.

Assigning guilt is looking backward. Taking responsibility islooking forward.

Safest, Cheapest Appropriate Remedy FirstHolistic remedies are usually much safer and cheaper thanWestern medicine. This is largely because holistic remedies areoften taken from ancient practices around the world, especiallyChina and India. Time has tested these remedies so thoroughlythat many of the “side effects” common in Western medicaldrugs and surgery are simply not present.

Healing comes from within.



Also, holistic remedies operate on subtler principles thanWestern medicine. Holistic remedies like herbs, homeopathics,aromatherapy, vitamin therapy, body work, energy work andothers work with the patients systems (body, mind and spirit) toencourage healing. This process is much more subtle than theWestern medical approach, which is to introduce a chemical tofight the body in some way to establish “control over nature.”These remedies will always have to be much more strong anddangerous.

Going holistic does not mean forsaking Western medicine.Instead, it means taking intelligent steps in a program that startswith safe, effective and inexpensive remedies first, andprogressing to more expensive, dangerous options only whenthe first ones prove ineffective.

My wife’s approach to sinus headaches is a good example ofthis process. She suffers from sinus headaches once or twice amonth when we get dramatic Ohio weather changes. First, sheuses an aromatherapeutic remedy called Sinus Relief byArcAncient which she rubs on her forehead and the bridge ofher nose. The remedy contains centella, tea tree, ravensara,peppermint, eucalyptus and camomile. Three-quarters of thetime, this solves the headache and she goes on with her day.But sometimes, it does not work. Then she moves to ahomeopathic remedy for sinus headaches, called Sinus Reliefby Natra-Bio. It contains a number of homeopathicpreparations. She puts a few drops under her tongue, andusually this works. Again, in the few instances where neither ofthese safe remedies work, she moves on to an over-the-counter



sinus remedy called Sinutab Sinus Allergy Formula. In mostcases, this Western medicine takes care of the problem,although sometimes not and she then needs to take a rest andwait it out. As a result, she is taking the expensive Sinutab drugwith its side effects only about once every two years, a veryreasonable risk (except her packages of Sinutab keep expiring!).

Do Your Own Health ResearchGoing holistic means that you take responsibility for your ownhealth, and if you are going to do that, you’d better be well-informed.

Fortunately, the tools to help you get informed on any type ofhealth issue are better than any other time in history. Your bestfriend in health research is the Internet. The Internet hassinglehandedly empowered consumers to become their ownbest source of healthcare information.

Like any best friend, though, the Internet has its dark side.Misleading, irresponsible sources of information on the Internetare everywhere. The best way to resolve this issue is to readeverything, but pay closest attention to Websites that areproduced by credible sources – healthcare institutions,government agencies, reputable practitioners, quality newssources (CNN, Washington Post, etc.). If in doubt, search onthe institution or practitioner. If you find them quotedelsewhere in credible sources, you can probably trust them.When you find a particular fact that you want to check out, use



a process I call “triangulation.” See if you can find that factreported in at least two other places, worded differently. If youcan, you can be more sure (but not totally sure) of the originalreport.

Acknowledge Mind-Body-Spirit InteractionsHolistic health at its center is an acknowledgement that there ismore to a person’s health than what is working or not workingin the physical body. Holistic means treating a person as awhole human being – body, mind and spirit. Issues in one areainfluence the others, and diseases in the physical body are oftenmanifestations of issues that occurred in the mind or spirit.

Of course, there are levels to which people subscribe to theholistic principle. People who are comfortable with “new age”lifestyles might be able to handle the entire body-mind-spiritparadigm. New age religions and ideals are certainly inalignment with holistic health.

People from China, India or other Far East countries might havean easy time accepting holistic health principles, since it comesdirectly from these countries in the first place.

People who belong to Eastern religions will feel morecomfortable with holistic health in all its realms. Buddhists,Hindus, Taoists and Kabbalists will have little problemintegrating their spiritual beliefs into their healthcare plan,because those religions have done that effortlessly forthousands of years.



Other Americans might wince a little at the spiritual side ofhealth. Christians tend to prefer to keep their spirituality andhealthcare separate. This belief dates back to a traditionestablished hundreds of years ago when René Descartes strucka deal with the Catholic Church that he would limit hisphilosophy to the physical body and the physical world if theCatholic Church would agree not to persecute him. Since then,Christians have stayed true to the split between the tangible andintangible. “For a physical problem, I’ll go to the doctor. For aspiritual problem, I’ll see my pastor/priest/rabbi.”

At the extreme, some Americans may feel that body, mind andspirit must be kept separate from each other. The doctor treatsthe body, the psychiatrist treats the mind and thepastor/priest/rabbi treats the spirit. Someone who strongly feelsthat all three must be kept separate, and that co-mingling onewith the other would be harmful to one’s religious beliefs, mayhave trouble accepting holistic principles. A person will need toaccept at least mind-body interactions to prosper in a holistichealth system, interactions like:

• A person who is depressed after losing a loved one has areduced immune system and is therefore moresusceptible to colds, flu and other infections.

• Flying into a rage causes higher blood pressure, whichcan lead to increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

• Relaxing in a hot tub relaxes not only the body but alsothe mind.



A person would need to at least accept these mind-bodyinteractions to be open-minded enough toward holistichealthcare.

Holistic health will work as much as you will let it. If you feelthat you could substitute vitamins and herbs forpharmaceuticals, but you aren’t willing to look beyond that,you’ll still benefit. Acknowledging mind-body interactions (ifyou get depressed, you’re more likely to catch a cold, etc.) is abig step towards a holistic mindset. Even ten years ago thiswould have been a “fringe” way of thinking, but today it iscommon to find Western doctors who are interested in how themind affects the body and vice versa.

NOTE: Please see the section on Holistic Healthfor Christians for more information on this topic.

Be Open-MindedHolistic health therapies open require an open mind. Because ofthe nature of holistic health, scientific studies cannot measurethe effects of these therapies. A controlled scientific studyinvolves splitting patients into two groups, giving one group thetherapy under examination, and the other group a placebo(usually a sugar pill). The scientists then measure the differencebetween the “placebo effect” and the effect of the therapy underexamination (usually a drug).



Imagine trying to do this with massage. How do you do a“placebo massage” where the patient thinks they’re getting amassage but they’re really not? How do you fake an aroma?How do you do a placebo-based study on “eat morevegetables?”

Also, a big hindrance to controlled studies of holistic healthpractices has been the cost. Pharmaceutical companies can fundcontrolled studies (which often cost into the millions of dollars)because they can recoup the costs by selling the drugs at highprices once the studies have proven the drug successful. Butwho would want to fund holistic health research? Who holdsthe patent? No one, of course. So it does not make financialsense to study these therapies. Surprisingly, some researchinstitutions are studying herbal remedies in a controlled,scientific manner, but there is still no financial impetus behindlarge scale studies of these remedies, and there probably neverwill be.

The holistic health client must be open-minded towardstherapies. Try it, maybe you’ll like it. Remember, you nowhave money set aside each month to spend on holistic therapies.Use that money to experiment on interesting-sounding therapiesthat might help you in some way. If it’s too weird for you, don’tgo back. But if you think there might be something there, try it

“How do you study a placebo massage??”



again. Most holistic therapies require a series of sessions to beeffective. Forinstance,acupuncture cansometimesaccomplish resultsin one session, butmore often itrequires five to tensessions to help a client with some specific health issue.Chiropractors are famous for demanding their client returnagain and again for treatment, but there is really validity in theirapproach.

Maybe it doesn’t make sense to be adjusted three times a weekfor six months, but it may be useful (and affordable!) to see thechiropractor once a week for two months. Remember, inholistic health, you are in charge of how the treatment proceeds.

If you find that you tend always toward structural remedies(chiropractic, osteopathic, rolfing, etc.), use some of yourmoney to experiment with other modalities (soft tissue, energywork, etc.).

Also, choose a family practitioner who is more open-mindedthan you are. This will help you continue to broaden yourhorizons further each doctor visit, rather than trying to fight apractitioner who encourages you to stay in a narrow range oftreatment (Western medicine, structural care, etc.).

Choose a holistic familypractitioner who is moreopen-minded towards newmodalities than you are.



Emphasize PreventionHolistic healthcare embodies another powerful concept:wellness. Western medicine is, in fact, not a healthcare systembut a sickness care system. It is focused on curing disease, noton preventing it.

Wellness is a concept with two parts. First, it says, “An ounceof prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Taking steps when aperson is not sick is infinitely cheaper and more effective thanwaiting until one is ill and then trying to reverse the sicknessprocess.

The second part of wellness is more subtle. It says that there isno upper limit to health. Health is not simply a lack of disease,but something that a person can build up and up so that movingis effortless, relationships are loving and living is a joy,Wellness is a mindset that a person can work with, not onlystaying well, but working towards achieving “optimum health.”

In practice, this means incorporating daily rituals that helpmaintain and increase health: taking walks, vitamins at meals,eating right, exerting control over one’s emotions, meditation,etc.

Wellness takes strength of character and will. Taking steps toregain health after an illness is much easier than taking steps tostay well, or achieve optimum health.



Understanding the Difference Between Healingand CuringA Western doctor might not differentiate between healing andcuring. But a holistic practitioner likely will.

In holistic healthcare, healing can occur without curing. To givesome definitions to each:

Curing is getting rid of physical symptoms.

Healing is taking a patient to a new state wherebody-mind-spirit are operating at a higher level.

For example, a patient who has brain cancer may have onlydays to live. An energy worker may do some work on theperson that gives them hope and happiness in their final days.The patient does die, so no cure was given. However, their lastdays were infinitely more pleasant than they would have been,so healing occurred.



Differences Between Western Medicine and HolisticHealthcare

It’s worthwhile to look at the major differences betweenWestern medicine and holistic healthcare. This table showssome differences in approach, philosophy and application.

Western Medicine Holistic HealthFocuses on measurements andstudies

Focuses on experience

Body as a machine that needsto be fixed

Body has innate healingcapability

Classified diagnosis Specific individual needs

Curative Preventive

Practitioner as authority Practitioner as educator

Speed, comfort, convenience Restoration, regeneration,transformation

Best for infectious diseases,trauma, organ failure

Best for degenerative, chronicstress and lifestyle issues



Symptom/Syndrome/Tonic in Western MedicineHere is a normal diagnosis cycle in Western medicine. Youexperience a set of symptoms; let’s say dizziness, double-vision, some muscle spasms in your legs and slight depression.Your doctor discusses your concerns briefly and then runs a setof tests and declares, “You have multiple sclerosis (MS).” Nowyou know what you have. Then he tells you your choices oftreatments, and you pick one. There is no cure for MS, so youneed to learn how to live with it and not let it kill you, which itcould.

The symptoms were the dizziness, double-vision, etc. Thesyndrome (literally a bundle of symptoms) is MS. The tonic isthe set of treatments you decide to use, probably a lot of drugs,stay away from certain foods, etc.

Symptom/Cause/Therapy in Holistic MedicineA holistic health practitioner is very likely to follow a differentpath. They will probably use a symptom/cause/therapy cycle.

The holistic practitioner will discuss your symptoms in greatdetail, usually for thirty to ninety minutes, depending on what ishappening in your life. They will be interested in not only thepresence physical symptoms (dizziness, muscle spasms, etc.)but also their character. When does the dizziness happen? Whatusually happens preceding it? How does it make you feel whenit happens? Is there throbbing in your head when it occurs? Hasit ever caused you to fall over?



By asking these questions, the holistic practitioner is lookingfor the cause. The cause might be emotional (“whenever myhusband and I have a fight”), physical or dietary (“whenever Iget up off a chair or eat sweets”) or spiritual (“attachment of adead father’s spirit”).

Once you and the practitioner agree on a cause, you can bothexplore treatment options, which will match the cause(emotional, physical, dietary, spiritual, etc.). It is quite likelythere will be multiple causes, crossing the mind-body-spiritboundaries. Perhaps it will include some dietary changes,physical exercises, hypnosis, herbs, any of a variety oftherapies.

Why does the holistic health practitioner skip the syndromestep? There are several reasons.

1. A disease is a box. Declaring a person is a “victim ofMS” puts them into a neat little box that is veryconvenient for the physician but not at all desirable forthe person. The physician cannot help but look at them asa “disease” instead of a “person.” The labeldepersonalizes the treatment from that point on.Politically correct terms which change “epileptic” to “aperson with epilepsy” sound ridiculous, but they are aweak attempt to put the person first and the diseasesecond. Holistic health is a more powerful way to put theperson first.



2. Self-fulfilling prophecies. Diseases act differently indifferent people, often dramatically so. Trying to predicthow a disease or syndrome will progress in a particularperson often isn’t accurate, and is never helpful in givinga person hope in overcoming their condition. Self-fulfilling prophecies take over and the person watches forany little sign that they are getting worse in the particularway the doctor assumed they would.

3. Legal restrictions. Holistic health practitioners arelegally restricted from making a diagnosis in many USstates. Western medical doctors consider this their soleresponsibility, and they are very fearful of allowingpeople who are not trained in Western medicine to makedeclarations about diseases and syndromes.

Ancient Care is the Best CareIn my experience, I’ve found an effective way to evaluateholistic health practices that I’d like to share:

I trust treatments based on how many decades orcenturies they’ve been tested in real life.

Therefore, if something like acupuncture has been used in thesame way for thousands of years in China, I am very inclined tobelieve it works. However, if someone has invented a new tonicthat they say will accomplish various health goals, I am lessinclined to believe it until I’ve seen it in use for years andcreating results for people.



I don’t need to see controlled studies to prove that Chinesemedicine works. All I need to see if that a nation of billions ofpeople rely on it and have used it for a long, long time. Whatcontrolled study could come close to that assurance?

Western Medicine’s Big Excuse for Not GoingHolisticClosed-minded Western medical practitioners usually try topoint to the handful of holistic treatments that have a badreputation in an effort to paint the entire realm of holistichealthcare. Ephedra can be tangentially linked to 155 deaths inthe past few years. Kava kava is said to be linked to fortydeaths.

First, any of these substances taken to an extreme will causeproblems, even death. There have been several reports ofcollege hazings occuring where a fraternity freshman has beenforced to drink huge quantities of water, resulting in vomitingand death. Water! So proving that herbal remedies can causedeath when taken in great quantities does not prove much.

Second, it’s interesting to compare these figures against deathsfrom pharmaceuticals. Every year, more than one hundredthousand people die from receiving the right drug, in the rightdosage at the right time. Compare 100,000 to 155. And realizethat this huge figure does not count overdoses ofpharmaceuticals, whereas all the figures for herbals are due tooverdoses.



Ask a Western medical doctor who is not open-minded toholistic treatments, and he’ll probably give you this response:

“Although many holistic remedies cannot be proven asdangerous, they really are. People who get diverted intousing holistic treatments are wasting valuable time andallowing their condition to progress by not gettingWestern medical treatment sooner.”

But there’s a flipside to this excuse. What if a person beganusing Western medicine, and it didn’t work, and they died?Couldn’t you say they should have tried holistic treatments, inretrospect? And that they were wasting their time with Westernmedicine and causing their own death by making that choice?The excuse is nonsensical in both directions.



The Holistic Health PracticesThere is no way I could document all the holistic healthpractices in one book – too many!! However, I will attempt tolist the most popular practices in North America and give youenough information for you to decide whether it might be worthtrying.



Holistic Practices

Entire Health SystemsPractice Short Description Find More Hereayurveda a vast system of diet,

movement (yoga), astrology,body types, herbs, massage,arrangement of objects, etc.

http://www.everydayayurveda.org

naturopathy not a specific therapy but agrouping of therapies done ormanaged by one practitioner,often includes: herbs,vitamin therapy, homeopathy,hypnosis, exercise, massage,iridology

www.aanp.com

TraditionalChineseMedicine(TCM)

a vast system of diet,movement (chi gong),treatments (acupuncture),herbs, massage (tui na),arrangement of objects (fengshui), etc.

http://www.spineuniverse.com/displayarticle.php/article829.html



Diagnostic TechniquesPractice Short Description Find More Hereappliedkinesiology

using muscle strength todetermine sensitivities tosubstances and emotions

http://www.kinesiology.net/kinesiology.asp

Chinese pulsediagnosis

using the characteristics of aperson’s pulse to determinehealth issues

http://www.chinesemedicinesampler.com/diagnostic_methods__pulse_diagno.htm

Chinesetonguediagnosis

using the characteristics of aperson’s tongue to determinehealth issues

http://www.chinesemedicinesampler.com/diagnostic_methods__tongue_diagn.htm

electro-dermalscreening

using a computer program todetermine weaknesses in aperson’s energy pathways,also called meridian stressassessment

http://www.circleofhealth.ca/meridians.htm

NambudripadAllergyEliminationTechnique(NAET)

a combination of appliedkinesiology andacupressure/acupuncture toeliminate sensitivities to anyallergen (animal hair, eggs,milk, peanuts, latex, ragweed,etc.)

http://www.naet.com/subscribers/index.html

Touch forHealth

using muscle strength todetermine sensitivities tosubstances and emotions

http://www.touch4health.com



Energy WorkPractice Short Description Find More Hereacupressure pressing fingers on the body

at certain points to restore theflow of energy (“chi”)through the body

http://health.yahoo.com/health/alternative_medicine/alternative_therapies/Acupressure/

acupuncture use of small needles in theskin to restore the flow ofenergy (“chi”) through thebody

www.acupuncture.com

amplifiedprayer therapy

using prayer to heal self andothers heal

www.amplifiedprayer.com

Bach floweressences

taking the essences of specificflowers to help with a widevariety of emotional issues

www.bachcentre.com

BowenTechnique

using hands and fingers onthe skin to harmonizevibrational energy

www.boweninfo.com

color therapy viewing colors to resolvephysical and emotional issues

www.healing.about.com/od/colortherapy/

crystal healing using crystals (rocks) tochange a person’s vibrationand encourage opening andhealing

www.members.aol.com/SovSpec/healpage.htm



Practice Short Description Find More HereHealing Touch subtle energy healing done by

touching the hands gently onthe body and generating aflow of energy

www.healingtouch.net

homeopathy taking extremely dilutedsubstances to resolve healthissues, uses a “like cures like”principle, operates on avibrational level with theperson and the disease

www.homeopathic.org

Kolaimni North American Indianenergy work, using hands toheal a person’s energypathways

www.theresacloudeagle.com/pages/2/

magnetictherapy

using magnetic fields to treata variety of physical andemotional conditions,including circulatoryproblems, certain forms ofarthritis, chronic pain, sleepdisorders and stress

www.painx2000equinetherapy.com/magnet_bio.htm

Mentastics simple exercises done athome to reinforce thesubconscious messages fromTrager Work

www.trager.com



Practice Short Description Find More Heremetamorphictechnique

pressing fingers on points onthe body to restore the flow ofenergy (“chi”) through thebody

www.innersearchcentre.com/metamorphictechnique.htm

moxibustion use of small needles and heatfrom burning herbs to restorethe flow of energy (“chi”)through the body

www.acupuncture.com

polarity combination of Chinese andIndian techniques of body andenergy work

www.polaritytherapy.org

reflexology pressing fingers on points inthe hands, feet and ears torestore the flow of energy(“chi”) through the body

www.reflexology.org/

reiki subtle energy healing done bytouching the hands gently onthe body and generating aflow of energy (“chi”)

www.reiki.org/FAQ/WhatIsReiki.html

TherapeuticTouch

subtle energy healing done bytouching the hands gently onthe body and generating aflow of energy

www.therapeutictouch.com



Practice Short Description Find More HereTrager Work using the hands to gently

knead and stretch the body toreprogram the subconsciousinto a pain-free state

www.trager.com

zero balancing changing a person’s energyby realigning the foundationjoints

www.zerobalancing.com/aboutzb.shtml



Mind and EmotionsPractice Short Description Find More Hereart therapy allowing a person to express

themselves through art toimprove healing

www.arttherapy.org

biofeedback using feedback of bodilysignals (brain waves,heartbeat, skin temperature,etc.) to change behavior

www.psychotherapy.com/bio.html

biorhythms charting the rhythms of aperson’s emotional,intellectual and physicalabilities to identify issues andfind treatment

www.bio-chart.com

dreamwork interpreting dreams to resolveissues

www.sleeps.com/dreams.html

group therapy using the support of otherpeople with similar problemsto overcome issues

www.agpa.org

hypnotherapy putting a person in ameditative state to resolvephysical or emotional issues

www.hypnosis-information.com

light therapy using sunlight or simulatedsunlight to treat emotionalissues

http://www.wholehealthmd.com/refshelf/substances_view/0%2c1525%2c713%2c00.html



Practice Short Description Find More Heremeditation quieting the mind to connect

with the universe at a spirituallevel

www.aworldofgoodhealth.com/meditationinfostart.htm

music therapy using music (mostly classical)to reduce stress and improvehealing

www.musictherapy.org

neurolinguisticprogramming(NLP)

changing a person’spsychological programmingto reduce fear, stress anddiscomfort

www.nlpinfo.com

palm therapy programming the mindthrough the palms of aperson’s hands

www.palmtherapy.com/

psychotherapy using techniques from Freudand Jung to probepsychological issues andresolve them

www.aboutpsychotherapy.com

sound therapy using the vibration of soundto facilitate healing

www.health-doc.com/soundtherapy.html

visualization creating visions in ameditative state to overcomephysical or emotional issues

www.cornerstone.wwwhubs.com/gawain2.htm



Movement ArtsPractice Short Description Find More Hereaikido gentle martial art used for

self-defense and personalgrowth

www.aikidoschool.org/What%20is%20Aikido.html

chi gong Chinese energy systemincluding martial arts,meditation and energy work

www.nqa.org/qigong.html

dance therapy using dance to improveflexibility and mood

www.adta.org

fitness training using aerobic exercise andweight training to increasemuscle, reduce fat andenhance mental and physicalperformance

www.fitness.gov

Nia technique “neuromuscular integrativeaction” – combination ofworkout and dance toimprove health

www.nia-nia.com

shaolin kungfu

martial art to develop thephysical body, promoteemotional and spiritualharmony

www.shaolin.com

tai chi slow Chinese martial art withphysical and spiritual aspects

www.thetaichisite.com



Practice Short Description Find More Hereyoga stretching movements and

poses with physical andspiritual, meditative aspects

www.americanyogaassociation.org/general.html



Nutrition and SupplementsPractice Short Description Find More Heremacrobioticdiet

changing one’s diet to aJapanese style diet – brownrice, seaweed, completelyvegetarian

http://health.yahoo.com/health/alternative_medicine/alternative_therapies/Macrobiotic_Diet/

aromatherapy using smells to encouragehealing, either through thenose or through the skin

www.naha.org/AboutAromatherapy.htm



PhysicalPractice Short Description Find More Hereapitherapy using bee stings to help heal

problems like arthritis andnerve damage

www.apitherapy.org/

Bates Method exercises for increasingvision without glasses orcontacts

www.seeing.org

ear candling using smoke from candles toremove wax from a person’sear and release tension

www.healing.about.com/od/earcandling/

holisticdentistry

incorporating homeopathy,nutrition and acupuncture intodentistry, also avoid mercuryfillings and using the teeth asacupoints for the body

www.holisticdentist.com

hydrotherapy cold compresses(cryotherapy), freeze sprays,ice, sitz baths, whirlpools toreduce inflammation andsolve various health issues

www.hydrotherapy.com

flotationtherapy

a sensory isolation flotationtank used to reduce stress andenhance meditation

www.oceanfloatrooms.com/floatation_tanks-medical.htm



Practice Short Description Find More HereLaStonetherapy

using alternating hot and coldstones on the body to promoterelaxation and healing

http://www.lastonetherapy.com

prolotherapy injections of sugar water andanesthetic into a joint torelieve chronic pain

http://www.consciouschoice.com/issues/cc1612/prolotherapy1612.html



Soft Tissue Body WorkPractice Short Description Find More Herebreema rhythmic body work and

stretchingwww.breema.com

do-in self-help massage combinedwith macrobiotic diet

www.rianvisser.nl/shiatsu/e_doin.htm

Indian headmassage

massage with oil into aperson’s head to rebuildenergy pathways, relievestress and promote healthyhair growth

http://mysite.freeserve.com/earcandle/page4.html

Lomi-Lomi working on a person’smuscles and bones bywalking on them, adjustingbones and massaging

http://www.turtleislandfiji.com/activities/lomilomi.php

shiatsumassage

a meditative type of bodymassage focusing on theacupressure points

http://www.shiatsu1.com/files/sdefi.htm

Swedishmassage

the most familiar “therapeuticmassage” in North America,encouraging blood flow andhealing through massage

www.spas.about.com/cs/massagetherapy/1/aa030199.htm

trigger pointmyotherapy

massage technique focusingon nerve endings, also calledneuromassage

www.tpmyotherapy.com/



Practice Short Description Find More Herewatsu shiatsu massage done in water

with the person floating in thearms of the practitioner

www.watsu.com/



StructuralPractice Short Description Find More HereAlexanderTechnique

teaching a person new waysto sit and move in ways toimprove breathing, speechand overall well-being

www.alexandertechnique.com/

chiropractic high velocity manipulationsto the spine and neck torestore overall healing

http://www.chiroweb.com/find/whatis.html

cranialosteopathy

gentle manipulations of thebones of the skull to restore aperson’s healing system

www.osteopathonline.com/cranial.htm

craniosacral gentle touch at the back of theskull and the bottom of thespine to enhance overall well-being, often resulting inemotional releases duringtherapy

www.craniosacral.com

FeldenkraisMethod

deepening a person’sawareness of movement toimprove posture and healing

http://www.feldenkrais.com/method/index.html

Hellerwork realigning the body toincrease mobility and overallwell-being

www.hellerwork.com

McTimoneychiropractic

a gentler form of chiropractic www.mctimoney-chiropractic.org/mca.htm



Practice Short Description Find More Herenaprapathy using the hands to move a

person’s connective tissue(ligaments, fascia, etc.) toimprove health or resolve anissue

http://www.naprapathicmedicine.com/what.htm

network spinalanalysis

gentle touch at the back of theskull and the bottom of thespine to enhance overall well-being

http://www.networkspinal.com/wave.htm

osteopathy changing the skeleton andmuscles to encourage betterblood flow and movement

www.osteopathic.org

physiatry physical medicine andrehabilitation, a variety oftechniques to help the personby making physicaladjustments and massage

http://www.physiatry.org/field/index.html

rolfing using the hands and elbows tomove the fascia, tissuewrapping the muscles, tocreate better posture andoverall well-being

www.rolf.org/about



Six Easy SystemsHolistic health as an entire field is completely overwhelming.There are so many unique practices that one could choose from.Each promises to fix the problem you have, but who’s to say?And if one doesn’t work, which one should you pick next?

As we’ve said, you need to first concentrate on getting thefamily practitioner, a person who is your first line of defensefor all health issues.

Each family practitioner will have a bias towards one or another“system” of healthcare. Here are a few of those systems, to helpyou decide which one might suit you best.

Naturopathic SystemIn a naturopathic system, your first line of defense is anaturopathic doctor.

1. Focuses on safe, effective tonics and therapies2. Uses remedies from a variety of sources, including

Chinese, Indian, North American and European3. Doctor will spend a lot of time with you to discover

the symptoms and conditions of your health issues4. Usually underemphasizes energy medicine like reiki,

Healing Touch, etc.5. Two types of naturopathic doctors, one associated

with the American Association of NaturopathicPhysicians (AANP) and the other associated with the



American Naturopathic Medical Association(ANMA)

a. AANP naturopathic doctors have been throughyears of training in one of five schools in theUS that are similar to Western medical schools,with strong emphasis on knowledge of thebody, diseases, herbs, vitamins, homeopathyand hypnosis

b. ANMA naturopathic doctors can have any of awide range of training levels, and may belimited in one of many medical systems(Chinese, Indian, etc.)

c. In summary, with the AANP, you know whatyou’re getting, which is a Western medicine-friendly doctor experience, except with muchmore attention and with safer, more naturalremedies. With the ANMA, you might get verygood, well-trained naturopaths, or you mightget someone with very little knowledge. It isnot fair to say the AANP practitioner is betterthan someone belonging to the ANMA, thereare excellent doctors in both organizations.



Traditional Chinese Medical (TCM) SystemYour first line of defense in Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM) is a TCM doctor, often called an acupuncturist. Youwill want someone who is familiar with much more than justacupuncture. Tui na (Chinese massage) and Chinese herbs aretwo of the many other aspects of TCM.

1. TCM uses the thousands of years of knowledge insuccessful Chinese medical practice.

2. TCM is a complete medical system includingunderstanding the body, mind and spirit, diseases,energy medicine, movement and therapies.

3. The most well-known TCM practice is acupuncture,inserting thin, small needles into the skin to changethe flow of energy through the body.

4. TCM includes acupuncture, acupressure, chi gong, taichi, tui na (massage), herbal medicine, feng shui andmany other practices in a total integrated practice.

5. TCM doctors always use a set of herbs to treat aperson, never just one particular herb or extract, theybelieve the interaction between the herbs is where thesolution arises.

6. The TCM doctor will spend a lot of time with you todiscover the symptoms and conditions of your healthissues.

7. TCM doctors can come from several sources. Thereare reputable TCM schools in North America,including the American Institute of AlternativeMedicine (www.aiam.edu) in Columbus, Ohio. These



schools train students for years to understand thedetails of the Chinese medical approach. Another typeof TCM doctor is a Western medically-trained doctorwho has branched into Chinese medicine. TheWestern doctor requires less training that the TCMspecialist, weeks instead of years. Again, a largernumber of years in training do not automaticallytranslate directly into a better doctor, but you shouldbe aware of the training your TCM practitioner hasand where it came from.

8. Most states regulate TCM doctors in some way, andsome insurance policies cover TCM treatments(specifically acupuncture) if a Western doctorapproves it as medically necessary.

9. Americans who are threatened by non-Christianspiritual traditions may not enjoy being clients ofTCM. It is sometimes difficult to separate the spiritualfrom the non-spiritual in TCM.



Ayurvedic SystemYour first line of defense in the ayurvedic system is anayurvedic doctor, trained in India or even in Americanayurvedic schools, like Deepak Chopra’s Center in California.

1. Ayurveda uses the thousands of years of knowledge insuccessful Indian medical practice.

2. Ayurveda means the “knowledge of life,” so it is acomplete system for living a human life, not justmedical.

3. Within ayurveda is a complete medical systemincluding understanding the body, mind and spirit,diseases, energy medicine, movement and therapies.

4. The most well-known ayurvedic practice is yoga, amovement art which helps people increase theirenergy levels, flexibility, health and well-being.

5. TCM includes yoga, ayurvedic herbs, Indian massage,astrology and many other practices in a totalintegrated practice. It is said that TCM was borrowedfrom the Indian ayurvedic traditions many thousandsof years ago, and since then each has evolvedseparately.

6. Ayurvedic doctors always use a set of herbs to treat aperson, never just one particular herb or extract, theybelieve the interaction between the herbs is where thesolution arises.

7. The ayurvedic doctor will spend a lot of time with youto discover the symptoms and conditions of yourhealth issues.



8. Most states do not regulate nor recognize ayurvedicpractitioners. Insurance policies do not coverayurvedic practices.

9. Americans who are threatened by non-Christianspiritual traditions may not enjoy being clients ofayurveda. It is sometimes difficult to separate thespiritual from the non-spiritual in ayurveda.



Structural SystemIn a structural system, your first line of defense will be anosteopathic doctor or a chiropractor. Some massage therapistsare knowledgeable enough to play this role for you as well.

1. Structural systems include chiropractic, osteopathy,rolfing, massage therapy, naprapathy and others.These systems are based on the idea that illness resultsfrom imbalanced structure of the body, including thespine, head, overall posture or muscles.

2. Structural doctors will spend a lot of time with youunderstand your health issues.

3. Most structural systems originated in the US.4. Most structural doctors will specialize in one of the

systems, usually not more than one. To their structuralsystem (say, chiropractic) they will usually add at-home exercises, massage therapy, herbal remedies andvitamins. The structural systems are not entiremedical systems in themselves, the way TCM andayurveda are.

5. Structural systems include some form of diagnosis, ifonly viewing a person’s posture and makingadjustments according to visible imbalances.

6. Americans who are threatened by non-Christianspirituality will usually have no problem with any ofthe structural systems. Most structural practitioners donot include heavy spiritual systems into their work(although some certainly do).



Energetic SystemIn an energetic system, your first line of defense will be amedical intuitive. This is a person with psychic abilities whocan see physical, emotional and spiritual issues in a person andcan even sometimes suggest possible remedies.

1. Most energy systems use hands-on energy healing toresolve health issues. Energy systems include reiki,Brennan energy work, Bruyere energy work, HealingTouch, Therapeutic Touch and many others.

2. Energy workers will tend to communicate with yourbody at an energetic level instead of asking you a lot ofquestions about your health. They will certainly ask somethings, but not as many as the other systems listed above.

3. Energy systems originate from all over the world, butmostly come from the Far East (India, China, Tibet, etc.).Some were founded in the US, although those usuallytook their basis from the Far East as well.

4. Americans who are threatened by non-Christian spiritualtraditions may feel quite uncomfortable with an energyworker. Energy work is not necessarily spiritually based,but there is always an element of the “unseen” to energywork that may make the more traditional American feelout of place.



Western Medical SystemYour first line of defense in the Western medical system is thefamily MD.

I’ve already said most of what I can say about the Westernmedical system and its pros and cons. The family MD will ablyrefer you to any of a variety of specialists in the Westernmedical realm.



Holistic Healthcare for ChristiansSometimes I hear from my friends that they are not interested inholistic health practices because “I’m a Christian.”

This is understandable. Visions of dancing mystics, crystal ballreaders and voodoo can cloud a Christian’s view of holistichealth!

Let’s examine the root of this feeling that Christianity isseparate from holistic health.

Since holistic health is, by definition, dealing with the mind,body and spirit, there may be situations where the holisticpractitioner crosses into territory typically thought of as theproperty of “religion,” or the spirit part of the holistic picture.

The Christians I know seem to deal with mind, body, spirithealth issues in a particular way. Raised as a Lutheran, I’veseen this pattern.

My doctor is in charge of my physical health.

My psychologist helps me with my mental health.

My pastor (rabbi, priest) guides me in my spiritualhealth.



This seems to work well when the problem is limited to one ofthose domains – strictly physical, strictly mental or strictlyspiritual.

In holistic health, there is an assumption that many, if not all,health problems cross the boundaries between physical, mentaland spiritual. When this occurs in a person’s life, the segmentedview of healthcare breaks down. The pastor can’t tell you howyour feeling of spiritual disconnection relates to a reducedimmune system, and your doctor can’t explain how yourosteoporosis is connected to your stress in your marriage.

Each holistic health practitioner will take a different approachto the body-mind-spirit interaction. All holistic practitionerswill acknowledge that we need to take all three into accountwhen examining a health issue, however each will start in theirown particular place and work outward to their own limits.

For instance, a chiropractor may begin with the physical:

“You have a subluxation in your back which I needto adjust.”

Then he will discuss what is going on in your life, stresses inyour family life and work and how that is affecting your mentalstate:

“Subluxations sometimes come on when we arestressed. What has happened lately that has beenbothering you?”



Then, he may gingerly tiptoe into the spiritual realm, askingquestions about a person’s feeling of fulfillment in their life:

“Do you feel like you’re in the right job, that you’rereally pursuing your true calling?”

This would be a chiropractor who delves into all three realmsbut would probably be acceptable to a Christian patient. Thelast two questions may seem like strange questions for achiropractor to be asking, but if the chiropractor takes a holisticviewpoint of their patients, they must venture into these areas tounderstand the causes of the physical symptoms.

Evaluating Practitioners as a ChristianHow can you tell whether a holistic practitioner will be a goodfit for your religious beliefs?

Here are four questions you can ask the practitioner before youbook your first appointment:

1. May I ask what your religion is? (There is nothingillegal about asking this, since this person is not anemployee.)

2. How much do you feel your religion (or spirituality)affects your treatment of patients?

3. Which of your services has the most connection toyour religion or spirituality and which services hasthe least?



4. Would you be willing to “leave your religion at thedoor” when we have our session in order to make me,the patient, comfortable?

Holistic health practitioners belong to every religion: Catholic,Methodist, Lutheran, Anglican, Buddhist, Hindu, Hare Krishna,Taoist, Christian Scientist, etc.

The practitioner may also answer that they are not religious,only “spiritual.” In the next section, I’ll explain the differencebetween religion and spirituality.

Use these four questions and you’ll be on your way to selectinga practitioner who fits with your religious perspective or at leastone who will not intrude upon it.

Differences Between Religion and SpiritualityIn holistic health, the topic of spirituality seems to be ever-present. Many of the practitioners feel that diseases originate inthe spirit, and only later do they manifest themselves into themind and the body if the spirit is left untended.

Here are some definitions of religion and spirituality that mayhelp clarify what the difference is.

Religion teaches that there is one truth that applies toeveryone.



Spirituality means that each person must find their owntruth.

If you believe strongly that there is “one truth” as explained bya particular religion, you will probably reject the idea of manytruths for many people. That’s okay. Just find a holisticpractitioner who reflects the same truth (religion) as you feelstrongly about, or a practitioner who keeps their ownreligion/spirituality out of their healthcare practice. There aremany practitioners who have chosen to keep religion andspirituality out of how they care for their patients, and thesewill be the best choices for the strongly religious person.

Mind and Body – Really Separate?Mind-body interactions are well known and heavily studied inmedicine.

If I am under stress at work, I’m much more likely to catch thecold that’s going around the office than if I’m relaxed andhappy.

If someone makes me angry, my heart rate goes up, my bloodpressure rises, my shoulders get tense and I find it harder toconcentrate on things.

For many years, Western doctors tried to assert that the mindand the body could be kept separate, and must be kept separate.



But the Western medical community no longer clings to thisbelief. And we shouldn’t either.

Where did this belief originate? It goes back to the 1600’s whena philosopher named Rene Descartes struck a deal with theCatholic church. Descartes had watched the Church persecutehis contemporaries Johannes Kepler and Galileo for creatingtheories that went against Catholic beliefs. He wanted to avoidtheir fates and so he approached the Church with a compromise.He said that he would create theories that dealt only with thephysical anatomy, and he would studious avoid anythingdealing with the human spirit or the mind. These latter twowould be the exclusive realm of the Church. The Church wasagreeable with this and so Descartes’ negotiation was thebeginning of the line of thinking that separated body from mindand spirit.

In the past one hundred years, however, Descartes’ deal hasproven to be troublesome in many areas of human biology andphysics. Cartesian dualism, as it’s called, broke downcompletely when Einstein proved his theories of relativity andwhen quantum physics became known to be true. These twomajor advances in science helped show that there wasobviously something else influencing the human body that wasnot physical in nature. It turned out, of course, to be the humanmind and spirit.

Western medicine, meaning pharmaceutical drugs and surgery,relies heavily on Cartesian dualism. The advances withEinstein’s relativity and quantum physics have almost



completely eluded Western medicine. Even the newest drugsand procedures assume that our bodies are machines, and allthat is needed for a physical ailment is a physical cure. If wehave a cancerous tumor, we should be able to cut it out and bedone. If we have a virus, we should be able to take a substancethat kills the virus and we’ll get better.

The irony is that holistic therapies like Traditional ChineseMedicine (TCM) and Indian ayurveda fit perfectly with the newsciences (relativity and quantum physics). Western medicinehas come along only in the last two hundred years, while theChinese and Indian traditions are thousands of years old. Andyet these ancient therapies mesh with the newest sciences as ifthey were developed by the same people!

TCM and ayurveda acknowledge that the body is NOT amachine, and that we need to pay close attention to a person’sspirit, mind and body if we hope to help them with some healthissue.

So, the problem was not the separation of religion and thehuman body, so much as it was that the body was viewed as amachine, which it is clearly not. There is nothing in the Biblethat states that the body is a machine. It was just Descartes’“work-around” that he had to formulate because of therestriction the Church put on him at that time. Can you blamehim?

But Christians may have problems with the “spirit” part ofbody, mind, spirit. Holistic health means that all parts of the



person are considered at once, but a Christian may object tomixing their Christianity with a doctor’s appointment.

Having said that, a Christian will be doing themselves a greatdisservice if they completely reject all the holistic therapiesavailable. Instead, the best route for a Christian is to pick andchoose the therapies and the practitioners who are compatiblewith their own beliefs, or the practitioners who can effectively“leave their religion at the door” when treating patients. It willnot be difficult to find these religion-free practitioners. Just askthe four questions and you’ll be quite sure to find a practitionerwho will fit your needs!

“Our bodies are not machines.”



Step 7 – The Monthly Plan – Plan Each Monthof Wellness and IllnessCreate a plan to support your family’s health financially. You’llneed to show the money you put in, and then how it gets spent.

Health is unpredictable. Next month, your whole family mightcome down with the flu and you’ll spend hundreds of dollarstrying to recover. So you might ask what the value of a plan isfor such an unpredictable area.

Planning is possible for unpredictable areas as long as you arealways reserving some funds for the big problems that arise (fluepidemics among them!). These reserved funds are calledcontingency, and this is the major way for you to have a“backup plan” for when things get tough.

A plan is also useful to help remind you of wellness measuresyou wish to take. Too often, yearly physicals exams get doneevery five years. Too often, herbs and vitamins that couldprevent major disease sit unused on a shelf. And too often,holistic services like rolfing and massage get put off until acrisis ensues, making the job harder and creating pain thatwasn’t necessary.

On the next page is an example of a monthly health plan fortwo consecutive months.



Jones Family - Month of March 2005Practice Dad Cost Mom Cost Baby Cost Total

Costfamilypractitioner

sixmonthcheckup

$50 $50

craniosacraltherapy

2appts/mth($60 ea)

$120 $120

massagetherapy

1appt/mth($80 ea)

$80 1appt/mth($80 ea)

$80 $160

preventivevitamins,minerals

multi,blackcohosh

$25 multi,dongquai

$40 $65

aromatherapy $0

yoga classes 10class/mth

$90 10class/mth

$90 $180

TOTALMONTHLY

$195 $260 $120 $575



Jones Family - Month of April 2005Practice Dad Cost Mom Cost Baby Cost Total

Costfamilypractitioner

$0

craniosacraltherapy

2appts/mth($60 ea)

$120 $120

massagetherapy

1appt/mth($80 ea)

$80 1appt/mth($80 ea)

$80 $160

preventivevitamins,minerals

multi,blackcohosh

$25 multi,dongquai

$40 $65

aromatherapy replacelavender,ylangylang

$50 $50

yoga classes 10class/mth

$90 10class/mth

$90 $180

TOTALMONTHLY

$195 $260 $120 $575



You can see that the amounts shift around in the categoriesfrom month-to-month. They might also shift from person toperson as required. The goal is not to exceed the monthlybudget amount, which the Jones family decided was $575 permonth. That amount adds up to $6,900. The Jones family wouldlikely have saved $9,000 per year using their high-deductiblehealth insurance policy, so that means they have an additional$2,100 that could go into one of the following:

• contingency holistic health fund• Health Savings Account (to pay for Western medical

treatments under the deductible)• Short-term savings (family gifts, vacations, non-health

emergency funds)• retirement savings

Likely at the beginning of the plan, this family would be puttingthe excess $2,100 into their HSA and contingency funds, butafter a few months, those funds would be full enough, and theycould divert the money into savings.

Build the contingency holistic health fund and HSA up to alevel where you and your family feel comfortable, then beginfunding other things (short-term savings, retirement, etc.).

An HSA is limited in terms of how much money can becontributed yearly, but the lifetime amount is not limited.However, since the types of services that an HSA may fund aremainly limited to Western medical care, you may use your



discretion to decide how much more should be in the HSAaccount.

For my wife and I, we’ve chosen to continue contributing themaximum amount to our HSA every year, since thecontribution is a tax deduction and because we see the HSA notonly as a form of “medical self-insurance” but also as a tax-deferred retirement savings account. Remember, it is still anIRA after all!



Step 8 – Save the Rest – Make Excess SavingsServe YouIf you’ve been adding up the costs of the HSA, HOTGACCOUNT and discount card, you will realize we haven’t usedup our savings yet. Remember, we saved thousands of dollarsby switching to a high-deductible plan. What shall we do withthe rest of this bounty?

The excess money cannot keep going into the HSA. The IRSlimits the amount you may deposit into the HSA each year, justas they limit IRA contributions.

You could easily put the excess into your HOTG ACCOUNT,because there are no limitations there at all. This is a wonderfulidea. You can keep funding this account and drawing from it asyou use holistic health services. The money may roll over fromyear to year, continuing to grow with interest. And your healthwill continue to improve if you are choosing your healthservices wisely. There is really no limit to how healthy you andyour family can become, and it’s worth thinking about howmuch money you want to invest into that worthy goal.

It will be hard to put a yearly figure on the goal of familyhealth. Instead, compare that goal with other financial goals youmight have: a secure retirement, a new house, automobiles,boats, vacations. Use your intuition and input from your familyto decide how the excess savings should be allocated. Onceyou’ve decide on the percentage splits, contact your financialplanner and have them do automatic allocations based on your



decisions. If you decide later to make changes to theallocations, you will be able to do so easily, so don’t wallow inindecision worrying about the “right way.” Make a decisionquickly and then allow yourself to change it later.

If you are playing the role of financial planner yourself, you cancreate the limits and allocations yourself using a computerspreadsheet and maintaining it monthly.

Here are some ways to use the excess savings:

1. Make sure your HSA is fully funded. When you use thefunds in the HSA, you’ll need to replenish them the nextyear up to the maximum allowed by the IRS. Use yourexcess for this first, because the HSA grows tax-deferred.

2. Fund your HOTG ACCOUNT. If you intend to useholistic health services in your monthly plan, you cankeep putting more money into this account until you feelit will last the year.

3. After those funds are set, you can begin to divert themoney into savings. You may have short-term savingsgoals, like a new car, Christmas presents for the kids,vacations, home improvements, or other things. Or youmay decide to put the excess savings into a retirementfund for your family. You must check with a qualifiedfinancial planner to make the best choices for retirementsavings. Even if you are already saving for yourretirement, this might be a welcome additional amount ofmoney to help you live a full life after retirement.



4. When you’re taking that vacation, earned through yoursavings on health insurance, please send me a postcard!!(Daryl Kulak, 52 Westerville Square, #152, WestervilleOH 43081)

My personal choice is to save that excess for retirement. Mywife and I are both savers at heart, so we love to find bits ofmoney here and there that we can sock away in our retirementaccounts. You may not be like us!

You may wish to establish a shorter-term savings plan. Perhapssavings for a new car. If you use half of your high deductiblesavings on healthcare (HSA and HOTG ACCOUNT) and savethe other half, you could buy a new car every eight or nineyears with your excess. Not bad!! Or you could save it for giftsfor family, or for charity. Gifts given to registered charities, likethe Red Cross, National Public Radio or Greenpeace, are taxdeductible, so you’re doing yourself a favor each time you giveto those worthy organizations (as well as doing the world afavor).

Another idea is to use the excess as a lump sum pay-down ofyour house mortgage or car payments each year.

Think long and hard about what you want to do with the excesssavings. If you don’t, the excess will get swept away in the day-to-day spending of American life. You’ll never notice thedifference, and that would be sad. If you were paying the bigpremiums before, and now you’re not, it is very easy just to



switch where that money goes instead of letting it slip into thepetty cash fund.

Of course, for those of you who could not afford healthinsurance before reading this book, you will use the excess tofund the daily life expenses that you would not have been ableto under other health insurance plans. And I’m sure you’ll lookforward to the day when you can put away a few dollarssavings for retirement and your children’s inheritance someday.



Step 9 – Review Once a Year – Change YourPlan to Match Your LifeYour family will have lots of opinions on this new plan. Listento each family member’s concerns and try to address them inthe plan. If you’re using a financial planner, get their help. Getideas from your family practitioner, and other people you knowwho have switched to a Health Off The Grid plan or somethingsimilar to it.

Yearly ThemesYou may want to establish a theme for each year. Forinstance, this year might be “lose weight.” The whole familyworks on ways to lose excess baggage through yoga classes,fitness training, seeing a nutritionist, etc. Next year, the themeis “learn to relax.” Now the family turns to aromatherapy,massage, meditation and other methods of relaxation training.In the third year, the family might choose “save money,”meaning that their common goal is to use fewer services andstash the money away for a financial goal (vacation, collegefund, etc.). This doesn’t mean that every holistic health servicethe family uses has to fit the theme, but that there’s an overallplan to try to accomplish the stated goal, and the family isalways thinking about ways to do it with the money in theHOTG ACCOUNT.

Sit down with your family and review the monthly spendingplan and get opinions on the family practitioner and theallocation of money for healthcare, both the HSA and the



HOTG ACCOUNT. Fix the weaknesses in the plan and moveforward into the new year.

The best time for this review is on the anniversary of yourstarting the Health Off The Grid plan. Take time right now tonote the date and write a note on the calendar a year from nowto review your progress, celebrate your successes (especiallythat new pot of money building up!) and fix the issues together.

Ideas for yearly themes:

• Lose weight• Learn to relax• Save money• Have fun• Get strong• Focus on beauty• Explore new therapies• Get flexible• Focus on the mind• Focus on the body• Focus on the spirit• Recover from cancer• Focus on sound and light therapies• Focus on the spine• Breathe• Better vision• Better hearing• (you can imagine many more…)



A Word to Holistic Health PractitionersAs a holistic practitioner, you may have found much to likeabout this book. You probably use holistic therapies yourself,and you also are probably self-employed. The insurancestrategies in this book will make a lot of sense for you.

However, please think about this book in terms of your clients.What if your clients restructured their insurance and suddenlywere able to use your services in massage, aromatherapy, oryoga much, much more than before? Wouldn’t that be great?

My intention with this book is to put it into the hands of holisticpractitioners across the country. Your current clients will bebest able to take advantage of the insurance approach inthis book.

Please pass this book on to them. You can do that in severalways.

First, you can just tell them the Website where they canpurchase this book. That Website is:

www.healthoffthegrid.com

Second, when your clients complain that you are not covered bytheir insurance, tell them about this book. I may be able to helpthem think of health insurance in a vastly different way, andthis will help them change their lives and use your servicesmore.



Third, if you think you might be recommending this book to alot of people, you may want to become an affiliate of HealthInsurance Off the Grid. An affiliate is someone whoadvocates a particular product and then receives money whenthat product is sold through their efforts.

I offer affiliates a great deal on the sale of each book. If youfeel you don’t want to profit from your clients in this way, wecan also arrange that your affiliate fees will be sent directly to acharity of your choice, with monthly statements of how muchwas donated and when.

If you wish to join the affiliate program, please contact me(Daryl Kulak) at [email protected].



ConclusionsI believe that the time for Health Insurance Off the Grid hascome. We have so many problems with Western medicine andhealth insurance in America that we need to find solutions thatwe can use NOW that will lower our expenses and allow us touse preventive medicine that we know works.

If this book convinces you, please put it into action. Thecountry will change by our actions, and if enough people beginto use a system like Health Insurance Off the Grid, we willchange the country simply by the decisions we make about ourpersonal situations. And that will be earth-shattering.

Thank you for buying this book and reading it. I hope it hasenriched your life. You may contact me anytime:

Daryl KulakPresident, Simplicity Institute52 Westerville Square, #152

Westerville OH 43081office: (614) 306 3477

e-mail: [email protected]: www.simplicity-institute.com



Appendix A – References

Andrews, Charles, Profit Fever – The Drive to CorporatizeHealth Care and How to Stop It (Common Courage, 1995)- Edging towards hysteria, this book looks at how healthcarehas evolved in the last century, and several reform efforts in theU.S. (Washington D.C. and California). **

Armstrong, Pat, Armstrong, Hugh & Fegan, Claudia,Universal Healthcare – What the United States Can LearnFrom the Canadian Experience (New Press, 1998)- A view of how the Canadian single-payer health insurancesystem is also the solution for the U.S. **

Ballentine, Rudolph, Radical Healing – Integrating theWorld’s Great Therapeutic Traditions to Create a NewTransformative Medicine (Harmony, 1999)- A Western MD combines various holistic practices intoWestern processes and emerges with something really great.His major influence is ayurvedic medicine from India,including yoga, Indian herbs and body type definitions. Hisextensive knowledge of the body, energy and ayurveda comesthrough on every page. *****

Barron, Bruce, Outsmarting Managed Care – A Doctor SharesHis Insider’s Secrets to Getting the Health Care You Want –Get the Right Doctor and Hospital – Save On Your Medical Bill– Get Top Referrals (Times Books, 1999)



- A kind of a “work the system” book for people going througha managed care “experience.” Very detailed, professionaladvice. ***

Burmeister, Alice & Monte, Tom, The Touch of Healing –Energizing Body, Mind and Spirit with the Art of Jin ShinJyutsu (Bantam, 1997)- Detailed guidebook to the practice of jin shin jyutsu, a form ofacupressure to relieve day-to-day health problems. *****

Califano, Joseph A., America’s Health Care Revolution – WhoLives? Who Dies? Who Pays? (Random House, 1986)- Although this book is very out-of-date, and does not containmuch about the HMO revolution, it is still full of insight as tohow healthcare has gone downhill and what companies andindividuals can do about it. **

Cassavetes, Nick (Director), John Q (New Line Cinema,2002)- Movie about a father who becomes so enraged with care thatis refused to his desperately ill son that he takes an entireemergency room hostage. Starring Denzel Washington andRobert Duvall. *****

Castleman, Michael, Blended Medicine – The Best Choices inHealing, The Breakthrough System that Combines Natural,Alternative and Mainstream Medicine for More Than 100Ailments (Rodale, 2000)- this is a great book that suggests not only herbal remedies(like many books like this do) but also yoga, exercise,



visualizations and qigong treatments. My problem, though, aswith every book like this, is that the combination of treatmentmust be individually tailored to the person with the problem,and I can’t see how a book can state that a particular set oftherapies are good for everyone who has disease X withoutknowing everything else going on in their lives. ***

Chopra, Deepak, Ageless Body, Timeless Mind – The QuantumAlternative to Growing Old (Harmony, 1994)- Love him or hate him, Deepak is the guru of holistic health inNorth America. This book shows how quantum mechanicsgives us clues on how we can heal our bodies and souls, and theconcepts explained here changed my view of health foreverafterward. Energy healing makes a lot more sense when yourealize that our bodies are made up mostly of energy andinformation, not matter. *****

Crofts, Neil, Authentic – How to Make a Living by BeingYourself (Wiley Europe, 2003)- A book written by a self-described “corporate drop-out” whohas fashioned a small business for himself that fulfills his ownpersonal dreams and ambitions, a path he highly recommendsin this book. ****

Dale, Cyndi, New Chakra Healing – The Revolutionary 32-Center Energy System (Llewellyn, 1997)- A comprehensive guide through the chakra (energy source)systems, including the six chakras of the body, plus a whole setof chakras above and around the body. The explanations are



very clearly illustrated in words and pictures, and there areexercises at the end of each chapter. ****

Epstein, Donald, The 12 Stages of Healing – A NetworkApproach to Wellness (Amber-Allen, 1994)- A unique “twelve step process” to getting through an illness,whether physical, emotional or spiritual. Dr. Epstein is thefounder of network chiropractic and a very deep thinker aboutholistic health practices. ***

Ginzberg, Eli, Tomorrow’s Hospital – A Look to the Twenty-First Century (Yale University Press, 1996)- A book from a big thinker, written a little academically, butwith interesting insights. Focuses on the Western medicalmodel, does not talk much about holistic health alternatives.***

Gratzer, David, MD, Code Blue – Reviving Canada’sHealthcare System (ECW Press, 1999)- For anyone who thinks the quick, easy solution to American’shealthcare crisis is to copy Canada’s system, this book providesa tonic for that ill-advised mindset. I am from Canadaoriginally, and I can tell you the Canadian healthcare solution(single-payer system) is no solution for America. ****

Gross, Martin, The Medical Racket – How Doctors, HMOsand Hospitals are Failing the American Patient (Avon, 1998)- This is a list of the ailments of the current (circa 1998)medical system, without much information about how to fix



things. But the details of the inner workings of HMOs andhospitals are interesting and, often horrifying. The book is quitehysterical in tone, but what would you expect from the authorof The Government Racket, The Tax Racket and The BrainWatchers? **

Haley, Daniel, Politics in Healing – The Suppression andManipulation of American Medicine (Potomac Valley, 2000)- A damning account of how the American Medical Associationhas suppressed and harassed alternative medical provides in thepast two hundred years. Written by a former New York staterepresentative. *****

Ivker, Robert S., The Complete Self-Care Guide to HolisticMedicine – Treating Our Most Common Ailments (PenguinPutnam, 1999)- Yet another disease-by-disease guide that provides advice forhomeopathic, nutritional, vitamin/mineral and herbal remedies.Detailed, responsible, comprehensive information. But how is itholistic? How is a book that says “if you have this disease, takethis pill” treating the whole person, their personal situation,their mindset, their familial situation, etc. ***

Korn, Donald Jay, Your Money or Your Life – How to SaveThousands on Your Health-care Insurance (MacMillian, 1992)- Covers cost-cutting topics for individuals in health, disability,long term care insurance, as well as Medicare. **



Leonard, George & Murphy, Michael, The Life We are Given– A Long-Term Program for Realizing the Potential of Body,Mind, Heart and Soul (Tarcher, 1995)- A book by the co-founders of the Esalen Institute inCalifornia. They have created a set of practices that they’veborrowed from various ancient traditions that, if practiced everyday, can create transformation in a person’s life. The practice iscalled Integral Transformative Practice (ITP). *****

Myss, Caroline & Shealy, C. Norman, The Science ofMedical Intuition- This is a 12 CD set with some of the most interestinginformation about holistic health you’ll ever find. CarolineMyss is the most renowned medical intuitive in the world. Amedical intuitive is a person who can use psychic intuition todiagnosis a person’s illnesses, whether physical, mental,emotional or spiritual. This CD set is about medical intuition,but it also has a set of guided meditations by Dr. Shealy thatcan help with many, many chronic illnesses. He uses thesesuccessfully in his clinic in Missouri. *****

Miller, Irwin, American Health Care Blues – Blue Cross,HMOs and Pragmatic Reform Since 1960 (Transaction, 1996)- An interesting history of Blue Cross in the past thirty years.**

Northrop, Dorothy & Cooper, Stephen, Health InsuranceResources – Options for People with a Chronic Disease orDisability (2003, Demos Medical)



- A resource book state-by-state of places to find funding forchronically ill patients. **

Palmgren, Charlie & Petrarca, William, The Greatest Good– Rethinking the Role of Relationships in the Moral Fiber ofOur Companies and Communities (Trafford, 2002)- An outline of the work of Henry Nelson Wieman, whoformulated theories on how people could work together better,helping each other and themselves become better peopleworking towards the common good. ***

Pilzer, Paul Zane, The Wellness Revolution – How to Make aFortune in the Next Trillion Dollar Industry (Wiley and Sons,2003)- If you read only one book in this list, read this one. It iswritten by an economist and advisor to several presidents. Heoutlines the economic opportunity of the emerging wellnessindustry, which he defines quite broadly. Although the covermay make you think this book is about multi-level marketing (abald guy standing smiling with his shirt open!) it is not aboutthat. It is well-written and intriguing. I stayed up all nightreading it as soon as I bought it. *****

Prevention Magazine Editors, Hands-on Healing – MassageRemedies for Hundreds of Health Problems (Rodale, 1989)- This book is old, but who cares? It describes the hands-onpractices in very good detail, with stories of how each practicehas helped people, and details of where it came from and howit’s done. An excellent reference. *****



Rognehaugh, Richard, The Managed Health Care Dictionary(Aspen, 1998)- Two hundred and sixty-one pages of acronyms and obscureterms explained in an easy-to-read way. **

Schepper, Jeff, How to Pay Zero Taxes 2003 – Your Guide toEvery Tax Break the IRS Allows (McGraw Hill Trade, 2002)- A step-by-step guide to reducing your tax burden, mentionsmedical savings accounts (MSAs) and the way they can reduceyour taxes. **

Siegel, Bernie S., Love, Medicine and Miracles : LessonsLearned about Self-Healing from a Surgeon's Experience withExceptional Patients (Perennial, 1990)- Amazing anecdotes and statistics from one of the true pioneersof holistic health. Bernie Siegel feels that unconditional love isthe best healthcare remedy for any ailment, and he shows how ithas been applied to the most dire health circumstancessuccessfully. Read this book, laugh, cry and love it! *****

Sinclair, Brett Jason, Alternative Health Care Resources – ADirectory and Guide (Prentice-Hall, 1992)- A comprehensive reference with entries of various holistichealth practices, as well as ailments and diseases. Each sectionlists the associations with addresses and phone numbers (thisbook was too early for Websites!), so many of those may beout-of-date, however, it will be easy enough to search for themon the Web. **



Shealy, C. Norman, The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia ofAlternative Healing Therapies (Element Books, 1999)- If Norman Shealy edits or writes something, you know it willbe the highest quality. As with the other encyclopedia-typebooks, this oversize text has a section on which modalities willhelp with which conditions (which is not holistic, in myopinion, because a book cannot treat the “whole person” in theirentire situation). However, it also has a large section on variousmodalities and what they’re like: Trager work, AlexanderTechnique, chiropractic, ayurveda, acupuncture, etc. Thephotography and illustration is very beautiful and relevantthroughout the book. Although the list of modalities is far fromcomprehensive (but what book could be?) the detail andvividness of the photos of each therapy will give a prospectivepatient a great insight into the practice. *****

Shealy, C. Norman, Sacred Healing – The Curing Power ofEnergy and Spirituality (Elements Books, 1999)- A book about the ways to heal a person’s spirit, andsubsequently heal a person’s body and mind. *****

Shernoff, William, Fight Back and Win – How to Get YourHMO and Health Insurance to Pay Up (Bottom Line, 1998)- if you are having trouble (or anticipate having trouble) gettingyour HMO to pay bills, this is a very empowering book.According to the author, most of the ways that HMOs denyclaims are patently illegal and would never stand up inarbitration. However, most people just suffer through it and donot follow through on getting their HMOs to pay the fullamounts, so the HMOs get away with it. After reading this



book, you’ll have the tools to take on an HMO and win (eventhough you can’t actually sue them). *****

Shulman, Neil & Sweitzer, Better Healthcare for Less – Aneasy-to-use guide with over 350 entries and 1,000 tips on howto save money and improve the quality of your healthcare(Hippocrene, 1993)- Out-of-date, yes, but a lot of the tips are pretty timeless. Thisdoctor and co-author had been producing a newsletter of thesame name, and decided to put all the tips in a nicely organized,encyclopedia-style book. The tips range from advice on the typeof bed to buy if you have back pain, to places to find low-costdental care for children. A good reference for specific issueswhere creativity is needed. ****

Spragins, Ellyn, Choosing and Using an HMO (Bloomberg,1998)- A very clearly written handbook detailing all the informationyou’ll need to choose an HMO that will most likely fulfill yourneeds, and then how to handle them once the policy is in place.****

Theodosakis, Jason & Feinberg, David, Don’t Let Your HMOKill You – How to Wake up Your Doctor, Take Control of YourHealth and Make Managed Care Work for You (Routledge,2000)- Wow! Great writing and an arresting title! Two doctors tell ushow to “live with your HMO” in a way that will help youmaintain or gain good health. There is a chapter on preventivemedicine, but it is very conservative, limited to good drinking



water, supplements, stress management, etc. Easy to read, goodcharts and graphs to illustrate trends, authoritative. ****

Weil, Andrew, Natural Health, Natural Medicine (Houghton-Mifflin, 1998)- Dr. Weil is one of the most charismatic leaders of the holistichealth movement. He is a tremendous source of knowledge anda tireless promoter of all things “integrative.” He has written anumber of books, but I feel this is the one that provides themost specific information, including chapters entitled “HowNot to Get a Heart Attack,” “How Not to Get a Stroke,” and“How Not to Get Cancer.” Dr. Weil’s written work seems a lotless radical than his talks and commentaries, but this book isstill pretty good. ***

Winer, Harry (Director), Damaged Care (Paramount HomeVideo, 2002)- A movie about an MD who works inside several HMOs andencounters the “profit motive,” only to become an outspokencritic of the system. Starring Laura Dern. *****

Winokur, Julie & Kashi, Ed, Denied – The Crisis ofAmerica’s Uninsured (Talking Eyes Media, 2003) – available atwww.talkingeyesmedia.com- Visually arresting, a deep look into the people’s lives that arebeing lost and damaged due to denial of medical care byinsurance companies. The photography is stunning, the writingis reasonably good. This book is about the problem, notsolutions, but we need this perspective as much as any other.****



Appendix B – Forms and Samples



Monthly Plan Templates

I’ve included a set of monthly plan templates that you can makecopies of and use.

Put the month and year in the blank at the top of the page.

The column with the underline ____________ shows whereyou can put the name of the family member in the heading, andthen the descriptions of the individual treatments or sessions inthe boxes below.

On the first page, I show a completed monthly plan for eachformat (1 person, couple, family) to give you an idea of how tofill it out.

Do one for each month of the upcoming year. Review at the endof the year and do another twelve plan pages.

Compare the “total amount budgeted” at the bottom of eachmonth to the amount you save on health insurance premiumsfrom Step 1 of Health Off The Grid. If the total amountbudgeted is always less than what you saved on healthinsurance, you are ahead. You don’t have to keep it below thatamount, but it is helpful to at least do the comparison.



EXAMPLECindy Healthnut - Month of February 2005

PracticeCindy

Cost

family practitioner visits none this month $0

massage therapy two sessions$70 each

$140

herbs and vitamins refill multivitamins,herbs

$55

meditation, yoga, tai chi classes yoga 3/week(include in gymmembership)

$0

personal training, gymmemberships

gym membership$600/year prorated

$50

books, tapes, Internet subscriptionsabout health

small monthlybudget

$35

energy healing one session/month$70

$70

consult medical intuitive once a month$80

$80

TOTAL MONTHLY BUDGET $430

If this is an average month for Cindy, she will spend $5,160 a year onholistic services. She saved $6,000 on her health insurance premiums bymoving to high-deductible, so she is saving $840 a year by using this plan.On the months when she has her family practitioner visit, she does not gether regular massages that month, because then she’d be overbudget.



Single Person - Month of ______________________

Practice_______________

Cost

family practitioner visits

massage therapy

herbs and vitamins

meditation, yoga, tai chi classes

personal training, gymmemberships

books, tapes, Internet subscriptionsabout health

TOTAL MONTHLY BUDGET



EXAMPLEFred and Pat - Month of November 2006

PracticeFred

CostPat

Cost Total Cost

family practitioner visits naturopathcheckup

$100 none thismonth

$100

massage therapy 2sessions$65

$130

herbs and vitamins refills formultis

$20 refills forallvitaminsand herbs

$100 $120

meditation, yoga, tai chiclasses

one class /month$15

$15

personal training, gymmembership

none none $0

books, tapes, Internetsubscriptions about health

none none $0

aromatherapy refills forallergies

$50 $50

TOTAL MONTHLYBUDGET

$415

Fred and Pat, the happy couple, spent $415 on holistic services this month.If this is a typical month, they’ll spend $4,980 a year. They saved $5,000,so they wanted to stay within that amount for their yearly spending onholistic services. They spend almost exactly what they would have if theyused a low-deductible policy, however they get to do the meditationclasses and aromatherapy they’ve always wanted to use regularly. They’vecompletely forgotten the question “Does my insurance cover it?” Now,they don’t care. It’s in the budget.



Couple - Month of ______________________

Practice______

Cost______

Cost Total Cost

family practitioner visits

massage therapy

herbs and vitamins

meditation, yoga, tai chiclassespersonal training, gymmembershipbooks, tapes, Internetsubscriptions about health

TOTAL MONTHLYBUDGET



EXAMPLEThe Pearce Family - Month of July 2007

PracticeDad

CostMom

CostJunior

Cost TotalCost

family practitionervisits

nonethismonth

nonethismonth

naturopathvisit

$120 $120

massage therapy none none none $0

herbs and vitamins refillvitamins

$20 refillvitamins

$20 refillvitamins

$20 $60

meditation, yoga,tai chi classes

none none none $0

personal training,gym membership

none none gymmember$300/yr

$25 $25

TOTALMONTHLYBUDGET

$205

The Pearce family has one focus – saving for college! They wanted tochange their health insurance to be able to focus on saving money. Theyuse a naturopathic doctor as their first line of defense, but they try to keeptheir costs down in all areas. Since they saved $9,000 by moving to ahigh-deductible policy, they are able to put a savings of $6,540 into thebank every year, giving them a total of $99,705 for Junior’s college costsin 10 years when he leaves high school. They had no idea that theircollege fund would come from their health insurance, but it did!!



Family of Three - Month of ______________________

Practice______

Cost______

Cost______

Cost TotalCost

family practitionervisitsmassage therapy

herbs and vitamins

meditation, yoga,tai chi classespersonal training,gym membershipbooks, tapes,Internetsubscriptions abouthealth

TOTALMONTHLYBUDGET



About the Author

Daryl Kulak is the President of theSimplicity Institute in Columbus, Ohio.The Simplicity Institute is a businessschool for the holistic healthcarecommunity.

Daryl graduated from the NorthernAlberta Institute of Technology (NAIT)in 1983 and became a business andtechnology consultant for the next twentyyears. In 2003, he began the SimplicityInstitute to fulfill his own passion for therealm of holistic health.

Daryl lives with his lovely wife Tamara,a costume designer, in Westerville, Ohiowith their three cats, Teaser, Pixel andGinkgo.

www.simplicity-institute.comwww.healthoffthegrid.com

Health Insurance Off the Grid

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