Scientific Research Showing Reductions in Medical Expenses from Transcendental Meditation Practice and Maharishi Vedic Approach to Health By Robert E.

Scientific Research Showing Reductions in Medical Expenses from

Transcendental Meditation Practice and

Maharishi Vedic Approach to Health

By Robert E. Herron, Ph.D.*

® Transcendental Meditation and TM are registered or common law trademarks licensed to Maharishi Vedic Education Development Corporation and used under sublicense or with permission.

* Dr. Herron is an expert on medical costs, with many publications in the field. He is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy in Fairfield, Iowa. His new book, New Knowledge for New Results: A Comprehensive Strategy for Reducing Skyrocketing Medical Costs is available at Amazon.Com.

Reduced Medical Expenses for High-Cost People Mean Annual Total Per Capita Payments to Physicians for Treating Consistent High-Cost Patients

$325

$375

$425

$475

$525

0 1 2 3 4 5

Years

NonTM

TM

n = 142

n = 142 P = .03

Over five years, the TM group’s medical expenses decreased by 35%.Data are in 1992 Canadian dollars. P-value shows the significance of the comparison of annual rates of change between groups after TM commenced. Source: R. Herron, New Knowledge for New Results: A Comprehensive Strategy for Reducing Skyrocketing Medical Costs, Fairfield, IA: 1st World Publishing, 2008.

Decreased Medical Costs After Starting TM Mean Annual Total Per Capita Payments to Physicians for Treating Study Participants

Data are in constant 1992 Canadian dollars. This chart shows the 10% trimmed mean. P-value indicates the significance of the comparison of annual rates of change between groups after TM commenced. Data Source: R.E. Herron, S.L. Hillis. The impact of the Transcendental Meditation program on government payments to physicians in Quebec: An update American Journal of Health Promotion 2000; 14(5): 284–291.

$100

$110

$120

$130

$140

$150

$160

$170

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Years

NonTM

TM Practice Commenced

n = 1134

TMn = 1134

P = .00016

Reduced Medical Expenses Over 6 Years

Annual Percentage Change in Mean Total Payments to Physicians

There was a 14% annual difference between the groups after TM practice started. Data are in 1992 Canadian dollars. P-value indicates the significance of the comparison of annual rates of change between groups after TM practice started. Source: R. Herron, S. Hillis. The impact of the Transcendental Meditation program on government payments to physicians in Quebec: An update American Journal of Health Promotion 2000; 14(5): 284–291.

-2

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

TM

Non-TM

Annu

al %

Cha

nge

in

Mea

n Pa

ymen

ts to

Phy

sici

ans

n = 1418

n = 1418

P = .0017

Decline in Medical Costs for Older PeopleMean Annual Total Per Capita Physician Expenses of Participants Over Age 65

$165

$185

$205

$225

$245

$265

$285

$305

$325

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Years

TM

NonTM

TM Started

n = 159

n = 159

P = .0001

Data are in constant 1992 Canadian dollars. This chart shows the 1% trimmed mean. P-value indicates the significance of the comparison of annual rates of change between groups after TM started. Source: R.E. Herron, K. Cavanaugh. Can the Transcendental Meditation program reduce the medical expenditures of older people? A longitudinal cost reduction study in Canada Journal of Social Behavior and Personality 2005; 17: 415–442.

Broad Declines in Medical Costs After TM StartedPercentiles of Annual Per Capita Payments for Physicians’ Services

Data are in constant 1992 Canadian dollars; 1418 subjects in the NonTM group and 1418 participants in the TM group. Data Source: R. Herron, S. Hillis. The impact of the Transcendental Meditation program on government payments to physicians in Quebec: An update American Journal of Health Promotion 2000; 14(5): 284–291.

$125

$175

$225

$275

$325

$375

$425

$475

$525

$575

Pre 1 Pre 2 Pre 3 Pre 4 Pre 5 Pre 6 Pre 7 Pre 8 Post 1 Post 2 Post 3 Post 4 Post 5 Post 6

NonTM

TM

NonTM

TMNonTM

TM

TM Begins

90th Percentiles

80th Percentiles

70th Percentiles

Years

Cost-Effective Treatment for High Blood PressurePresent Value of Future Estimated Costs of Modalities During 20 Years of Hypertension Treatment

$0

$2,000

$4,000

$6,000

$8,000

$10,000

$12,000

$14,000

Pro

pran

olol

Hyd

roch

lori

de

Cap

topr

il

Pra

zosi

n

Hyd

roch

lori

de

Nife

dipi

ne

Hyd

roch

loro

thia

zide

TM P

rogr

am

Pre

sent

Val

ue o

f Tre

atm

ent E

xpen

ses

Data are in 1996 U.S. dollars. Herron, R.E., Schneider, R.H., Mandarino, J.V., Alexander, C.N., Walton, K.G. Cost-effective hypertension management: Comparison of drug therapies with an alternative program American Journal of Managed Care 1996; Vol. II(4): 427–437.

Hospital Expenses for Subjects Over Age 45Mean Annual Age-Adjusted Per Capita Hospital Expenditures for the Groups

*The Maharishi Vedic Approach to Health is a comprehensive system of natural medicine that implements Ayurveda according to the classical texts. MVAH includes the Transcendental Meditation technique and many other safe and effective preventive and curative modalities. Data are in 1995 U.S. dollars. Source: Orme-Johnson, D.W., Herron, R.E. An innovative approach to reducing medical care utilization and costs American Journal of Managed Care 1997; 3(1): p. 135–144, see Table 2.

n = 226n = 1410n = 198000MVAH* subjects’ expenses over the four-year study were 87% lower than

the Norm and 84% lower than Control group.

Hospital Expenses for Subjects Younger than Age 45 Mean Annual Age-Adjusted Per Capita Hospital Expenditures for the Groups

*The Maharishi Vedic Approach to Health is a comprehensive system of natural medicine that implements Ayurveda according to the classical texts. MVAH includes the Transcendental Meditation technique and many other safe and effective preventive and curative modalities. Data are in 1995 U.S. dollars. Source: Orme-Johnson, D.W., Herron, R.E. An innovative approach to reducing medical care utilization and costs American Journal of Managed Care 1997; 3(1): p. 135–144, see Table 2.

n = 467n = 2738n = 402000MVAH* subjects’ expenses over the four-year study were 58% lower than the

Norm and 60% lower than Control group.

Medical Expenses for Subjects of All Ages

Mean Annual Total Per Capita Medical Expenditures for the Groups

*The Maharishi Vedic Approach to Health is a comprehensive system of natural medicine that implements Ayurveda according to the classical texts. MVAH includes the Transcendental Meditation technique and many other safe and effective preventive and treatment modalities. Data are in 1995 U.S. dollars. Source: Orme-Johnson, D.W., Herron, R.E. An innovative approach to reducing medical care utilization and costs American Journal of Managed Care 1997; 3(1): p. 135–144, see Table 3.

n = 600000 n = 4148 n = 693MVAH* subjects’ expenses over the four-year study were 59% lower than the

Norm and 57% lower than the Control group.

To

tal M

edic

al E

xpen

ses

Per

Per

son