Have a read of this article which argues that it should. I’ll post more in a little while, once I’ve sent the Daily Email.
12 Responses to “Do you want your government to fund alternative therapies?”
Leave a Reply
Everything WHYS
- We're live at 1800GMT every weekday.
RSS feed
BBC World Have Your Say 
My trust in alternative medicine is based on the history of success of herbs and procedures developed over the centuries in all parts of the world. Belief in the wisdom of God to provide for our health and healing through His creations in strong.
I truly believe that pharmceutical corporations lobby against the efficacy of these alternative medicines and support those who publish statements downgrading these methods to preserve their ‘bottom line’ profits. Here in the States, drug companies are generous donors to candidates so I do not see our politicians biting hands that feed them.
Should the U.S. federal government decide to allow funding for alternative treatments, the cost to the consumer of these products and services will escalate dramatically.
My feeling, keep the government out. One’s choice of healing should be a personal decision much the same as one’s religious options.
Balance cuts both ways:
Medical research should logically follow any and all paths that appear to hold some promise.
The alternative therapy that clearly does not work, yet confuses patients to forgo standard therapy that may help them, is dangerous.
A significant failure of Western Medicine today is the use of medical licensing to restrict the number of competent physicians practicing.
Limiting the number of physicians with licenses artificially for income enhancement is great for doctor’s incomes, but does contribute to driving patients to useless remedies and alternative therapists.
With medical licensing abused for purposes other than determining competence, the public is cheated on many levels.
In the best of all possible worlds, of course the government should fund it! However in reality (at least in the US) government involvement/funding just means a huge waste of time in bureaucracy, and the loss of the heart. Without hesitation I opt for the heart.
Physical therophy is way better then medicans & Govt has to support therohy trend in medical science as therophy dont have dangerous after effects like prescribed medicans. A chance may be given to Homeopathic & Greek mythology system of medical treatment.
Hi! 🙂
I think alternative treatments should be supported, as well as controlled. Alternative therapies have been effective and reliable, but it’s a serious issue to cope with. In my country, for instance, it doesn’t only receive any support at all, but it’s also a business to pull patients’ legs by taking advantage of their needs.
Still, if it’s demnonstrated its effectiveness and it’s becoming an applealing alternative to many people within our community, it should receive the government’s support.
governments should not be using tax monies for health care that is not proven. our taxes are already too high. if a health treatment is proven, then it will be supported by private enterprise. governments should regulate health treatment so charlatans do not pray on the uneducated who are seeking miracle cures that do not exist.
“Alternative” to what? Tested, peer-reviewed scientific medicine? In that case ‘no’. Say the government provides for alternative medicines to be covered – as they have done to some extent where I live – how do you know they’re working? How do you know if you should remove government support from them?
With scientific medicine, another scientist will come along and prove that your medicine doesn’t work, and then the government will remove funding from it and it’s gone.
But with alternative medicines? If they’ve never been scientifically tested (and thus become – quelle horreur – “western” medicine) then how can they later be scientifically falsified?
As for homeophathy!? That was debunked more than a century ago. That would be like the government supporting faith healing … the laying on of hands et al… pure rubbish.
This is the engine driving alternative therapies in the USA.
It bears repeating-
………
US Medical Licensing drives alternative medicine:
…………
A significant failure of Western Medicine today is the use of medical licensing to restrict the number of competent physicians practicing.
Limiting the number of physicians with licenses artificially for income enhancement is great for doctor’s incomes, but does contribute to driving patients to useless remedies and alternative therapists.
With medical licensing abused for purposes other than determining competence, the public is cheated on many levels.
It is quite unfortunate that the cabal of pharmaceutical companies have stalled efforts by indigenous governments to seek ways of improving our health through alternative therapies. With the challenge posed by the HIV/AIDS pandemic especially in Africa and other developing countries, there is an urgent need for governments to fund alternative therapies.
Why is it that when it comes to the world of science and medicine very little is mentioned about the continent of Africa’s contribution towards fostering this domain? Is it that Africa has very little to offer? One major stumbling block that I know of seems to be the lack of support and financing of this domain from African governments. Our governments don’t support research and innovation in medicine. Africa boasts of very renowned scientists who can contribute much to contemporary medicine but because of the absence of financing and protection from our governments, a majority of them have immigrated to the West and are now making a name for themselves there. Africa wake up, you can do it!
I think that the government should fund alternative
therapises…
Dennis~Madrid, United States of America
As a middle class, middle aged Indian living in India, who has been brought up both on allopathic(20%) and alternative medicine (80%)over the years, my heart goes out for the Americans, who have been systematically kept out of the low cost, highly effective and least harmful alternative therapies, by the highly powerful vested interests.
In the context of the rapidly rising costs of allopathy and steadily reducing access to the less previleged, I strongly advocate that the American Government should initiate steps in this direction.
One beauty of alternative medicine like Ayurveda and naturopathy , besides many others is that , they also help you to modify your lifestyles to make you more immune to contracting the disease again. Also, they dont have the debilitating side effects that are common with allopathy.
I am not a practising doctor . My vested interest in writing this piece is that USA and its poewerful drug companies are influencing the Govt and people of my country also to go the westen way which would mean that sooner than later most Indians will forget the native therapies that are highly effective in 90% of ailments. Only the rarest of rare diseases may call for western medicine like surgery etc.
In fact, if lifestyle issues are given importance by the govts of all countries, allopathy can be almost eradicated from the face of the earth and world will be none the worse.