Robin Broyles and her 5-year-old autistic son, Marlon, prepared Friday for their eighth “dive” in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. Using high levels of oxygen to treat autism, while not widely recognized by insurers, is growing in popularity.
“That’s my kid. I’d do anything,” Broyles said. Each treatment at Mount Pleasant Oasis Hyperbarics costs $140. Multiply that by 30 sessions, and the cost adds up. “It’s a terrible strain financially,” she said.
Seeking treatment outside traditional medicine can be expensive, but what drives people to seek these therapies is often stronger than money, even during these tough economic times.
Slowing disease and dulling the frailty of old age are strong motivators.
Mason Chrisman, 71, of Mount Pleasant turned to his trusted orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Bright McConnell, for counseling on diet, supplements and hormone therapy after a bone scan revealed his skeleton was weakening. Chrisman, a retired computer hardware and software businessman, said, “I may not live a day longer, but I will live happier and more fit.” He views the extra expense as a form of insurance: Prevention is cheaper than cure.
McConnell has pinned the March opening of FitMed Partners on patients such as Chrisman who want in-depth health risk analyses. FitMed Partners will not accept insurance, he said.
With confusion mounting over diet and the best way to lose weight, coupled with the growing population of aging baby boomers, McConnell is confident in the market, although he readily admits the inspiration occurred before the recession.
“I’m interested in looking for risk much sooner than normal,” he said. A menu of services ranges from a few hundred dollars to more than $2,000.
The Daniel Island-based company is McConnell’s second venture in preventive medicine. Prevecare, which closed in 2005, also was dedicated to discovering and treating disease early but was burdened by high-end imaging equipment.
Dr. Michale “Mickey” Barber, chief executive officer and chief medical officer of Cenegenics Carolinas, based in Charleston, said January 2009 was on track compared with last year, although February slowed a little.
The high-end age management practice boasts an 85 percent retention rate. Cost varies following the $3,000 evaluation, but lab work, fees and medication is at least $10,000 a year, Barber said.
“It’s a dog-eat-dog world,” she said. “More people are competing for few jobs. They want to be sharp, fit and look better than those they’re competing with.”
Dr. Craig Koniver with Primary Plus Organic Medicine focuses on balancing hormones, vitamins and amino acids. The North Charleston practice is busier now than six months ago, Koniver said.
While he does bill insurance and Medicare, when coverage falls short, patients are choosing to pay, he said.
Some patients visit for chelation therapy, a treatment primarily used for heavy metal poisoning, but which some use to treat cardiovascular disease. Koniver has seen a slight decrease in that self-pay group, but the sale of supplements and amino acids has remained steady, he said.
“Most people don’t tend to deviate from things they believe help them,” Koniver said.
Dr. Eric Brittain, who opened Oasis Hyperbarics in January with Dr. Tim Osbon, estimates that 75 percent of patients are nontraditional. In other words, they are seeking help for ailments not on the Food and Drug Administration’s 15-point list of approved uses.
“People come in, and if their insurance won’t pick any of it up, they walk away,” Brittain said.
Others, like the Broyleses, will find a way, even if it means maxing out their credit. In addition to autism, Marlon developed epilepsy and then had a severe reaction to his medicine that resulted in Stevens-Johnson syndrome, which left his skin burned.
“My son has so many conditions that if oxygen would help, I had to get him into therapy,” she said.
