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------------------------------------------------------------------------ Prayer may heal but it still isn't covered by insurance ------------------------------------------------------------------------ (December 16, 1997 1:48 p.m. EST) - 94% of HMO executives believe in the healing power of prayer and meditation, but they would need more evidence it really works before paying to promote such practices. Results of a study -- conducted on a walk-by basis at a recent gathering of health plan officials in Washington, D.C. -- were released Monday at a conference on spirituality and healing at Harvard Medical School. Nearly 90% of the HMO officials queried said the rules and policies of their health plans do not take into account scientific data and research regarding the relationship between spirituality and well-being. "There is a big difference between recognizing that spiritual health is a component of the healing process and incorporating spiritual practices into traditional patient care and medical coverage," said Dr. John Templeton Jr., president of the John Templeton Foundation, a non-profit foundation that supports study and education on spirituality and health care and the sponsor of the survey. More than 200 studies have been conducted on the subject, with many showing a strong relationship between religious faith or personal spirituality and the ability to recover from illness and injury or to avoid disease in the first place. "For more than 25 years we have been exploring and researching the relationship between faith and healing as a complement, not an alternative, to traditional medicine," said Dr. Herbert Benson, head of the Mind/Body Medical Institute at Harvard. He said it was "gratifying" that HMO officials see the importance of spiritual practice, even if their organizations don't yet support them in their plans. 74% of those in the survey said they believe the positive effects of spirituality could also favorably impact health care costs. But in order to convince their colleagues that coverage for chaplain or meditative services should be covered, for instance: -76% of the executives said they would need direct clinical evidence; -65% said they'd need evidence of cost savings; and -62% said they'd need to show that the coverage was important to patient satisfaction. A similar study at a meeting of family physicians last year found that: -99% believe spiritual beliefs can be helpful in medical treatment, shortening hospital stays and enhancing patient quality of life, and -50% said they already take some steps to incorporate relaxation or meditation techniques in the care they give their patients. LEE BOWMAN covers health and science for Scripps Howard News Service. Copyright 1997 Nando.net Copyright 1997 Scripps Howard <http://www.nando.net/newsroom/ntn/health/121697/health28_26235_noframes.html> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ janet [log in to unmask]