Purpose: To determine whether practice of the Transcendental Meditation® (TM)® technique can affect medical expenses. Design: Quasi-experimental, longitudinal, cost-minimization evaluation. Setting: Province of Quebec, Canada. Subjects: 1,418 Quebec health insurance enrollees who practiced the TM technique were compared with 1,418 subjects who were randomly selected from enrollees of the same age, sex, and region. TM subjects had chosen to begin the technique prior to learning about and choosing to enter the study. Measures: This 14-year, pre- and post-intervention study retrospectively assessed government payments to physicians for treating the TM and comparison groups. Other medical expense data for individuals were unavailable. Data were inflation-adjusted. For each subject, least squares regression slopes were calculated to estimate pre- and post-intervention annual rates of change in payments. We compared the groups’ means and 1%, 5%, and 10% trimmed means (robust estimators) of the slopes. Results: Before starting meditation, the yearly rate of increase in payments between groups was not significantly different (P > 0.17). After commencing meditation, the TM group’s mean payments declined 1–2% annually. The comparison group’s payments increased up to 11.73% annually over 6 years. There was a 13.78% mean annual difference (P=0.0017). Conclusions: The results suggest the TM technique reduced payments to physicians between 5% to 13% annually relative to comparison subjects over 6 years. Randomized evaluations are warranted. This program appears to reduce stress-related illness and decrease medical expenses.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, the participant will be able to: (1) Describe the impact of a stress reduction intervention on government payments to medical doctors for treatment, (2) Evaluate and define disease prevention programs that successfully apply stress reduction programs, (3) Develop a comprehensive plan for community disease prevention that includes stress reduction interventions
Keywords: Cost Issues, Stress
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: The Transcendental Meditation Program
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.