U.S. employers are beginning to cover medical tourism and alternative medicine as part of their health benefit cost containment efforts, a survey has found.

Medical tourism, which involves seeking lower-cost medical treatment outside the United States, is now covered by 11% of employers surveyed by the Brookfield, Wis.-based International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans.

In addition, 80.5% of employers currently cover chiropractic care, and 33.5% of employers cover acupuncture or acupressure, the IFEBP survey found.

Among other survey findings:

• 99.7% offer health care benefits to full-time employees, and 49.9% cover part-time workers.
• 99% cover adopted and biological children, while 74% cover stepchildren and 42% cover foster children.
• 92% cover opposite-sex spouses, 37.5% cover same-sex unmarried domestic partners, 30% cover opposite-sex unmarried domestic partners and 28.8% cover same-sex spouses.

The survey, "Health Care Benefits: Eligibility, Coverage and Exclusions," contains 400 responses from U.S. corporate benefit managers, professional service providers, public employers and multiemployer plans about health care benefit plans. The survey, which also contains 22 sample health care policies and summary plan descriptions, is the latest publication in the IFEBP's Survey & Sample Series, which was created to allow benefit professionals to compare their plan to others, determine trends and costs and to better manage their plans.

The survey is available in print or on CD-ROM for $52 for IFEBP members and $131 for nonmembers. To order a copy, visit www.ifebp.org/books.asp?6412, or call 888-334-3327 and select option 4, item No. 6412.

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For reprints of this story, please contact Lauren Melesio at 212-210-0707 or email lmelesio@crain.com