From a sniffle to surgery, there is an unrealistic expectation that insurance will foot the bill, including the broad spectrum of alternative medicine choices. Novel approaches to the treatment of anxiety, depression and stress management are now more visible and accepted.  One emerging therapy known as float therapy is putting its collective hopes, dreams and grass roots dollars into research, for a disillusioned end game goal of going head to head with big pharma and the behemoth, politically entrenched insurance industry, with high hopes that insurance coverage will be the answer to the long term survival, awareness and usage of floating.

While insurance coverage for floating may be of limited benefit for the consumer, it presents a troubling situation for the bottom line of float center owners, who generally have big hearts and want to save the world, but also high overhead and maintenance costs as compared to massage, for instance. Some float centers seem to be on the right track and are creating their own version of “insurance” by establishing programs and discount packages for frequent floating.  Making floating more accessible and affordable through programs that encourage regular use, avoids the middleman of the insurance company, dictating their own version of usage and cost based on a third party understanding and application.  Thus, while float research is a good means for establishing viability, credibility and awareness, the end game purpose of research must also be considered in the mix. With all this in mind, it appears that the best way to maximize value to both the consumer and float center small business owner is to not involve insurance but to have the float industry collaboratively design and utilize a model better suited for float industry survival.