A survey conducted by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute of Health concludes that Americans spend about $34 billion per year on alternative therapies that are not covered by insurance, things such as homeopathic medications and nutritional supplements (more details can be found at their website). This is approximately 11% of the total spent for ALL out of pocket health care in this country.  Unlike medications that are prescribed by physicans, this market is highly unregulated and most of these remedies have not undergone rigorous testing for efficacy or safety. Basically, our government is saying BUYER BEWARE for a huge percetage of our national health care costs. I don’t believe I have heard this mentioned at all in the debate over the President’s health care intiative.