Payment and Insurance Information
At Synergy Chiropractic and Bodywork, we provide our patients with simple to understand levels of care at affordable rates. Because we do not accept insurance, we keep our prices within the reach of our patients. Depending on your care needs, Dr. Sue can develop a care plan that fits within your budget. See general pricing info on our appointment options page.
We’re not a big office with a bunch of front desk staff who negotiate your billings with insurance companies (try to get reimbursed). Because these negotiations rarely have anything to do with your best healthcare options, we’ve found that it’s simply more complicated and frustrating than it’s worth, and feel as though healthcare should be in the hands of our patients and their providers. We only allow our expertise and your particular situation to influence decisions about how to treat you, and nothing else.
We do offer detailed receipts for submission toward Flexible Spending Plans or your out of network/out of pocket allowances, and accept direct FSA or Health Savings Accounts payments. For more information, keep reading...
I Don’t Accept Insurance. (You’re Welcome!)
“Do you accept my insurance?” is the question I get asked by prospective new patients the most often.
Just saying, “Nope” is a quick conversation ender, so I usually end up trying to explain a somewhat complicated issue in a quick phone call. I would like to elaborate a bit, so folks can understand the pros and cons of their health insurance, and make decisions accordingly.
When you (healthcare consumer) use your card at a health care provider’s office, here’s what happens behind the scenes:
A staff member spends an inordinate amount of time on the telephone or internet trying to talk to a real live person. The insurance companies like to make this as difficult as possible, and change their phone menus periodically so you can’t just memorize “Press 1, then 4, then 6 for Cigna.” Nope, that was last month’s secret combo, arrrrgh!
When the staff member gets an actual human on the phone, they ask a series of questions in an attempt to verify which procedures or services the insurance company is willing to pay for. The insurance company rep is typically as vague as possible, and always says something to the effect of “Just because I said we’d pay for X on the phone doesn’t mean we will actually pay for X; you’ll have to bill us and wait for your EOB (explanation of benefits) with your reimbursement check.”
The staffer makes a list of the services that your insurer will pay for (and how much!), and relays this to the health care provider.
You, the consumer, may have no idea this is what’s going on. You diligently pay your insurer each month or paycheck, and assume that everybody’s got your back. Presumably your health care provider will choose a treatment plan with your best interests at heart, any relevant services (including preventative or maintenance) will be covered by the insurer, and the health care provider will be reimbursed in a timely manner: win-win.
I wish that’s how it worked.
Here’s what often happens instead:
The doc chooses what type of care you receive based on what gets them paid the most.
What does this mean to you?
Some services may not even be offered to you because your insurance company won’t cover them or doesn’t pay much for them, regardless of how effective that care may be for you. If I can't get paid for myofascial release, but electric stim reimburses $15…. no-brainer. Goodbye, hands-on care! Too bad you really needed some muscle work… I gots to get paid!
Some services may be tacked on to your treatment plan because a staff member (generally not the doctor) can perform them and earn extra money for the clinic. I have worked for clinics that tried to use 3 modalities at once to squeeze as much money as possible out of a 15 minute span: roller table plus e-stim plus hot packs! Party!
The newest wrinkle is up-selliing you on services that they KNOW won’t be reimbursed, so you will have to pay out-of-pocket (you have definitely seen this if you’ve been to the dermatologist lately, yikes!). This includes things that maybe effective, but that insurance companies have decided to call “experimental” so they don’t have to pay for them. Sheesh.
Repeat after me: Reimbursement should NOT influence patient care!
What’s the alternative? Me. And you.
Taking the time to listen to and examine you with all the brain cells at my disposal, all the tools in my toolbox. Finding out what you’ve already tried. What’s working? What’s not? What do you think is going on?
Explaining everything I’ve found.
Presenting you with OPTIONS and a treatment plan that’s based on what you need, not on my fantasy lake house fund.
Working together to make your life more awesome. Isn’t that what health care is supposed to be about?
For more on how we work, click here, or if you have any questions, please contact me here.