From the American Chiropractic Association (ACA)…

Although many uncertainties remain – it remains entirely possible, perhaps likely, that Congress will soon enact into law a comprehensive legislative package of health care reforms.

Should this occur, it is critical for your welfare and that of your family, that Congress does the following:

1. Ensure that any new legislation includes provisions that place a heavy emphasis on “wellness” and “prevention” of disease – and thus substantially improves on the deficient “sick care” oriented system that now exists.

2. Ensure that you have fair, unimpeded and direct access to essential chiropractic health care services as an accessible “alternative” to routine forms of covered care provided by insurance companies.

3. Ensure that your freedom to choose the individual and type of doctor of your choice is guaranteed without discrimination, including your chiropractic physician.

4. Ensure that “patient friendly” provisions, including important non-discrimination provisions, are retained or inserted in any bill Congress enacts into law.

5. Ensure that the special privilege (anti-trust provisions) that allows health insurance companies to conspire together in order to fix prices and dominate markets to the detriment of patients and providers is repealed.

It is urgent you TAKE ACTION NOW to persuade Congress to protect your rights and interests when they finalize health reform legislation.  Accordingly, PLEASE GO HERE in order to SEND A STRONG AND IMMEDIATE MESSAGE TO CONGRESS regarding your concerns.

Please do not delay – time is of the essence – CLICK HERE NOW TO TAKE ACTION.

• United Healthcare
• Golden Rule
• GE Wellness Plan
• MAMSI
• Great-West Healthcare
• Principal Life Insurance Co.
• Health Allies
• Oxford Health Plans
• Medical Resource, LLC
• Premera Blue Cross
• Cypress Care
• Universal SmartComp
• Align Networks, Inc.

For a complete list of insurance companies that we accept please refer to our FAQ page.

You may be able to use your HSA for various services and products such as:

• Chiropractic and Massage Therapy
• Spinal Pelvic Stabilizers (orthotics)
• Cervical Support Pillows
• Nutritional Products
• Wraps and Supports
• Home Rehabilitation Equipment
• Home Spinal Traction Devices

Typically HSAs can be used for any healthcare products or services for a calendar year. The patient determines how much money goes into his or her account at the beginning of the year, and that amount must be spent or it will be lost.

According to the U.S. Department if Treasury, less than 500,000 Americans were enrolled in an HSA plan in 2004. Now more than 3.2 million Americans use them. Some experts predict this number to grow to 14 million by the year 2010.

This week we received an EOB from Keystone Health Plan East (an Independence Blue Cross HMO plan), which was denying payment on one date of service in question. They said that the patient actually owed two (yes two!) co-payments for the date of service in question. They said that their contract clearly stipulates that the patient has a $25.00 co-pay per condition.

Keystone said that since I had performed treatment on two separate conditions (two different areas), the patient was required to pay her $25.00 co-pay twice! This means that if I worked on the patient’s spinal areas (i.e. neck) as well as an extremity (i.e. the shoulder), the patient would be penalized. In effect, if you were being treated for a cough that led to back pain and a headache, Keystone would expect you to pay three co-pays!  I still can’t believe it.

Who would ever think that your insurance company would essentially break your body down into separate pieces, and then view each part as an individual person in regard to co-pays! This incident is unusual, however insurance companies seem to be masters of playing these types of games.

If something like this happens to you, I suggest immediately writing a letter of complaint to your insurance company and contacting your state insurance commission. In PA, the consumer advocate organization is The Pennsylvania Insurance Department at http://www.ins.state.pa.us/ins.

You can fight back.

You make it out safely. You thank God. Just then you hear the sirens of the fire trucks. They arrive at your home. The firefighters courageously leap from their vehicles. They are directed by their chief and work furiously putting on gear, hooking up hoses, carrying tools, and keeping the growing crowd at a safe distance.

The firefighters begin to make good headway. They begin to get the fire under control. The smoke billows from broken windows and holes in the roof. You feel terrible thinking about all the damage to your precious home, but are grateful that your family is safe.

The team of firefighters are doing a great job. You look to the fire chief and notice he’s speaking on a cell phone. He puts down the phone and turns it off. Then suddenly the chief orders the team of firefighters to halt. To your shock he orders all the firefighters to reel in the hoses, pull down the ladders, gather their equipment and load up.

You look to your home and notice that their job hasn’t been finished. The fire isn’t out! You notice an orange glow begin to grow again from inside your damaged home.

In dismay you ask the chief to explain himself. He says, “We’re sorry, you’ve met your maximum number of firefighting visits per year. You have no coverage. We can’t help you.”

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If we witnessed this scene, we’d be outraged! We wouldn’t accept it… or would we?

Yet I see very similar scenarios frequently happening in health care all the time. People are “covered” by insurance companies that drastically limit care. There are deductibles, co-pays, visit limits, disallowed procedures and outright denials of care. Some people are abandoned when they are in the greatest need. What kinds of games are being played with peoples’ lives?

But it seems that people are finally waking up and seeing the harsh reality of what happens when we put our health and our lives into the hands of profit-seeking, corporate-controlled companies. Is this an April fool’s joke gone sour? Nope. We need to wake up to the fact that you and your family’s health is not a high priority to your insurance company. In fact, they would love it if they could have everyone in our country insured, but to never have to pay a single claim!

Something needs to change.

Many doctors, like myself, are sickened by what’s happening. Many people don’t even start care because they feel they can’t afford it. I’ve seen patients prematurely drop out of care because of insurance company limits. But why do we allow our insurance company to dictate our health and wellness? They don’t really cover wellness anyway. If you think about it, insurance companies really don’t offer “health” care… they offer “disease” care.

Are you waiting for insurance companies to change? I don’t see the scene improving anytime soon.

I think we’re all now realizing that if we want reasonable care, and especially wellness care, we’re going to need to budget for it. If you want to protect the health and wellness of you and your family, you’re going to have to make some changes. Lifestyle changes.

So, how much do you really value you and your family’s health and wellness?

Are you willing to invest in it?