Why we don’t take insurance…
The calls come in frequently. “Do you take my insurance?”
“No, we don’t take Health Insurance in this practice”.
Why? Do you make more money collecting cash? Why would I go see someone who doesn’t take my insurance?”
Let’s talk….
Health insurance is an important part of our lives and a way of protecting our family from catastrophic events just like house or car insurance. It is also something that limits our decisions and controls the care we may want or need. We would not let our House Insurer tell us how to decorate our house or our car insurance to tell us what tires we need on our car, but we let health insurance tell us what we can do to our bodies. With the high price of insurance and the high deductible plans, the Insurance Company is limiting your choices, at no cost to them.
ShimSpine charges our fee for an hour consult (if it is paid for at the time of service). With that hour consultation you get a board certified spine surgeon and his team to review your history, go over your films, do a complete physical exam, and get a completely unbiased opinion on whether you need surgery or not. You do not have a physician who needs to do surgery to pay his/her bills and you do not have an insurance company lurking in the background running the show. This will give you confidence in the fact that any recommendation is in your best interest. Only 10% of the people we see require surgery and most patients do well with conservative measures and time.
If surgery is recommended, you can use your Health Insurance to pay for the hospital charges, MRI’s and any Physical Therapy you may need. You would be given the surgeon costs for surgery and that would not change. This has you making an informed decision about one of the most important events in your life.
If surgery is recommended by another surgeon or group, we are happy to give you a second opinion. Again, you will receive an unbiased opinion and hopefully, peace of mind that you have done your homework and are in good hands.
This blog is based on the present business practices of ShimSpine.
Article by Catherine Nicholson based on over 30 years as a Registered Nurse and 15 years as a practice manager in a spine practice.
Last modified: December 11, 2020
