We are not given an option where can charge what they feel they afford. Everyone is different, circumstances are different, and the future is always unpredictable. The olden days are gone when a chiropractor put a "box on the wall" for patients to pay secretly as they exit. We can no longer accept eggs or vegetables in lieu of payments. It's not us; we are under strict regulatory controls.
Active insurance patients will not be affected by any prepay. Minimum Retribution BCBS patients paying toward an outstanding deductible will be paying more on each visit hopefully paying down their deductible to take advantage of their BCBS insurance.
The minimum payment for a self paying NP (new patient) to get started is $150 and every follow up appointment is now $60. These fees reflect minimal CMT procedures that can be received in a limited visit. If the doctor does more, you must be charged more.
You will pay more if you return a year from your last visit.
These Self Pay or Minimum Contribution patients can pay less if they pre-pay for 5 visits. Many patients require many visits; further visits can be purchased at 5 visits for $250. They can choose to extend visits at the $60 "pay as you go" rate. Couples or families can share these pre-paid visits, so they can purchase more than 5 visits at this rate, but at a minimum of 5 to receive the pre-pay savings. These are our published procedural fees; if you are receiving self paying services they are minimal CMT procedure(s) only unless you choose more to be performed.
If you do not use these 5 prepaid visits, you will receive credit at a rate equal to a refund where you must use all pre-paid visits to receive the savings, but you will be reimbursed for any unused visits. For example, you request a refund; you used 3 visits. We make a refund for 2 remaining visits, therefore you will receive $100-30= $70, because you didn't use all 5 as agreed. If you used 4 visits, you would receive only $10. If you used only 1 visit, you'd get back $190. There is no timeline for their use; therefore, requesting a refund is viewed as a dismissal (moving, office relocation, dissatisfaction, or doctor dismissal), since anyone wanting to be seen in the future must pay as they go. We view your request as not returning, so we'll settle up.
Depending on your circumstances, your out of pocket total insurance costs for chiropractic services may vary depending on your needs, your deductible, and your copay or a much higher coinsurance cost. Certainly, for active BCBS patients with no chiropractic deductible and a reasonable coinsurance it's very advantageous to see a chiropractor for as many visits as prescribed as long as they help. Very few group BCBS policies have these advantageous benefits.