Obamacare has been a huge news topic and the focus of a lot of people’s attention. When it fully goes into effect it will require all Americans to either buy health insurance or pay a “fine” for not doing so. With the eventual requirement of all people to have insurance, I wrestled with the thought of accepting insurance in my office. I mean, if everyone will have it, it would only make sense. But, my reason for running a cash practice has nothing to do with politics.
My stance on being cash based started weeks after graduation from chiropractic school. I was offered a high paying job in Seattle, Washington prior to graduation which I accepted. I graduated October 19th, 2012 and began my new job October 26th. Within two weeks of being there, I realized there were some serious discrepancies with the insurance billing. Patients were being charged for services that were never done. The worst part was they had no idea. Not many people look at their insurance statements closely if they owe nothing. If you work with insurance billing enough you can learn what can be billed as a provider that will not be questioned and what may. Unfortunately, there are some doctors that take full advantage of this knowledge. I quit and moved back to Minnesota to start my own office, doing things the right way. I pride myself on my honesty and wanted my office to reflect that. People have a right to know what they are being charged for, even if insurance is picking up the bill (because they don’t always). Healthcare providers are supposed to be trusted completely. Their actions should always be in the best interest of the patient, not the other way around. Because of this, I do not accept insurance but instead charge a flat fee of $40 per visit for all care provided.
What I would like to know is: Do you have insurance? Why or why not? Would you see a doctor who does not accept your insurance if their rate was reasonable?
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Have a great week!
Dr. Snyder
